Celltel, RAC, CEIEC pen MOU for Smart Cities project

Celltel Networks, Roberta Annan Consulting (RAC) and Chinese government’s international cooperation company, CEIEC have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate in the execution of a US$300 million Smart Cities Project in Ghana under the brand name ArisCel.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Ghanaian organisation, Celltel Networks is the concept developer, Roberta Annan Consulting is onboard as transaction advisors for CEIEC, while CEIEC is a joint consortium of expert companies to deliver on the project.

The three companies will soon be entering into a comprehensive agreement with the other partners of the project, which will be funded by a consortium of private investment banks and vendors. The Ghana Smart Cities project has been designed to provide affordable nationwide Wi-Fi network in collaboration with the local government institutions of Ghana and other strategic and relevant government agencies.

Ahead of the MOU with Roberta Annan Consulting and CEIEC, Celtell Networks and its original foreign partners on the project, which include Cisco representative; Sylversys Consulting International, US-based Aristotle Incorporated, and Hughes Corporation have been working on the project design for years. Aristotle, for instance, made a detailed presentation on the project to a Ghanaian delegation to the US in 2018.

Meanwhile, Celltel has already acquired four floors in the strategically placed and plush 12-storey 335 Place along the N1 Motorway extension for offices, an academy and a showroom.

Apple Computing Devices for the Ghanaian market

Contents show

Founder and Chairman of Celltel Networks, Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson has said that

For starters we will distribute affordable Apple handheld devices on subscription and flexible payment terms to enable many more Ghanaians to own Apple devices and pay in installments.”
Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson

He explained that the ArisCel network is purely a subscription-based Wi-Fi service so the Apple handheld devices can also be connected to other telecom networks for purposes of phone calls and even mobile broadband.

“So we will distribute our devices ahead of the rollout of the ArisCel Wi-Fi network so that subscribers can start using them on their preferred telecom networks as they wait for the launch of ArisCel,” he said.

Dr. Kludjeson said Celltel Networks believes in the government’s Digital Ghana Agenda, characterize by the paperless services at all government offices, digital address system, and various electronics services such as e-education, e-health, e-agriculture and many more.

“We believe our strategy sits well with the recently announced vision of the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu Ekuful to include all Ghanaians in the digital economy via the provision of affordable smart devices to enable many access the various digital platforms being created,” he said.
Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson

Digital Television sets for the Ghanaian market

“Beyond the Apple devices, we will also distribute digital television sets that make access to the internet at home easy – this one also comes on subscription basis,”
Dr. Prince Kofi Kludjeson

The Chairman of Celltel Networks further explained; that every level of subscription would come with one device or the other and the vision is to enable access to education, health, security, business and other relevant materials on the internet from the comfort of homes, offices, school and more.

According to him, the company and its partner banks would be working with the various local government institutions, academic institutions, media organizations, identifiable groups and selected government offices to make the subscription plan work with the view to making Wi-Fi access spread faster.

What the future holds

He said Celltel would continue to drive this laudable agenda by striking deals with reputable partners around the world to provide high-performance devices to Ghanaians on affordable basis and flexible payment terms.

One of such deals, is the collaboration with CEIEC, which promises to deploy relevant technologies from China in Ghana for the benefit of Ghanaians.