Sonatel announced that its LTE services, marketed under the Orange brand, are now available to 50 percent of the population, up from 34 percent in November 2017. The milestone is in line with the deployment plans announced by the operator at the start of the year.
LTE has already been rolled out to Senegal’s fourteen regional capitals, as well as several other large towns. Alongside this deployment, the operator started upgrading its network to LTE-A during the third quarter, providing double the speed compared to LTE. LTE-A coverage continues to expand and has now reached eight urban areas (Dakar, Kaolack, Diourbel, Thies, Tamba, Kedougou, Saint-Louis, and Ziguinchor).
Sonatel said that its ongoing investment in fixed and mobile network infrastructure supports the country’s national broadband plan, ‘Digital Senegal 2025’ (Senegal Numerique 2025). A further XOF 20 billion will be spent in 2019 to improve LTE network capacity for the fourteen regional capitals, and further expand availability across urban areas and major roads.
