- Completion of Phase 1 – 122 sites in Cameroon
- Completion of 118 sites in DRC for October
- Initial 10 sites in South Sudan for September
- Appointment of new Managing Director and Director of Operations for Africa
QUEBEC, QC / August 11, 2022 / NuRAN Wireless Inc. (“NuRAN Wireless”) (CSE:NUR) (OTC:NRRWF) (FSE:1RN), a leading supplier of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions is pleased to announce the resumption of and revised rollout schedule of sites in Cameroon, DRC and South Sudan.
The new schedule for site deployments includes the completion of the initial 122 sites in Cameroon in partnership with Orange Cameroon initially announced in a press release dated October 29, 2020 by the end of October 2022. Additionally, On March 11, 2021, NuRAN had also announced that this contract was expanded to include an addition 120 sites for a total 242 sites.
NuRAN will additionally resume site deployments in the DRC in partnership with Orange DRC with the expected completion of 118 sites in the DRC which was initially announced on February 8, 2021. The contract with Orange DRC is for a total of 2000 sites.
Lastly, NuRAN will launch live sites in South Sudan with a total of 10 sites to be deployed. The contract announced on December 21,2021 with MTN South Sudan is for 250 total sites to be deployed with the potential for more sites to be added.
“We are pleased to announce the resumption of site deployments in Africa. To date, NuRAN has had to finance all site deployments from equity at the corporate level. Our plan has always been to finance site deployments predominately through debt at the African level. As we await the release of $27M USD of African debt financing, we are pleased that we can continue to deploy more sites in the mean time. We are as anxious as all our shareholders and stakeholders to accelerate the deployment of sites while we continue to announce new and significant contracts. Our goal has been to reach 10,000 sites under contract, and we are quickly approaching that goal with 3142 sites already under contract” stated Francis Letourneau, CEO and President of NuRAN Wireless Inc.
NuRAN has currently deployed 82 live sites in Cameroon (53) and DRC (29) covering a total population of approximately 487,000. With this new batch of sites to be deployed, NuRAN expects to have a total of 250 sites live by the end of October 2022. During the last few weeks, the team in Cameroon has completed the capacity upgrade of 9 sites of the 22 planned. The remaining will be done concurrently with the new build plan for optimization due to the proximity of the new planned sites.
NuRAN is also announcing an important reorganization of senior staff. NuRAN is pleased to announce the appointment of Christian Marcoux as Managing Director of corporate operations. Mr. Marcoux currently resides in the Quebec City, Canada area and is a bilingual management engineer with 28 years of experience in technology. His expertise is in leading the implementation of new business strategies and best business practices, particularly when they concern operations, the development of new products, sales, and marketing. His considerable experience and know-how in coordination and personnel management has allowed him to form strong teams that mobilize to achieve the expected results. Mr. Marcoux is graduate of Laval University with a Bachelor’s in Engineering.
NuRAN is also pleased to announce the appointment of George Benson as Director of Operations for Africa. Mr. Benson is currently residing in Johannesburg, South Africa and is a highly experienced in mobile network deployment and project engineering with over 28 years of experience and having worked in the UK, South Africa, Taiwan, Philippines, USA, UAE, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Myanmar. Mr. Benson is a graduate of Heriot-Watt University with a Bachelor of Science in Planning.
“NuRAN is focused on the next phase of the company’s development and site rollouts will be at the center of our long-term success. The addition of Mr. Marcoux and Mr. Benson to our team will ensure a managed and efficient process achieving our short and long-term goal of sustained growth” commented Francis Letourneau, CEO and President of NuRAN Wireless Inc.
NuRAN would like to thank Mr Gael Campan and Mr. Badi Abdallah for their efforts and dedicated service and we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Due to short term delays with respect to the release of debt financing, management reports that it now targeting the completion of 400 sites by the end of December 2022, a decrease of 100 sites from its initial target of 500 sites.
About NuRAN Wireless:
NuRAN Wireless is a leading rural telecommunications company that meets the growing demand for wireless network coverage in remote and rural regions around the globe. With its affordable and innovative scalable solutions of 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies, NuRAN Wireless offers a new possibility for more than one billion people to communicate effectively over long distances efficiently and affordably. “Bridging the Digital Divide, One Connection at a Time.”