Guinea launches an audit of its mobile network coverage
May 16th 2024
The National Universal Telecommunications and Digital Service Agency of Guinea (ANSUTEN) signed an agreement on Wednesday, May 15 with a technical partner to carry out an audit of mobile network coverage in the country. The initiative will be implemented with sector stakeholders such as telecom operators, Internet service providers (ISPs), the regulator.
The project will identify areas of Guinea that are poorly covered (gray areas) or not at all covered (white areas) by telecom operators and ISPs. At the end of the audit, appropriate measures will be implemented to correct any network deficiencies that may have been identified.
It was in May 2023 that ANSUTEN launched a public call for expressions of interest for the recruitment of a service provider as part of the implementation of this project. The contract also includes the acquisition of a geographic information system (GIS). The initiative is part of the agency’s mission to guarantee universal connectivity to all Guineans.
In its “Market Observatory for the fourth quarter of 2023”, the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPT) identified 3,497 neighborhoods and districts covered by the networks of telephone operators in the eight administrative regions of Guinea. The regulator also identified 288 uncovered neighborhoods and districts, 51 white zones, 234 gray zones and 3 zones covered by foreign networks. The national mobile phone coverage rate is 92.39%.
As a reminder, Guinea had 14.1 million mobile telephone subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2023 for a penetration rate of 102.6% according to the ARPT. The number of Internet users was 7.7 million, or 56.27% of the population. However, the number of people actually connected should be lower given that some people have multiple SIM cards.
Source: Agency EcoFin
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