Charles Kouame is the senior manager in charge of the deployment of telecom group Orange's Djoliba, a fiber-optic network that will interconnect West African countries and even more countries outside the region. With We Are Tech, he discusses the advancement of the project and its prospects.

In 2020, Orange announced Djoliba, its fiber optic network that will connect West African countries. What is the status of the project?

We have already connected six countries namely Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, and Nigeria. Connection is ongoing in two countries; Liberia and Guinea. We aim to build a network infrastructure that will interconnect most West African countries like the Djoliba river which irrigates a large part of the sub-region. The project was initiated because of the growing demand for broadband connections in Africa.

When Djoliba was launched in 2020, Orange invested a little over EUR 8 million. In 2022, the network, which was already congested of being greatly overrun was upgraded. To improve its capabilities, Orange made an additional investment in the Djoliba project.

Djoliba greatly contributes to the development of connectivity in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea-Bissau. The infrastructure enabled many firms, notably banks operating in the sub-region, to easily interconnect with their headquarters based in Dakar or Abidjan.

The system's capacity is infinite. It can be increased by adding the appropriate equipment. To date, its equipped capacity is 300 gigabytes. The initial capacity was 100 gigabytes but an additional 200 gigabytes have been added this year.   

Why was such a large project initiated just for the West African region?

West Africa hosts the largest number of Orange subsidiaries. It was thus selected to host phase 1 which targets eight countries. The second phase will target Central African countries like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project will also target countries like Morroco, Niger, Mauritania, Togo, Benin, and Sierra Leone. Later, around 2025, we will even consider expanding the network to South Africa, Botswana, and Kenya.  The aim is to connect the major capital cities where there is greater internet traffic even in countries where Orange is not present. With Orange group's point of presence on every continent, the Djoliba network, which is interconnected with those points of presence, gives our clients round-the-world reach.

Specifically, what will this infrastructure be used for?

Orange aims to popularize broadband connection by making major investments, which will help offer quality but most affordable internet. In under a year, for instance, Djoliba allowed the Malian subsidiary to make unlimited offers. Djoliba also helps meet the needs of subscribed operators, internet service providers, and firms.

We all noticed that the coronavirus pandemic caused a surge in telecommuting. Some of our lifestyle habits have virtually changed. To improve their operational efficiency, businesses need some online tools and quality broadband is required to access those tools.

Companies in the banking, mining, and telecom industries among others have bought Djoliba's fiber capacities to improve their collaboration with their headquarters and their access to information technologies. Djoliba is also useful for mobile operators. The pan-African network was launched to improve digital inclusion in Africa.

With the advent of Djoliba, affordable broadband connectivity has supported the development of content creation in several countries. Influencers can now give more visibility to their activities. The fiber optic network is also a great opportunity for online services because, with poor or inaccessible internet, their clients cannot buy their online services.

Is Djoliba different from similar projects like 2Africa, where Orange is also committed?

Djoliba is a network built from terrestrial and submarine fiber optic cables. When commissioned, 2Africa will be integrated into Djoliba. Djoliba's current submarine routes include the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), South Africa Transit 3 (SAT3), or the West Africa Cable System (WACS). We have terrestrial routes secured by submarine routes. We are waiting for the arrival of the 2Africa cable to integrate it into the network and offer our customers a resilient network system. Djoliba will also help offer a secured terrestrial extension to the capacities of the 2Africa cable.

The World Bank estimates that hundreds of millions of Africans still live more than 50 km away from a fiber optic network. How does Orange intend to improve access (offer and cost) for populations with a growing need for very high-speed broadband?

Through its subsidiaries, Orange heavily invests in the development of fiber optic networks in its markets. Some of those markets, like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea, are virtually virgin territories. Therefore, the investments made by Orange are huge. In the major cities of those markets, Orange is investing heavily to fulfill the strong commitment made by Orange Middle East and Africa. The aim is to bring fiber optics closer to populations and households. The various Orange Middle East and Africa subsidiaries are deploying their fiber optic infrastructure and Djoliba will allow them access to more internet capacities thanks to its network of subsea cables whose international traffic it carries. When 2Africa lands in Dakar and Abidjan, Burkina Faso and Mali will access its capacities through Djoliba, which is a secured transport system.

What is Orange's plan to meet the growing broadband connectivity demand in rural areas?

Orange wants to popularize broadband in the Middle East and Africa. It is therefore making huge investments in domestic pan-African and subsea fiber optic networks. Despite the investments made, some rural areas still have no access to broadband. To meet the demand in those areas, our state can also deploy fiber optic networks in remote areas through universal service funds.

