It will be a long, long rollout but Botswana has finally begun the march toward 5G technology. Orange Botswana has launched a 5G network in greater Gaborone and Francistown, covering 30 percent of the population. Other cities will follow in early 2023.
It follows the launch of Botswana’s first Orange Digital Centre, which will help bridge the digital divide and prepare Botswana youth for employment in the digital ecosystem. Orange Botswana has partnered with MRI Botswana to create a “Connected Ambulance” project that will allow doctors to guide paramedics through life saving procedures on their way to hospitals. Orange Botswana will collaborate with the government and enterprises to implement other 5G-based use cases.
South Africa was the first country in the region to launch 5G, and has since been joined by Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Togo. Cote d’Ivoire is expected to make the 5G spectrum available in 2023.
The Orange Côte d’Ivoire Group and Vanu, Inc. recently announced a partnership to provide connectivity in rural areas in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Liberia. The project will begin with 1,070 sites, of which 700 will be in Côte d’Ivoire, 170 in Burkina Faso, and 200 in Liberia. The technology upgrades will be based on the ”Network-as-a-Service” model.
However, many countries in Africa face 5G rollout delays. “Africa’s 5G first movers are facing teething problems that stand to delay their 5G goals. The challenges have revolved around spectrum regulation clarity, commercial viability, deployment deadlines, and low citizen purchasing power of 5G enabled smartphones, and expensive internet,” Quartz wrote.
Don’t count 4G out either. LTE has had an outsized impact on economic development in Africa, according to a panel at AfricaCom 2022, held this week in Cape Town, South Africa. There is still room to grow for 4G, according to Dr Mohamed Madkour, VP, Global Carrier Network Solutions & Marketing, Huawei, IT-Online reports.
“4G in Africa has been great but penetration is still around 50 percent,” he added. “5G is tiny. 4G still needs to grow, and then we can put 5G on top in places that make sense. Any investment right now in strengthening 4G will actually reduce the investment needed in 5G.”
There were almost one billion mobile connections across sub-Saharan Africa in Q1 2022, according to GSMA Intelligence. In 2021, Southern Africa ranked first with a median download speed of 37.89 Mbps, followed by Northern Africa at 25.63 Mbps, Central Africa at 18.73 Mbps, Eastern Africa at 18.31 Mbps, and Western Africa at 17 Mbps.
By J. Sharpe Smith, Inside Towers Technology Editor
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