Telecoms group Orange, which has presence in the Middle East and Africa, announced the launch of 5G network in Botswana.
Orange Botswana is offering 5G fixed broadband services and mobile data bundles — for residential customers, small and medium enterprises and include value added services.
The fixed offers are available from 15Mbps for Prepaid and from 20Mbps for Postpaid with a monthly rental from BWP 699 (€53 per month). The subscription of pre-paid offers is accessible through Orange Yame App, USSD and Card to Wallet.
Orange’s 5G coverage will extend to 30 percent of the southern African nation’s population, including those living in Gaborone and Francistown, the two largest cities.
Orange aims to expand 5G network coverage to other cities early next year.
Orange said its Capex rose 5.2 percent in the third quarter of 2022. The Capex of Orange fell 4.4 percent to 5.14 billion euros over the first nine months of the year. Orange does not reveal its Capex for the Africa region.
Orange did not reveal the name of its technology partner for launching the 5G network in Botswana.
Africa and the Middle East, where Orange operates in 18 countries, account for over 60 percent of the company’s total mobile customers and 6.4 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in revenue.
The region currently counts more than 44 million 4G customers.
Orange is mainly focusing on 5G as a way of providing fast internet in Africa, where low population density makes rolling out fibre-optic infrastructure uneconomical.
“For us the main use case is fixed wireless access, meaning internet at home,” Nene Maiga, CEO of Orange Botswana, told journalists ahead of the launch.
Orange’s Middle East and Africa CEO Jerome Henrique said the company was targeting 5G rollouts in around half a dozen countries in 2023, most likely starting with Jordan.
“There’s an agreement with the government on the conditions for launching 5G in Jordan. Ivory Coast and Senegal shall follow, but we’re still discussing about regulatory conditions,” Jerome Henrique said.
