The government-owned Sierra Leone Telecommunications (Sierratel) explained on Friday that it has chosen to use a CDMA phone system based on its need to leapfrog to a next-generation network, which will enable the company to offer 3G services.
“It has a short roll-out period and is more economical in rural areas,” said Julius Kamara, Sierratel’s director of commercial services. “Compared to GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) needs fewer cell sites and is more efficient in the use of the frequency spectrum.”
Sierratel’s CDMA phones, which will be accessed through a wireless local loop network, operate through links rather than telephone wires and can cover extensive parts of the country, unlike GSM services, noted Sierratel Managing Director Alpha Sesay.
According to Kamara, the CDMA system, called LeoneCell, will have a prepaid platform and be fully integrated as part of an intelligent network to reduce Sierratel’s bad debt ratio.
The system will meet customers’ ever-changing needs as Sierratel moves to the broadband multimedia services market, offering mobile Internet, music and movie downloads, and IPTV (Internet protocol TV), among other services, Kamara added.
Installation of the new CDMA facilities will be completed in Freetown on Tuesday and in the provinces by Oct. 19, according to Sesay. Service is set for a November launch in Freetown and 14 other locations, including Bo, Kenema, Koidu, Lungi, Lunsar, Magburaka, Makeni, Moyamba, Njala, Port Loko and Segbwema.
LeoneCell is based on a U.S. version of CDMA technology called CDMA 2000 EVDO 1X.
