FIRST 4G LTE NETWORK GOES LIVE, MAKING IT THE LARGEST IN AFRICA

GHANA’S FIRST 4G LTE NETWORK GOES LIVE, MAKING IT THE LARGEST IN AFRICA
Surfline is revolutionizing the data experience on the continent

Surfline Communications in Ghana has officially launched the country first 4G LTE service. With nearly 300 cell sites, Surfline becomes the largest single LTE deployment in Africa to date, as they make a splash in the Ghanaian market.

In their commitment to bring international standards to Ghana, Surfline has raised the bar on both existing and new operators in the country. From their sophisticated experiential stores and 24/7-call centre to their impressive technology partners and plans for nationwide expansion, Surfline has arrived.

Surfline’s Founder and Executive Chairman, John Taylor, a visionary in Ghana’s oil sector, has invested over a $100 million to launch the network in Accra and Tema. He noted that, “Across the world, people are enjoying super-fast Internet speeds powered by 4G LTE. Surfline is proud to bring this technology into Ghana for the first time and for Ghanaians to experience the difference it brings”. Taylor also believes, “Surfline will open the economy to new jobs and industries in technology, like application development, while also helping other sectors, like banking, retail and energy, do business more efficiently”.

In order to create a world-class network, Surfline selected last year Alcatel-Lucent to set-up and deploy its industry-leading 4G LTE ultra high-speed mobile roadband product capabilities that include: LTE Radio Access Network, Evolved Packet Core and Professional services to install, optimize, maintain and manage the LTE network.

Daniel Jaeger, Vice-President of Alcatel-Lucent in Africa said: "Alcatel-Lucent is proud to be Surfline's partner in developing and launching its 4G LTE wireless broadband network in Ghana. This network has been built from scratch and based on best-in-class technology to deliver much higher speed than previous deployed technologies.

This is a key success factor for LTE networks everywhere. We congratulate Surfline on its successful LTE launch, and look forward to this network and associated services changing the way customers in Ghana communicate and consume data!”

Surfline started testing its 4G LTE network in June this year in an attempt to shape customer experience before the commercial launch, but that was just the beginning. When the curtain was drawn and Surfline’s Flagship Store (in Osu) was revealed to the public for the first time, the audience was blown away by the superior quality.

Surfline’s ultra-modern experiential stores are the brainchild of Surfline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Justice Taylor who envisioned something different for the new telecommunications brand. While giving personal tours of the shop at the launch Taylor remarked that, “after years of researching technology retail outlets throughout the world, I knew that this wasn’t just something Ghana needed, it was something Ghana deserved”. He added, “Our in-store technical support lounge, reSTART, is the first of its kind in Ghana and will only enhance the level of service our customers receive”.

For Surfline, their network is about even more than the unbeatable speed. It’s about creating an experience that the customer can trust, believe in and return to again-and-again with confidence.