Nokia Siemens Networks affordable GSM for rural villages

Nokia Siemens Networks has introduced its new solution, Village Connection, for affordable rural connectivity and coverage in new growth markets which offers an easy concept to build rural connectivity village by village, enabling an innovative franchise-based business model between an operator and local village entrepreneurs.

The Village Connection solution supports GSM based voice and SMS services, including roaming and connection to the outside world. A range of value-added services can be added, such as cost-effective Internet services in villages via the Internet protocol link.
“Our solution brings connectivity, access to mobile services and economic activity to the villages, it enables operators to extend their network coverage cost-effectively in rural areas where rolling out and operating a traditional GSM network would be too cost-intensive”, said Ari Lehtoranta, head of Radio Access Networks, Nokia Siemens Networks.
Village Connection comprises GSM access points located in villages and regional access centres. A village would typically host one access point module comprising GSM radio, power and IT hardware and software components. The access point only requires simple installation and powering can be done, for instance, by solar energy. Each access point connects to standard GSM mobile devices and autonomously handles calls within a village through local switching. Access points are connected via Internet Protocol links to a regional access centre. The access centre connects the villages to the main GSM core network and handles the calls between the villages.
The novel Nokia Siemens Networks Village Connection allows to transfer responsibility for network and business functions to a local level, building cost-effective connectivity village by village. It can employ local people to manage access within each village, or local entrepreneurs may license the mobile access rights for their surrounding area. The solution will be available in 2008.