Telesis Tanzania, in partnership with global telecommunications equipment firm Alcatel-Lucent, has become the second telco in the East African country after Smile to offer a 4G LTE service.

Telesis operates as a Mobile Virtual Network Aggregator (MVNA), supporting services for a number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) that serve their customers using the firm’s infrastructure.

According to a press statement, these MVNO’s include, but are not limited to, licensed mobile operators, internet service providers (ISP), governments, banks and business partners.

The statement further says Telesis’ LTE network offers speeds exceeding 100 megabits per second (Mbps). Dar es Salaam and the Mtwara regions are to have access to the mobile broadband offering by October 2013, followed by a phased national rollout, say the companies.

Mihayo Wilmore, director and co-founder of Telesis said, “We are very pleased to be able to work with Alcatel-Lucent to leverage its expertise in 4G LTE technology and make affordable internet services a reality.”

Mobile operator Smile Telecom Holdings helped Tanzania become one of the first markets in Africa - after the likes of Mauritius, Angola and Namibia - to have a commercial 4G mobile network on the continent when it launche its LTE offering in June.