Mobile internet provider YooMee Africa has launched operations in Ivory Coast, providing West Africa’s first TD-LTE network for internet services.
HumanIPO reported last year the company was launching Cameroon’s first LTE network, with plans to expand to the Ivory Coast and Angola.
“Following the success of LTE TDD in China, Japan and very soon Sprint in the USA, YooMee Africa is pioneering the usage of the technology in Sub-Saharan Africa. After initially successfully launching a WiMAX16e network in Cameroon, in 2011, the company is now preparing to launch in Cote d’Ivoire,” the company said in a statement.
Currently, the LTE coverage is limited to the country’s capital Abidjan.
The company said the country currently experiences slow connection speeds and hopes its LTE programme will kickstart the market, enabling residents to “benefit from fast, stable, state of the art and cost effective Internet connections as a norm”.
“Using the same technology as China gives YooMee Africa the potential to expand the network quickly and also keep usage costs low,” the company said.
“Socially, the impact of broadband Internet is huge for Sub Saharan Africa, especially with opportunities in e-education, e-health and e-government. It will allow even the smallest agricultural trader to keep in regular contact with their potential market,” YooMee said.
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