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Africa Mobile Networks (AMN), a leading mobile network base station provider in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), has extended its partnership with Vanu Inc., a provider of equipment, tools and services that allow mobile network operators (MNOs) to serve off-grid communities. Under the expanded partnership, Vanu will continue to supply mobile network infrastructure to support AMN’s mission to boost mobile coverage in rural communities in SSA.

Over the last two years, AMN has purchased more than 3,000 of Vanu systems. This has helped to extend coverage to over 1.1 million people, who were previously unserved. Both Vanu and AMN share the vision of a fully connected Africa, where no community of significant size is without basic telecommunications service to deliver social, economic and educational benefits to the populace.

Despite the increase in coverage in recent years, according to a statement released by Vanu on Tuesday, off-grid markets present unique challenges that have left 1.2 billion people without access to mobile network service. “AMN and Vanu both view small-cell network architectures powered by solar energy to be the best way to extend service to the unconnected,” Andrew Beard, CEO of Vanu Inc., said.

To efficiently cover villages, Vanu uses a combination of specialized equipment, tools and services, including low total cost of ownership (TCO) cell sites, mapping tools and network planning tools, as well as monitoring, optimization and support services. Vanu’s equipment, tools and services help MNOs and partners, such as AMN, to provide off-grid coverage profitably. In addition, VanuMaps provide MNOs, partners and potential investors with high-resolution coverage and population data needed to accurately measure the possible return on investment for serving unconnected remote areas.

“Vanu has been a great partner for AMN,” said Michael Darcy, CEO of AMN. “The locations we operate are very challenging and we need solutions that reflect the unique requirement of our market. By using Vanu equipment and working with the team, we’ve been able to create cost-effective solutions used to increase subscribers, revenue and profit for our mobile network operator customers.”

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, AMN has so far deployed mobile network service in six African countries, namely Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Nigeria and Zambia. It is currently in the process of deploying in more than 15 SSA countries.