With demand for broadband connectivity accelerating across Africa, South African authorities want to provide more capacity to enable Internet service providers to meet the needs. 

In the recently published draft amendment to the current radio frequency regulations, South Africa’s ICASA proposed additional radio spectrum for the provision of high-speed wireless internet. 

ICASA explains that its decision to update the regulations is justified "by the need to keep the provisions of the regulations current with the existing and emerging technologies aimed at revolutionizing the electronic communications sector." It, therefore, proposes the allocation of the lower part of the 6 GHz band (5925 MHz to 6425 MHz), as well as the 122 GHz to 246 GHz band for non-specific short-range applications.

The ICASA's decision follows pressure from South Africa's Internet service providers in recent months to free up more spectrum in the 6 GHz band. According to the Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA), this band is expected to enable the deployment of Wi-Fi 6E, the latest Wi-Fi technology, fetching up to US$57.76 billion to the rainbow nation over the next ten years.

According to ICASA, the release of additional spectrum in the 6 GHz band "will provide a much-needed boost for Wi-Fi availability and uptake, and is expected to enable faster data communications between devices connected to wireless infrastructure, reduce latency, and improve efficiency and data throughput."

Isaac K. Kassouwi

Zimbabwe's economy is largely dependent on the exploitation of natural resources. With the fourth industrial revolution underway, Harare wants to make digital technologies the foundation of the country's development by 2030.

Zimbabwe approved, Tuesday (Dec.20), the national 2023-2030 broadband program. The program aims to accelerate broadband penetration in the country and reduce the cost of access to 2% of the average monthly income per capita from the current 10.1%.

The program plans several key projects that will be funded by the government and private investors. In addition, a broadband committee will be established to provide a periodic assessment of progress, facilitate coordination and collaboration, and make suggestions for adjustment. 

The broadband program is part of the Emmerson Mnangagwa government's strategic vision to make Zimbabwe a high-income economy by 2030. The government wants to drive access and adoption of broadband services across government agencies, businesses, households, and individuals to transform Zimbabwe's growth trajectory from one driven largely by natural resource exploitation to one driven by innovation.

For Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa, “the importance of broadband and its transformative benefits include the following: enhancement of global competitiveness, job creation, increased productivity, improved national security, and enhancement of performance in education, agriculture, health, and governance. [...]  All of these are prerequisites for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.” 

Isaac K. Kassouwi

On the sidelines of the 2022 Climate Change Conference (Cop27), Jean Michel Canto, Orange Middle East & Africa's Director of Sustainable Energy & Partnerships, gave an exclusive interview to We Are Tech. During the interview, he highlighted the French group’s climate commitment in Africa.

We Are Tech: Why is Orange taking part in the Cop27?  

Jean Michel Canto: Several years ago, Orange made clear environmental and climate commitments. For a long time, we are committed to these issues, which are very important to us. We have already taken several actions in our markets to reduce our environmental impact. Through the Cop27, we want to support governments in reaching their ecological and energy transition goals. We want to work with governments to develop renewable energy, to develop ecosystems, and circular economies. At the Cop27, Orange Group, through the Director of the Environment, is reiterating its environmental commitments and its availability to support governments in their projects to their reduce carbon footprint. We are ready to work daily with countries to collectively achieve these commitments.

WAT: You keep mentioning support to countries. What does such support concretely entail?

JMC: One of the major challenges in achieving our environmental objectives and for countries to achieve theirs is access to renewable energy. The second axis is the whole ecosystem of the circular economy.

Presently, it's true that regulations don't allow us to do exactly what we would like to do, notably build and develop solar farms and directly use this renewable energy. But by working hand in hand with countries, we are confident that we will be able to change these regulations and attract the necessary investments in African countries to multiply the deployment of solar and wind farms wherever possible.

The circular economy is the recycling of telephones and telecom equipment that we use every day. For renewable energy, as an operator and private industry, we can attract the capital needed to develop renewable energy in Africa. In Africa, no factories are specializing in refurbishing telecom equipment and phones for new use.  Our ambition is to work with governments so that such factories can be set up in Africa.

For the time being, telecom equipment and phones are sent to Asia and Europe to be refurbished. We are sure that the development of this type of activity on African soil will create jobs but will also contribute to the development of the circular economy and reduce raw material extraction, which is harmful to our planet.

WAT: Phones become electronic waste when they are no longer useful. This is obvious but how does Orange’s infrastructure harm the environment?  

