The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), a global network of organisations that provide shared communications services in emergency situations, has commended Luxembourg, Sweden and Ericsson for financial and technical support in efforts to enhance digital connectivity in the volatile Sahel region.
The support has been significant in bridging the divide in what is one of the world’s least connected regions, a development caused by structural barriers, conflict and poverty.
The ETC released its project report covering 2021–2026 and disclosed it had received a contribution of US$1.2 million from Luxembourg, as well as technical expertise and solutions that made this project possible.
Local and refugee communities, and humanitarians in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, have been empowered.
This support made possible the establishment and expansion of ETC Services Centres, implementation of assessments and monitoring activities, deployment of technical infrastructure, and development of operational models that informed future community connectivity initiatives.
ETC lauded Luxembourg for providing technical exchange, support for solution architecture and service design, deployment of software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) capabilities and networking infrastructure, connectivity equipment and test-bed components, as well as remote technical support and troubleshooting.
Ericsson complemented these efforts through technical support for hotspot service enablement, including provision of Wi-Fi access points and assistance with access point configuration during deployment.
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the administrative authority under the European country’s Ministry of Defence, provided operational and technical assistance for implementation activities, installation and configuration of ICT systems and solutions, training of local teams, and support for the development of standard operating procedures.
“Together, these partnerships helped strengthen project quality, reduce implementation risks, build local capacity, and support the development of a more scalable and sustainable approach to community connectivity in humanitarian settings,” ETC stated.
Share
