Vietnamese state-owned operator Viettel has received a licence to build a 3G mobile network in Tanzania, according to the East African country’s deputy communication, science and technology minister January Makamba.
Viettel will start building the…
Vietnamese state-owned operator Viettel has received a licence to build a 3G mobile network in Tanzania, according to the East African country’s deputy communication, science and technology minister January Makamba.
Viettel will start building the national network on 1 November and is expected to launch services in July next year, Makamba reportedly told Reuters.
The minister said Viettel’s plan to extend its fibre optic network to rural areas aligns with the government’s goal of “digital inclusion”.
The Vietnamese telco will add an extra 13,000km of fibre cable to an existing 8,000km network, he was quoted as saying. It intends to focus on rural areas where about 4,000 villages without any network access are expected to be connected by 2016, Makamba noted.
Tanzania’s four major mobile network operators are the local units of South Africa’s Vodacom, India-based Bharti Airtel, Millicom’s Tigo and Zantel, which is controlled by UAE-based Etisalat.
Overall, six players currently operate in the country.
Viettel has international operations in Cambodia, Laos, Haiti, Peru, Mozambique and Cameroon, which it entered in late 2012 following a government-run tender for a 2G/3G licence.
Viettel and the Tanzanian communication, science and technology were not immediately available for comment.
