VNL

Wrap Up of Connecting the Next Billion in Jakarta, Indonesia 2010 10 Nov, 2010

To further our commitment in Asia, VNL sponsored the first Connecting the Next Billion Conference held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia in November. Organized by Beacon Events, and scheduled during what turned out to be unusually inclement weather and an angry volcano, connecting rural areas in the APAC region was of such interest that it was still well attended by operators, press and analysts.

Udit Mehrotra, CMO of VNL, presented a program on “Using Solar Power to Deploy Networks in Low Economy Rural Areas” which provided case studies of deployments in India and Africa. It drew a large number of questions from an audience eager to learn more about the intricacies of rural deployment. The attendees were well aware of the issues that kept mobile operators from deploying in these areas; they were very interested in seeing a working solution and applying it to their own locations. Many attendees visited the actual Village Site product display featured in the conference room and met with our staff to discuss how they could get started in their country.

It was easy to see that Asia is ready and eager to deploy solar powered GSM and broadband infrastructure equipment in rural areas. We were glad to be able to present our products to operators already working in the same direction – connecting rural networks in a sustainable and affordable manner that serves the underserved in Asia.