Burkina Faso’s telecom sector in recent years has made some gains in providing the necessary infrastructure and bandwidth to support telecom services.
An IXP completed in September 2020 increased international bandwidth capacity by a third, while in mid-2021 the government was able to start the second phase of a national fibre backbone project. This will link the capital city to an addition 145 municipalities, and provide additional connectivity to terrestrial cables in neighbouring countries.
This new infrastructure is also making it possible for the government to trial telemedicine, and so address the very poor availability of medical services in almost all parts of the country. However, the government, newly elected in November 2020, is under popular pressure to address security issues. Civil disturbances erupted in November 2021 after the government proved incapable of preventing killings by militants. The activities of the militants in side areas of the country jeopardise overall security, and render it difficult for the telcos to safeguard their networks and equipment.
BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming years the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure.
Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key developments:
- Revised Finance Law increases telecom tax to 7% of telco revenue;
- Second stage of the national fibre backbone networks gets underway;
- Regulator opts to postpone implementation of MNP indefinitely;
- Burkina Faso begins developing its first satellite;
- Main One increases broadband bandwidth with new PRICAO fibre cable;
- Burkina Faso joins G5 Sahel countries to eliminate roaming fees;
- Government progresses with XOF23.6 billion project to provide metropolitan fibre infrastructure;
- Report update includes the regulator's annual reports and market statistical data to March 2021, telcos' financial and operating data to Q3 2021, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
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Developing Telecoms market report summaries are produced in partnership with BuddeCom, the world’s largest continually updated online telecommunications research service.
The above article is a summary of the following BuddeCom report:
Report title: Burkina Faso - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Edition: November 2021
Analysts: Henry Lancaster, Peter Lange
Number of pages: 135
Companies mentioned in the report: Onatel, Telmob, Bharti Airtel (Zain, Celtel), Orange Burkina Faso, Moov (Telecel, Etisalat), FasoNet, ZCP, Delgi, Cenatrin, CFAO Technologies, River Telecom, Net Access, Maroc Telecom, Vivendi.
Single User PDF Licence Price: US$890
For more information or to purchase a copy of the full report please use the following link: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Burkina-Faso-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses/?r=83
