The Malagasy government plans to connect more than 1,600 villages to telecommunications services, in partnership with Chinese technology company Huawei. This initiative aims to accelerate the country’s digital transformation. The project was revealed last week by Stéphanie Delmotte (pictured), Minister of Digital Development, Posts and Telecommunications, during an interview with Huawei.
The village coverage project will follow the “Digital Menabe Project,” which aims to connect 200,000 people in the Menabe region and for which a partnership agreement has already been signed with Huawei. The Malagasy government is also targeting coverage in 95% of remote rural areas. For example, Ms. Delmotte praised Huawei’s solutions, including “Rural Star ,” which are “technologically advanced, offer wide coverage, are cost-effective, easy to deploy, and perfectly suited to large-scale deployment.”
According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the 4G network covered only 33% of the Malagasy population, estimated at around 31.2 million in 2023. 2G and 3G covered 88.5% and 68.2%, respectively, while the 5G coverage rate was 6.12%. Regarding usage, the ITU estimates the internet penetration rate at 20.6% of the population. The organization indicates that 38.1% of Malagasy people own a mobile phone, reflecting the mobile phone penetration rate.
“We must therefore start by improving network coverage in remote areas. In collaboration with major players in the telecommunications sector, such as Huawei, we have implemented a program of innovative initiatives to ensure that no region is left behind in the digital world,” the minister said.
It should be noted, however, that the minister did not specify the implementation timeline for the program to connect villages to telecom services. Furthermore, beyond deploying infrastructure and expanding network coverage, the Malagasy government will need to address the obstacles limiting the effective adoption of these services by the population. These challenges include accessibility to terminals (phones and smartphones), the high cost of services, and the lack of digital skills.
Source: Extensia
