5G will soon be deployed in Senegal. Sonatel recently won the bid to commercialize the technology in the country.
Senegal’s telecom regulator, the ARTP, has provisionally awarded the 5G license to the Sonatel group through its commercial brand Orange. Abdou Karim Sall, the director general of the watchdog, announced on July 17, 2023, during a press conference in Dakar.
L' artp a attribué la 5G à la Sonatel. L'opérateur historique a déboursé 34,5 milliards de CFA pour avoir la technologie de la cinquième génération(5G). L’Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications et Postes (ARTP) avait lancé la procédure d’appel à candidature pour… pic.twitter.com/pZo1TlpdMf
— A.P.S - Sénégal (@APS_Senegal) July 17, 2023
According to the ARTP’s boss, Sonatel paid CFA34.5 billion (€52.7 million) for the technology. "The main goal is to allow all operators who wish to have a 5G license for the great benefit of users [...] We had set a reserve price of 19.5 billion FCFA. When we proceeded to the counting, we retained that of Sonatel since its offer was compliant," said Abdou Karim Sall.
The ARTP issued a call for bids on May 31 for operators interested in deploying the technology in Senegal. Three operators – Free, Sonatel, and Expresso – submitted bids.
Following the bidding, Free and Expresso were taken out because they did not respect the clause of the reserve price set at CFA19.5 billion, leaving Sonatel as the winner.
In the coming days, Sonatel will have to sign the concession agreement and specifications alongside the ministries in charge of Telecommunications and Finance. Afterwards, the President of Senegal will issue a decree and the ARTP will give its final approval for the official deployment of the 5G technology.
Deploying the technology in Senegal will enable Sonatel to meet the population’s growing demand for high-speed connectivity and new digital consumption modes, influenced notably by Covid-19.
Samira Njoya
