Airtel Ghana Introduces ‘Smart Cities’ Initiatives As It Consolidates Lead In Data And Digital Inclusion With The Launch Of Wi-Fi Access At A&C Mall

By Raphael Aidoo Nyame
Director of Data Business at Airtel, Jean Claude Domilongo Bope
Director of Data Business at Airtel, Jean Claude Domilongo Bope

Airtel, Ghana’s best Data and Internet Service Provider is truly leading the way in ensuring that many more Ghanaians are connected and digitally included with the launch of a bold initiative to digitally connect major shopping malls in Ghana with a combination of technologies including Wi-Fi access as part of its wider “Smart Cities” initiative.

A Smart City is an urban development concept that integrates multiple information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet of Things IoT solutions to connect a city’s assets and infrastructure including transportation, education, health care, enterprises amongst others.

As the industry’s leader in data and digital innovation, Airtel has over the years provided consummate communication, connectivity and collaborative solutions to enterprises, health care establishments, educational complexes and lately major shopping malls in the country.

In view of this, the Smartphone Network has announced the activation of Wi-Fi access at the A&C Shopping Mall, a mixed use Center to provide patrons access to its superior data and internet services. The innovative Wi-Fi project dubbed ‘Flex Zone’ enables access to all smartphone users – irrespective of their network. Meaning that both Airtel and non Airtel customers can enjoy the service.

Speaking to this latest addition to the company’s suite of data solutions, Director of Data Business at Airtel, Jean Claude Domilongo Bope said “our vision is to completely transform the way Ghanaians communicate, connect and collaborate with our unparalleled data and digital solutions. We have completed the piloting of multi-network Wi-Fi access at the A&C Mall and are happy to announce that patrons of this facility can now have access to our data packages simply by visiting the Airtel shop within the Center to purchase a Wi-Fi voucher and connecting their devices to it. The ability to access this irrespective of what network you use is groundbreaking and opens up the space for customers on other networks to enjoy the best data experience that only Airtel provides”.

He continued “We have been leading the deployment of the necessary infrastructure to connect homes, clusters, communal locations and shopping malls in this country including the Achimota Mall as part of the smart cities initiative to digitally connect Ghanaians across all relevant platforms – from transportation to education, health care and entertainment. Our customers have responded positively to these innovations which has powered the growth of our data segment to the point where more than 61% of our customer base use our data services – an unprecedented achievement within the industry.

So the next time you’re in the A&C Shopping Mall, walk right up to the Airtel shop and connect to the best data experience on the Smartphone Network”.

Airtel is the telecom industry’s leader in data and digital innovation.

About Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 18 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 358 million customers across its operations at the end of June 2016. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com

About Airtel in Africa
Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has 17 operations in Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com, or ‘like’ the Airtel Ghana Facebook page via www.facebook.com/airtelgh or follow us on Twitter via the handle @airtelghana.