Airtel to deploy Wi-Fi throughout Africa

Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel is planning to roll out large-scale Wi-Fi networks throughout its 17 African units in a bid to bolster the delivery of wireless data services, GigaOM reports citing a source close to the deal. The strategy will see the telco deploy ‘tens of thousands’ of access points in high-traffic areas throughout the continent, with the possibility of expanding to more than 100,000 depending on the success of the programme. Ruckus Wireless has reportedly been signed up to provide indoor and outdoor high-capacity access points, whilst French-US vendor Alcatel Lucent is expected to supply its service and aggregation router and act as the system integrator. Whilst construction of the new system has begun in Niger, no timeframe was given regarding the Wi-Fi rollout in Airtel’s other 16 African units.