They are rare, Quebec technology companies that look elsewhere than the United States for their exports. The wireless specialist NuRAN Wireless of Quebec is therefore rather separate with its mission to connect the African continent to wireless networks for only a few dollars a month.
NuRAN Wireless has developed wireless technology in recent years that targets areas of the world where infrastructure is non-existent and difficult to install, such as parts of Africa, South America and Asia. Its “2G, 3G or 4G” solution is simply deployed thanks to light towers that are easy to install, even where there is no road or even no source of electricity.
Its formula ingeniously responds to a demand that major international suppliers are reluctant to satisfy, because it is found in places where the population is sparse and where the promise of profits is low. However, some countries impose penalties on these providers if they do not cover the entire territory. Their goal will therefore be to deploy equipment there that is inexpensive to build and operate.
This is where NuRAN Wireless comes in. “Our solution makes it possible to cover less lucrative regions while having a model that is profitable. You need a service that only costs the user a few dollars a month and that works where there is sometimes no electrical infrastructure. The phones must be able to operate for several days on a single charge,” explains Francis Létourneau, its president and CEO.
Naturally, the company aims for profitability. But above all, the one that has about thirty employees in Quebec and a few dozen others elsewhere in the world seems to have in its sights the famous digital divide that separates rural regions from urban regions. “Our company qualifies as an ESG solution [qui tient compte des critères environnemental, social et économique, NDLR]. It is not a coincidence. We are achieving 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are telecom hippies,” exclaims Mr. Létourneau.
“It’s very rewarding. You go to bed at night and you feel that you are changing things,” adds its vice-president responsible for business development, Denis Lambert.
55 million customers
NuRAN Wireless is currently present in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. The Quebec SME also holds contracts in Sudan and soon in Namibia. She made a proposal for a major project of 15,000 antennas that could cover up to 21 countries. “We are currently connecting 300,000 people. We hope within five years to connect up to 55 million people,” says Denis Lambert. The two businessmen are holding a booth this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the most important mobile telephony industry event in the world.
Local companies present at these international fairs are rare, but the demand is there. One of the strengths of NuRAN Wireless is to offer its customers an alternative solution to the Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei for part of their infrastructure.
Huawei’s success comes from its access to a lot of funding from the Chinese banking system. Its products are not expensive, but the equipment manufacturer requires exclusivity from suppliers in exchange, which can become more expensive later. For its part, NuRAN Wireless offers its customers to finance their projects itself, with which it then shares the profits. Over the next ten years, the assets are gradually transferred to the provider, but NuRAN Wireless continues to manage them, under license.
“It started with a trick where I assured the suppliers that we were going to finance the project. That is what [avait fait pencher la balance en notre faveur] compared to other larger equipment manufacturers, such as Huawei,” explains Francis Létourneau.
We operate, develop and manufacture our technology in Quebec, and our suppliers are Canadian
In reality, it is regional development and reconstruction banks that financially support NuRAN Wireless. These allow the Quebec equipment manufacturer to assume the costs of deploying its networks. For suppliers, being able to amortize these projects over several years without massive initial capital investment is a plus. “That’s where we add value, since it’s also fiscally advantageous,” says Mr. Létourneau.
Users, on the other hand, have access to inexpensive technology that connects them to essential digital services that they would not otherwise have access to: financial services, email, social media, etc.
“And it’s pure export for Quebec,” says Denis Lambert. We operate, develop and manufacture our technology in Quebec, and our suppliers are Canadian. »
We could soon see NuRAN Wireless technology in Quebec as well. Technology that will allow them to connect northern Quebec will be launched later this summer. In Canada, too, connecting rural areas is not appealing to large providers. The inhabitants of these regions will not wait for all the satellites in low orbit like the Starlinks of SpaceX, the company of American billionaire Elon Musk, to connect to the Internet. They may be attracted to a more affordable formula such as NuRAN Wireless.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.