Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 21 | Page 13

Tigo launches 4G+ network in Tanzania T anzania’s leading digital lifestyle company Tigo, has heightened the availability of ultra-fast digital experience for data customers in the country with the launch of 4G+ network. NetDragon powers African education industry with leading technology “The launch of 4G+ is in line with Tigo’s transformative journey and the company’s objective of offering customers the best digital experience,” said Tigo Chief Technical and Information Officer Jerome Albou. “We are setting the pace among mobile service providers and catapulting technology to the highest heights of digital offering in the country.” Tigo customers can now have access to the most reliable digital experience and ultra-fast downloads at normal Internet bundle rates. All that is required is a 4G+ enabled smartphone. “We are proud that with the launch of 4G+ network, our company has again put Tanzania on a global telecommunications map,” added Tarik Boudiaf, Tigo’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We are now competing with the developed nations who are currently rolling out 5G technology.” While Tigo’s fast 4G network reaches speeds of up to 60Mbps, Tigo’s new 4G+ is twice as fast, reaching speeds of up to 120Mbps. This is a shared speed among subscribers latching in a specific site and the total speed is distributed among them. Besides boasting the biggest 4G network that covers 22 cities across the country, the Tigo 4G+ network has now been rolled out in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Morogoro, Moshi and Dodoma with ongoing expansion to other cities. A ten-member delegation including NetDragon Websoft Inc’s management team led by founder and chairman Liu Dejian, hosted several events in Nigeria and Kenya where they investigated the local education environment and provided exchange opportunities to support the development of a smart education industry and ecosystem in the two countries. Prior to the company’s Nigerian visit, senior government officials from Nigeria had been to China. During the tour, officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NetDragon, following their introduction and demonstration of educational products and solutions developed by their education subsidiary, Elernity. Details of the MoU included solutions to provide core elements of digital www.intelligentcio.com education combining VR, AR, and AI technologies. As a result, both parties are now taking action to implement the MoU. Liu said: “The challenge of unbalanced education resources facing the world is reflected in the investment in hardware and the allocation of soft resources. The IDEA concept, jointly developed by NetDragon and the Nigerian government, aims to help students across Africa benefit from the wisdom of a Chinese Internet company while providing technology-enhanced educ ation to more children.” As a key part of IDEA, NetDragon will build a national public service platform of educational resources, a national network platform for the teaching community, a national digital talent training platform and a national future education experience centre. INTELLIGENTCIO 13