Burkina Faso is planning to extend mobile and internet services to 1,000 remote areas over the next three years. These areas, known as ‘white zones’, are regions without access to telephony and internet services.
According to the Ecofin Agency, at the moment operators are not obliged to invest in these areas as they are not profitable. Thus, public money will be used to invest in and build out the infrastructure required for people to access connectivity.
The plan was announced late last week by Aminata Zerbo-Sabane, the Minister of Digital Transition, Posts, and Electronic Communications, during a television broadcast.
She said that 1,700 white zones have been identified in the country, with 183 already connected in 2022. The government hasa invested CFA6.2 billion (around US$10.47 million) through the country’s Universal Access and Service Fund (FASU) to make this possible.
Mobile service coverage in Burkina Faso stands at 85%, while 3G internet covers 64% of the country, and 4G internet covers 46%.
Regulator ARCEP reported 27.26 million mobile subscriptions (through SIM cards) as of 31 March this year, equivalent to a penetration rate of 116.45%. However, late last year we reported that the government of Burkina Faso had announced a bill to limit SIM card ownership in the country.
The total number of mobile internet subscriptions is 18.67 million, covering 79.78% of the population. The country’s population is estimated at 23,042,199 by the CIA’s World Factbook.
Burkina Faso’s three main mobile telephone operators are Moov Africa, Orange and Telecel.
