African telco Africell has opened a data center in Luanda, Angola.
The new facility, located in Africell Angola's headquarters in the Kings Tower building in the capital city, will be used to host networking infrastructure for the company’s new mobile network in the country as well as offer hosting services to local businesses.
Founded in 2001, Africell operates in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, and expanded into Angola this year. The company secured an Angolan telco license in February and later announced a partnership with Nokia to deploy a new 5G-ready mobile network in the country.
The company said the new data center was a “major step” towards launching services in the country.
"I am very pleased with the progress of our operation here in Angola," said Ziad Dalloul, chairman and CEO of Africell Group. "The strong foundations we are laying today... will benefit our customers when we officially launch mobile network services in Angola. Africell is excited about the opportunity to bring unprecedented innovation to the Angolan telecommunications sector and we look forward to offering Angolan mobile users a better and more affordable service than they have had before."to present it today because it brings to life our digital vision for Angola and sets the tone for the future of our network."
The company said local partners including CPC Africa, Jembas, and Prosecurity were involved in the design, construction, and implementation of the project. Technology partners on the facility include HP, Nokia, Dell, and Oracle.
"I am very pleased with the progress of our operation here in Angola," said Ziad Dalloul, Chairman and CEO of Africell Group. "The strong foundations we are laying today... will benefit our customers when we officially launch mobile network services in Angola. Africell is excited about the opportunity to bring unprecedented innovation to the Angolan telecommunications sector and we look forward to offering Angolan mobile users a better and more affordable service than they have had before."
Last month Africell announced plans to cease operations in Uganda. The company said the decision was based on “a careful assessment of the long-term commercial outlook for the business.” Africell entered Uganda in 2014 through the acquisition of Orange's operations in the country.