Korea Inks WiBRO Deal With Angolan

The Korea Herald reports that the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Angola's Institute of Communications (INACOM) to cooperate in rolling out wireless broadband services in Angola based on the Korean-developed WiBro platform.

Choi See-joong, chairman of the KCC, said that state-run incumbent Angola Telecom had already expressed interest in building WiBro networks during a working-level meeting. Choi has visited Angola, Egypt and South Africa to promote Korean technologies including WiBro and Digital Mobile Broadcast (DMB) television. The Korean-Angolan MoU also covers the development of DMB and IPTV, KCC officials said.

WiMAX-based wireless broadband services are currently offered by Angola Telecom via its business internet subsidiary Multitel, whilst MSTelcom, a unit of Angolan national oil company Sonangol, operates 802.16e (mobile-ready) WiMAX networks in the country, as does another local telco, Mundo Startel.

Angola's Unitel To Carry Out US$1.7billion In Network Upgrade

Ang­olan mobile network operator, Unitel says that it will spend around US$1.7 billion over the next four years upgrading its infrastructure and expanding the mobile network. The government approved the increased capital spending last month.

Earlier this year, Ericsson signed a three-year contract for network performance consulting and continued expansion of Unitel's GSM/WCDMA network.

Henrique da Silva, Unitel's investment director, told Bloomberg News that Unitel's network now covers 138 of the country's 168 municipalities and it expects to reach all of them by 2012. Unitel will also be involved in a project to build the country's first satellite by 2011, he added.

A recent report from Frost&Sullivan expected that revenues in the Angolan mobile communications market would triple by 2015. Angola is expected to license a third operator in 2010.

The company is owned by Portugal Telecom, Angolan state-owned oil company Sonangol and local firms Geni and Vidatel, each hold 25 percent of Unitel.