Gabon: Moov Africa and Airtel want to connect 200 villages located in “white zones
February 22nd 2024
Mobile telephone operators Airtel Gabon and Moov Africa Gabon Telecom will provide radio coverage to 200 villages in Gabon located in “white zones”, still lacking mobile telephone and Internet services. The initiative was the subject of a meeting last week between heads of telecommunications companies and Célestin Kadjidja (photo, center), president of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP).
This initiative is part of the second phase of ARCEP’s universal service development project. The first phase of the project was carried out between 2016 and 2018. It consisted of the installation of 18 radio stations which currently provide mobile telephone and Internet services in 33 villages.
The relaunch of the universal service development project after a hiatus of approximately six years follows the instructions given by Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, president of the Transition, to ARCEP in order to find lasting solutions to reduce the digital divide in the country. The regulator estimates that around 1,253 villages containing 6.5% of the Gabonese population have a deficit in mobile telephone and Internet coverage.
Coverage of white zones should make it possible to bring mobile phone and Internet services to thousands of additional people. This will also allow telecom operators to increase their customer bases, as well as their revenues. ARCEP data for the first quarter of 2023 shows penetration rates of 169% for mobile telephony and 120.3% for the Internet. However, the actual numbers are expected to be lower, given that some people have multiple SIM cards.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that the Gabonese authorities have placed digital transformation at the center of Gabon’s economic and social transformation for around ten years. In January, the executive contracted a loan of USD 68.5 million from the World Bank to accelerate the implementation of the national digital transformation project called “Digital Gabon”.
Source: Agency EcoFin Back