The Central African Republic entrusts MTN with the management, operation and maintenance of its fiber optic infrastructure
July 12th 2023
When he was re-elected as head of the country in 2021, the President of the Republic, Faustin Archange Touadéra, made digital technology a pillar of his national development policy. The various stages essential to the realization of its ambition are gradually taking shape.
The South African telecoms group MTN, through its subsidiary Bayobab specializing in the operation of telecoms infrastructure, has obtained the contract for the management, operation and maintenance of the national fiber optic infrastructure of the Central African Republic.
The related public-private partnership contract was signed in Bangui on Tuesday, July 12, between the Central African Minister in charge of the Digital Economy, Posts and Telecommunications, Justin Gourna Zacko, and the Chairman and CEO of Bayobab, Frédéric Schepens , in the presence of the Prime Minister, Félix Moloua.
According to the Central African authorities, Bayobab won the contract for the national fiber optic backbone following an international call for tenders. Thus, for the next 15 months, the company will provide wholesale Internet services to telecommunications operators such as Orange, Télécel and Moov. The latter, the government wishes, will in turn provide a quality service at affordable prices to the populations.
Bayobab takes the reins of the high-speed telecom infrastructure nearly six months after its official inauguration and its interconnection with the Republic of Congo on February 6, 2023. Component of the Central African Fiber Optic Backbone project (Central African Backbone – CAB), the 935 km long terrestrial and sub-river fiber section has benefited since its deployment in 2018 from the technical and financial support of the European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) indicates that the Central African Republic currently has an Internet penetration rate of 11%. With a mobile penetration rate of 56%, the specialized agency of the United Nations points to the high price of Internet packages as one of the causes of the low number of mobile Internet users in the country. The floor price of 2 mobile gigabits is estimated at 41% of the average monthly income per inhabitant, far from the 2% advocated by the Commission for broadband.
Back