As part of its planned and targeted rural network expansion in partnership with African Mobile Networks (AMN), Liberian mobile network operator (MNO) Lonestar Cell-MTN says it has now connected over 150 communities to its network, activating new cell sites in ten counties, namely: Grand Cape Mount, Nimba, Bong, Gbarpolu, Maryland, River Gee, Sinoe, Lofa, Grand Gedeh and Grand Kru. In a statement the MTN Group-backed MNO said: ‘Lonestar Cell-MTN believes that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life’, pointing out that its efforts mean that more than 522,000 people in these communities – who were living in areas without access to any mobile networks – can now ‘make calls, send text messages and use mobile money services for the first time’. Lonestar Cell-MTN says the expansion forms part of its significant investment plans to improve the lot for end users across Liberia, noting that via its partnership with AMN, it is striving to plan its rollout schedule based on the community’s need and ‘whether it meets the criteria for a site to be installed and the decision is purely a commercial one’.

As previously reported by CommsUpdate, in April this year Lonestar Cell-MTN published a statement confirming that as part of efforts to boost coverage to remote towns and villages across the country, it had connected around 104 rural communities to its network benefiting ‘more than 338,000 people’ living in these areas.

Source: TeleGeography