NuRAN Wireless Inc. (NUR.C), a leading rural telecommunications company, has provided an update on the Company’s deployment of the first 32 sites in Cameroon in 2021. Additionally, NuRAN also announced today the signing of its Distribution Contract with Orange Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), whereby the Company will be responsible for the sales and distribution of airtime, sim cards, mobile phones, and other products and services offered by Orange in the DRC.
“We are extremely pleased by these initial results. They further enhance and confirm our revenue potential and more importantly exceeds our current revenue expectations. As we continue to deploy more sites, our revenues will grow accordingly. This will also serve to validate our overall revenue potential as we continue to add more countries and more sites to our growing list of sites under contract” stated Francis Letourneau, CEO of NuRAN.
As a rural telecommunications company, NuRAN offers its scalable solutions of 2G, 3G, and 4G technologies to remote and rural regions around the globe. Back when I lived in a literal valley, I sure would have appreciated NuRAN’s services. With this in mind, NuRAN currently has 2,492 Network as a Service (NaaS) sites under contract with Orange Cameroon, Orange DRC, and MTN South Sudan.
Before we get into the juicy details, let’s talk about NaaS. In tech terms, NaaS brings Software Defined Networking (SDN), programmable networking, and API-based operation to WAN services, transport, hybrid cloud, multi-cloud, Private Network Interconnect, and Internet Exchanges. Put in layman’s terms, NaaS is a cloud service model in which customers rents networking services from cloud providers. In addition to being scalable, NaaS can also be adjusted via software, not hardware. This makes NaaS more flexible and customizable compared to legacy network configurations.
Referring back to NuRAN’s latest news, the Company has provided several highlights related to the first 32 sites in Cameroon in 2021:
- The total population covered 140,757 inhabitants
- An average 45.9% penetration rate including
- approximately 64,000 users have connected to the NuRAN network (NuRAN’s initial projections were based on a 24% penetration rate)
- 16 of the 32 sites are already generating more revenue than the previously announced minimum guaranteed monthly fee paid by Orange which is on average CAD$1,225 per site
- Based on the average revenue currently generated from these sites, NuRAN is now on a projected run rate of CAD$2,335 per site
- Due to very high traffic on 4 of the sites, NuRAN is already planning to upgrade the capacity of these sites to maximize revenue
- 90% of the sites are showing 98.8% quality of service, far exceeding the minimum requirement of 90%
- NuRAN issued its first invoices to Orange Cameroon for sites deployed from September to December
Based on a minimum guaranteed revenue stipulated within the contracts, NuRAN estimates that the Company will generate approximately CAD$3,000,000 per month once all sites are deployed. Moreover, current trends suggest NuRAN’s revenue could reach roughly CAD$5,800,000 per month based on the Company’s projected run rate of CAD$2,335 per site.
That being said, NuRAN is currently targeting a minimum of 10,000 sites under contract by 2026. Keep in mind, the recent signing of NuRAN’s Distribution Contract with Orange DRC is expected to generate 5-6% commissions on the different products and services offered, strengthen the Company’s local presence, and increase NuRAN’s potential revenue from installed sites by offering ancillary goods and services.
According to Markets and Markets, the Global NaaS Market is expected to grow from USD$10.4 billion in 2021 to USD$37.5 billion by 2026, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.4%. Located in 22 countries, NuRAN boasts 483 sites and has connected more than 1 million people. With a portfolio of 2G, 3G, and 4G solutions including the Company’s GSM LiteCell, OC-2G, Litecell-XG, and Nexus, NuRAN is well-positioned to take advantage of this rapidly growing market.
NuRAN’s share price opened at $1.39, up from a previous close of $1.32. The Company’s shares are up 5.30% and were trading at $1.39 as of 3:07 PM EST.
