Our Technology

AMN builds mobile network infrastructure which delivers 2G, 3G and 4G services to rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. AMN has traded large investments and high complexity in the core for the greatest simplicity and lowest cost in the radio access network, to allow the access network to be rolled out rapidly and on a huge scale to reach the smallest communities and largest total population.

AMN's radio access network (RAN) uses a standard design which integrates power, backhaul connectivity and the local access network in a single structure for lowest capex and most efficient deployment. AMN Standard base stations are deployed in typically 4 hours.

The power system is based on solar technology, which is environmentally friendly and comes with zero opex. Solar panels, mounted on the Standard (12m monopole) or Extended (20m self-supporting lattice) tower, generate energy from the sun, which charge a highly sophisticated Lithium-Ion battery pack, made up of 288 cells controlled by a management computer and offering up to 3 days of autonomy.

The local access network uses fully compliant (3GPP standard) mobile network technology and AMN is able to deploy 2G (GSM) and 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE) technologies, which enable the local community to communicate via ultra-low-cost feature phones or very-high-end smartphones - or tablets or PCs - to access the full range of voice and data services.

Following the 2020 acquisition of Range Networks Inc, AMN is now an OEM in its own right. The first product to be developed based on the Range technology is the ARN-900, a flexible, software defined radio which supports multiple carriers and mixed radio access technologies (2G, 3G, 4G and beyond).

AMN has designed an innovative power control system which delivers maximum usable coverage, uplink limited by the TX power of the user equipment, and sufficient TX power from the base station to balance the uplink and downlink with minimum power consumption. AMN cells are usable with full quality up to the limit of coverage, and more base station TX power would not increase usable coverage (but would increase site power consumption).

AMN's network design philosophy is based on small cells which deliver strong signal to cover an area each of 3-5 (Standard) or 30-50 (Extended) square Km, which is a range of between 1km and 5Km from the tower, depending on terrain, which is normally positioned near the centre of a village. The AMN design is highly scalable, and each tower can be upgraded to add more capacity as needed to meet demand. Multiple towers are used to expand coverage and capacity without limit.

The local access network uses fully compliant (3GPP standard) mobile network technology and AMN is able to deploy 2G (GSM) and 3G (UMTS) and 4G (LTE) technologies, which enable the local community to communicate via ultra-low-cost feature phones or very-high-end smartphones - or tablets or PCs - to access the full range of voice and data services.

Following the 2020 acquisition of Range Networks Inc, AMN is now an OEM in its own right. The first product to be developed based on the Range technology is the ARN-900, a flexible, software defined radio which supports multiple carriers and mixed radio access technologies (2G, 3G, 4G and beyond).

AMN has designed an innovative power control system which delivers maximum usable coverage, uplink limited by the TX power of the user equipment, and sufficient TX power from the base station to balance the uplink and downlink with minimum power consumption. AMN cells are usable with full quality up to the limit of coverage, and more base station TX power would not increase usable coverage (but would increase site power consumption).

AMN's network design philosophy is based on small cells which deliver strong signal to cover an area each of 3-5 (Standard) or 30-50 (Extended) square Km, which is a range of between 1km and 5Km from the tower, depending on terrain, which is normally positioned near the centre of a village. The AMN design is highly scalable, and each tower can be upgraded to add more capacity as needed to meet demand. Multiple towers are used to expand coverage and capacity without limit.

AMN's network is monitored 24x7 by its Global Network Operations Centre (GNOC) which is based at AMN's headquarters near London, UK. The GNOC manages all changes to the network, under strict change-control procedures. AMN has developed a bespoke network management system (NMS) which shows all sites in real-time on a map of Africa, with alarms generated for any monitored parameters which are out of spec. AMN monitors every aspect of a site, including BTS/NodeB status, voice and data traffic levels, KPIs, latency, jitter, packet loss, battery voltage, load current and the temperature inside the cabinet. Each site is equipped with CCTV with intrusion detection.

Also based at the AMN headquarter is AMN's network planning department. The network planners are responsible for identifying suitable villages for AMN revenue-share sites in each country, which are villages with (a) sufficient people, typically around 1,000 or more and (b) no existing usable mobile service. These sites are then released to AMN's in-country teams for a physical site survey. The network planners will then select the optimum location for the tower, which will normally be close to the centre of the village and from where the maximum population coverage can be achieved. The network planners will then generate simulations of the coverage that will be achieved, which will later be used to verify the implementation after the site has been built.

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