By Nana Appiah Acquaye, Accra, Ghana
INWI, the third largest telecommunications operator in Morocco, says it has selected Aptilo Networks and Smartcom for a major upgrade to “Wifi7dak,” INWI’s public Wi-Fi service. According to the company, the upgrade will increase bandwidth, support network expansion and add new payment functionalities.
In a statement copied to Biztechafrica, the Manager of Product and Services, Innovation, Strategy and Partnerships at INWI Julien Muller, indicated that his outfit is turning Wifi7dak into a true carrier-class Wi-Fi network with solutions from Aptilo and leading-edge apps from Smartcom.
The statement noted that INWI has deployed the Aptilo Service Management Platform (SMP) which provides highly scalable Wi-Fi services to increase INWI’s bandwidth capacity and support growth of the Wi-Fi network. “It also allows INWI to easily integrate trusted 3GPP Wi-Fi access with SIM authentication and backhauling to the mobile core through GTP tunnels in the next phase of deployment” it contended.
It said Mobile users can logon to the service using an app developed by Smartcom and available in the INWI online marketplace. The app offers the same functionality as a branded web portal (also available) while also providing INWI with valuable analytics and more granular control over the Wi-Fi service.
Wifi7dak will be available to pre- and postpaid users who can purchase the service through vouchers and credit cards. Roaming users will also be able to use Wifi7dak, creating opportunities for customer acquisition and service expansion.
The Key Account Manager, EMEA, Aptilo Networks expressed his gratitude working with INWI and Smartcom. “We are proud to be working with INWI and Smartcom on this project, enabling carrier-class Wi-Fi service that will support INWI’s continued growth”.
“Users want convenient ways to access Wi-Fi. Smartcom’s Wi-Fi offload app serves this purpose while also providing INWI with opportunities for branding as well as user engagement,” said Victor Epifani, CEO, Smartcom.
INWI is part of Zain Group, a leading mobile and data services operator with a commercial footprint in the Middle East and Africa.
