14 DAY TRIAL // A special version of the highly popular Opera Mini browser is now available for download for the customers of Rwandan wireless carrier MTN.
Available as part of a special agreement that the wireless carrier and Opera have signed, the mobile browser is meant to provide users with faster access to the Internet for less money.
With Opera Mini, users can enjoy access to the Internet while on the go, and can easily enter favorite sites and MTN portals from their mobile phones.
Using Opera Mini, MTN subscribers will benefit from one-click access to a series of websites that include: MTN CallerTunez, MTN Play, The NewTimes, Igihe, Facebook, Yahoo! and Mobile Store.
The wireless carrier has a number of around three million subscribers, and offers wireless connectivity for over 98 percent of the country's population.
“Rwanda has embraced the Internet and is also a key partner in the One Laptop per Child project and has a major e-government program,” Opera explains.
Through Opera Mini, MTN users can benefit from important savings courtesy of the compression technology that Opera has packed the mobile browser with.
The application compresses web pages by up to 90 percent before sending them to the mobile phone, which means less data consumption for mobile phone users, as well as savings for wireless carriers.
The mobile browser is compatible with a number of over 3,000 mobile phone models on the market, and can offer fast Internet on basic phones.
Opera Mini is “a great tool that will further emphasize the dedication of MTN to facilitate the ease and growth of data usage in Rwanda and a strong affirmation of MTN’s commitment to be at the heart of the ICT revolution in Rwanda,” Khaled Mikkawi, CEO MTN Rwanda, stated.
“We are excited to see MTN Rwanda customers join the Web using Opera Mini,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.
“Clearly it is a nation that is committed to growing everyone’s access to the Web, and MTN is an integral part of that. Our global agreement with MTN is one that allows us to really deliver on our belief that the Internet is a basic human right.”