Nokia Siemens Networks is working with mobile-phone service providers in Africa to tap a potentially vast growth market by providing rural villages with low-cost communications.

The initiative, dubbed Nokia Siemens Networks Village Connection, is being tried out in Tanzania. Agreements with various operators have been closed, and Nokia Siemens Networks will soon announce other network deployments in the region, according to Sari Kola-Nystrom, a senior manager with Nokia Siemens Networks' Middle East and Africa business unit.

One location being considered is a rural area in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, according to Mandy Williams, a company senior account manager.

Millions of people in rural Africa remain unconnected and cut off from the rest of the world. Most mobile service providers in Africa have been unable or unwilling to expand their services to rural areas, claiming that the cost of operations is too high.

In countries where villages are served by mobile networks, the price of services deters many people from subscribing. Nokia Siemens Networks Village Connection will, however, charge subscribers up to US$3 per month, compared to the average $10 per month currently being charged by most mobile providers in the region.

"The Middle East and Africa region is one of the most important and strategic markets for Nokia Siemens Networks in the fixed and mobile business. The company looks forward to the tremendous opportunity offered by the region," Williams said via e-mail.

Village Connection relies on network technology designed to lower the capital expenditure and operating costs traditionally associated with wireless network rollouts in emerging markets. The mobile network design consists of access points that will be located in the villages and operated by local operators in cooperation with GSM network operators, who provide the core network.

The networks can offer voice and SMS services, and in some cases will use satellite connectivity to act as a backhaul, distributing traffic among geographically dispersed sites.

Nokia Siemens is a 50-50 joint venture between Nokia Networks and Siemens technology.