Tuesday, August 3, 2010

MTN Inks Broadband Deal With Intel

South Africa's MTN Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US communication giant Intel, which will see the two companies collaborating to accelerate the deployment and penetration of broadband access in Africa and the Middle East.

The collaboration covers a wide range of initiatives, including: increased WiMAX deployment, affordable PC bundles for ordinary African consumers and entrepreneurs and the introduction of cost-effective internet browsing devices.

The statement also pinpoints a joint effort by the MTN Foundation and Intel Education's corporate social responsibility department to equip students and teachers with technology skills. Further, Intel's venture capital division, Intel Capital, and the MTN Group will also invest in emerging technology companies that are innovative and demonstrate a potential for advancing the ICT sector by developing products that contribute to solving typically African business and social problems.

Intel sales and marketing Vice President Gordon Graylish commented: ‘Strategies developed by MTN and Intel to connect the next generation of broadband users in Africa and the Middle East were a perfect fit, which is why we went into discussions to collaborate. Both companies have expertise in different aspects of ICT deployment and together we can accelerate bridging the digital divide on the continent. In this way we can accelerate Africa's entry into the 21st century knowledge and digital economy which will give its citizens economic opportunities similar to those in developed countries’.

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