Vodafone and Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited (BTCL) have signed a partner market agreement that will help Vodafone increase its African presence.
BTCL’s mobile unit beMOBILE is the number three operator in Botswana, but claims to have the widest coverage, extending to 90% of the population. Founded in 2008, it has 716,000 connections, giving it a 21% market share.
beMOBILE currently does not offer 3G services, unlike its competitors MTN and Orange. The operator has stated that it will benefit from “Vodafone’s scale as the largest international voice carrier, with access to its global data reach and a competitive cost base for its customers’ international calls.”
Vodafone formed a similar agreement last year with Afrimax Group, bolstering its presence in the sub-Saharan region.
