15 May 2020

Vodacom Mozambique signed an agreement with the American company Loon to use its internet balloons to extend the coverage of telecom services in rural areas.

The latter’s solution will provide a 4G service that supports data, voice, SMS and USSD, which will also enable mobile financial services.

Vodacom said it intends to use Loon's technology to increase its presence in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa, which have proven difficult to cover in the past due to the large geographic areas and the low population density which represent a logistical challenge.

Both companies are announcing, for the next few months, the installation of terrestrial infrastructure that will serve as a physical connection point for Internet balloons from Loon to the Vodacom core network. Loon said it also plans to initiate the flight of his balloons over Mozambique to inquire about suitable stratospheric wind patterns for the balloons. Network integration tests are planned to ensure that the solution works as expected.