JMC: Like every activity, industry, and company, we need electricity. So do the infrastructure through which we provide services to our subscribers. Using non-renewable energies such as diesel to guarantee the continuity of our services in certain areas with poor access to electricity accentuates the impact of our infrastructure on the environment. Put simply, it is through carbon emission. Renewable energy greatly reduces this carbon footprint. We are already working with our infrastructure and equipment suppliers to ensure that they have a strong commitment to limiting their impact on the environment right from the design stage.

Objectively, in Africa, the major factor contributing to our carbon emissions is the use of energy to power all our telecom towers, data centers, etc. This is why we are insisting on the use of renewable energy sources. That's why we put a lot of emphasis on working with countries or governments to develop renewable energy. A few years ago, we were using so many generators to power our telecom towers. But we are gradually deploying solar panels, which generate clean energy, to replace them.  

Digital technologies are great tools. They enable videoconference and teleworking but telecom infrastructures are mostly needed for all that.  With eco-responsible telecom infrastructures and equipment, we can greatly limit the impact we could have on the environment and the climate.

WAT: Orange has developed a program called "Net Zero Carbon 2040". What is it about?

JMC: Net Zero Carbon 2040 is Orange's strong commitment to the climate. It means that we are committed to strongly reducing our carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy. We are aware that there will still be an incompressible minor part of our carbon emissions. Not every activity can be fully clean. To compensate for these residual carbon emissions, we must commit ourselves to solutions that are called carbon sinks, i.e. solutions that will capture the CO2 that we will emit.

We have already launched major carbon sink projects in countries like Senegal, Cameroon, and Madagascar. We have made commitments to plant trees and protect the mangrove ecosystem. We have signed a partnership with experts in the field. Orange is specialized in the telecommunication industry. So, we rely on environmental experts for climate-related issues, including the protection and development of the mangrove, which is a great carbon sequester. We are committed to taking such actions in Africa and we believe that thanks to them, we can meet our net zero carbon goal by 2040.

We have a milestone for 2025. This milestone is that by that time, more than half of the energy used by the group must be generated by renewable sources. This is a big challenge. That's why we continue to power our sites with solar panels and do the same for our data centers, which are energy-intensive.

In Africa, we have more than 6,000 telecom sites equipped with solar panels. We will continue and accelerate this energy transition to the rest of our equipment. In countries such as Guinea, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, and Jordan, more than half of the energy consumed by the network comes from renewable energy sources that we produce ourselves. If possible, we would like to develop solar and wind farms, to inject this clean electricity into the electricity grid of the countries in which we operate and use this clean electricity on all our telecom towers. In addition to that, we have commitments to reduce our carbon footprint on what we call SCOPE 1 and 2, fuel and electricity namely. Orange as a group plans to reduce the use of such energy sources by 30%.

WAT: Orange works with telecom tower managers. How does the group reconcile this operational cost management with its environmental commitments?

JMC: We work with tower managers (towercos) in five countries. In the twelve other markets, we operate our own towers. When we operate our own towers, we call on experts to help us with this transition. We call these experts ESCOs. These energy experts from the telecom industry help us to modernize our energy production chains in our telecom towers, adding as much solar energy as possible, and adopting the right size for our current and future needs. In Africa, all three tower managers we work with have renewable energy commitments for 2030, 2040, and 2050.

WAT: In addition to reducing the environmental impact of its business activities and carrying out direct actions in favor of the climate, such as carbon sinks, how does Orange's investment in the environment integrate the well-being of the African population?

JMC: The impact on society is as important as the impact on the environment. Through all the direct climate activities, such as the protection of the mangrove, which meets our environmental objective, Orange also aims to develop the entire ecosystem around it to benefit populations.  Training will therefore be organized and new jobs created as we know that the mangrove produces wood and by-products can therefore be produced and sold. We have included support in this very important project. We also are deploying Orange Digital Centers (ODC) everywhere in Africa. Through those infrastructures, we will raise awareness of environmental issues by organizing activities like coding competitions focusing on the environment for young people. Africans are awaiting those environmental projects because they will be the first parties affected by climate change. With the drought in some regions, fishing villages disappearing in Senegal, etc, those populations are beginning to feel the impacts of climate change.  

WAT: Can we consider Orange Energie as one of the components of Orange's environmental action?

JMC: Yes, it is. Orange Energie allows access to solar kits, which are symbolic since by definition solar kits provide renewable energy for schools, professionals, etc.  It is not limited to solar kit distribution, however. It also projects to build mini-grids, namely small solar farms that can supply one or two villages with no access to energy.

Once again, these are, by definition, renewable energies since they are solar fields that will be deployed. These are two examples that bring essential services to the populations, in addition to responding to strong environmental issues.

The environmental issue is a broad subject and Orange is fully committed because it is important for us and the development of the African continent.  

Interview by Muriel Edjo