Radisys Corporation, a company owned by Reliance Industries Limited, is gearing up to enter the African market with a new telecom venture. Radisys will partner with Ghana-based Next-Gen InfraCo to provide the latter with telecom infrastructure, smartphones and applications. NGIC has exclusive rights to offer 5G in Ghana for the next ten years, with a license valid for a maximum of 15 years. NGIC does not aim to serve customers directly. Instead, the company will offer its 5G broadband services to mobile operators and internet service providers (ISPs) in Ghana.
According to a Bloomberg report, the company wants to build affordable digital services in emerging markets. Besides Radisys, other strategic partners of NGIC include Nokia Oyj, Tech Mahindra Ltd and Microsoft.
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Ascend Digital Solutions Ltd and K-NET, two major telecom companies in Africa, have a 55% stake in NGIC. The government owns a stake of just under 10% and the remaining shares are held by private investors and local mobile operators. Mobile carriers would have to spend a significant amount of money to build infrastructure to provide high-speed 5G broadband services. Recognizing that NGIC is building the infrastructure that these mobile carriers can use and offer services to customers at a lower cost.
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Harkirit Singh, executive director of NGIC, said the company plans to invest $145 million in infrastructure construction in Ghana over the next three years. Reliance has no shares in NGIC. However, according to the report, NGIC will offer Reliance equity as part of future payments if the Indian conglomerate is willing to accept that in lieu of cash.
According to Singh, they must first demonstrate the value they can create before Reliance can decide to enter the company as a shareholder.
