The government wants to strengthen the Gambian national telecoms infrastructure as part of its digital transformation ambitions. The executive is preparing to connect the country to a second submarine fiber optic cable.
The Gambia Telecommunications Company Ltd (Gamtel), the historic Gambian telecommunications operator, announced that it had signed a partnership agreement with the technology company Huawei on Wednesday October 25. The latter will be responsible for modernizing and extending the backbone of the public company’s central network.
This partnership is part of the Gambian government’s desire to strengthen the national telecoms infrastructure in order to accelerate its digital transformation ambitions. The executive is preparing to connect the country to a second international fiber optic submarine cable. He is also considering strengthening national connectivity through satellites in partnership with Starlink, among others.
The initiative is expected to enable Gamtel to strengthen its network to better meet the growing demand for services and coverage in the information and communications technology sector. The initiative should also allow the public company to improve its position as well as that of its mobile subsidiary Gamcel in the Gambian telecoms market where competition is starting to strengthen.
Gamcel has a market share of 5%, according to the latest available statistics from the Public Services Regulatory Authority (PURA). Its competitors Africell, QCell and Comium respectively control approximately 63%, 28% and 5% of the national mobile telephone subscriber base.
“ As a partner to the many operators within and outside the borders of The Gambia, Gamtel is a key player in the Gambian government’s digitalization initiatives, we have remained committed to this cause and, as always, we have played a leading role in the construction of the information technology highway ,” the state-owned company said in a statement.