NuRAN Wireless Utilizes Starlink to Boost Revenue in Rural Areas

NuRAN Wireless Inc. is piloting licensed Starlink low Earth orbit satellite backhaul in Nigeria, aiming to enhance site revenue potential. This collaboration with Infratel Africa Limited will evaluate throughput, reliability, and economic benefits needed to support increased operator traffic and additional digital services.

In Africa, rural networks are underdeveloped, with 122 million people lacking mobile broadband access. NuRAN addresses infrastructure needs, operating over 5,000 contracted sites, though only a portion are active. The Nigeria pilot seeks to optimize existing sites for more data and services.

Revenue strategies include expanding 4G capacity, enhancing site value through increased traffic, and exploring future service lines like local content caching and modular edge computing. Nigeria results will guide the integration of LEO backhaul with terrestrial links, supporting scalability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, and Cameroon.