NEC XON has strengthened its wireless connectivity business in Africa through a new distribution partnership with Mimosa Networks, a company known for carrier-grade wireless broadband technology.
The agreement will allow NEC XON to deliver fixed wireless access and backhaul solutions to telecom operators, internet service providers, and businesses across Africa, especially in areas where fibre infrastructure is difficult or too expensive to deploy.
Under the partnership, NEC XON will distribute Mimosa’s wireless technology across the continent and support customers with deployment, integration, and technical services.
Wally Beelders, Executive for Communication Solutions at NEC XON, said the partnership strengthens the company’s long-term wireless strategy as demand for broadband connectivity continues to rise across Africa.
“Mimosa has become a key part of our wireless strategy,” he said. “We now have the technology, the commercial model and the technical capability to deliver high-speed connectivity using unlicensed spectrum, both for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint applications across the continent.”
The partnership comes as operators across Africa face increasing pressure to expand internet coverage quickly while keeping infrastructure costs under control. In many parts of the continent, laying fibre remains expensive, time-consuming, or difficult because of geography and infrastructure limitations.
Mimosa’s technology is designed to offer fibre-like internet performance using wireless infrastructure operating on unlicensed 5GHz and 6GHz spectrum bands. The company’s systems use technologies such as TDMA scheduling, MU-MIMO, and beamforming to improve network speed, stability, and efficiency.
Because the systems can be deployed within days rather than months, the technology is expected to help operators extend broadband access more rapidly to underserved communities, apartment complexes, enterprise environments, and rural locations.
Jim Nevelle, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Mimosa Networks, said the partnership reflects growing demand for scalable wireless infrastructure across emerging markets.
“Across the Middle East and Africa, operators are under pressure to expand broadband access efficiently,” he said. “Our technology enables partners like NEC XON to deliver reliable, high-capacity wireless networks that scale rapidly while maintaining strong price-to-performance advantages.”
NEC XON said it has already started deploying Mimosa solutions in several African markets. Active customer projects are underway in South Africa, Namibia, and Malawi, while proof-of-concept deployments are ongoing in Ethiopia and Lesotho.
The company expects between 2,000 and 5,000 wireless devices to be deployed over the next 12 months as demand for flexible connectivity infrastructure continues to grow.
Beyond enterprise connectivity, the partnership is also expected to support broader digital inclusion efforts, including rural broadband expansion and network restoration in regions affected by environmental or logistical disruptions.
Industry players increasingly view wireless broadband not simply as a temporary alternative to fibre, but as a long-term access technology capable of supporting large-scale internet expansion across Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.
