In May 2020, Africell obtained its global license to become the fourth telecom operator in Angola. The company is finalizing the final settings for the official launch of its operations in a few weeks.
The mobile phone operator Africell, the latest arrival on the Angolan telecom market, signed a network interconnection agreement with the operator Unitel last week. The negotiations were supervised by the Angolan Institute of Communications (INACOM). The latter was responsible for determining the interconnection tariff to enable the new operator to provide the full range of services provided for by its operating license.
Thanks to the interconnection agreement signed with Unitel, Africell, which will officially begin its operations in April, with approximately 600 sites, will enable its subscribers to enter into communication with those of the competing network.
It is since October 2021 that Africell has been negotiating with Unitel on the interconnection. However, tensions between the two companies had led to a breakdown in trade. The telecoms regulator had to get involved and remind each party of the obligations of their specifications to bring them back to the negotiating table.
The sharing of telecom infrastructures is also another subject on which Africell and Unitel are still negotiating. Admittedly, the quarrel between the two companies had forced Africell to invest in its own telecom towers in Luanda, the capital, but INACOM, which promotes healthy competition and access to telecom services for all, is playing the mediator to unblock this situation. The hoped-for compromise would allow Africell to extend its network signal to the rest of the country.