State-owned service provider Angola Telecom announced the launch of a new service called Conecta Angola, whose aim is to reach the most remote areas of the country where, previously, none of the country’s mobile operators had been active.
The Conecta Angola project was formally unveiled at the opening of Angotic 2023 in Luanda, a three-day event held from 12 to 14 June, which acts as a platform for discussing and addressing challenges related to ICT. It was attended by a number of top-level government officials.
The initiative has a strong social angle, notably targeting communities where schools, hospitals and municipal administrations have limited access to operators, to create more digital inclusion.
The sales director of Angola Telecom, Eusébio Santos, suggested that the first phase of the project would involve taking the service to previously internet-excluded populations. In a second phase of the project, he said, "we will be able to start thinking about how to integrate small and medium-sized companies" that operate in these areas.
He also noted that a pilot project is already underway in Bela Vista, in the province of Bié , where students and other users at the local Academic Centre of Excellence can use new internet facilities free of charge.
Conecta Angola developed from a partnership between Infrasat, a provider of satellite communications and backhauling solutions and owner of the only low-cost rural comunications network, and the country’s National Space Programme Management Office (GGPEN).
Indeed, according to TeleGeography's CommsUpdate, Angola Telecom has said that the aim of connecting some of the most remote areas of the country with free internet services will be supported by the Angosat-2 communications satellite.
However, the cost of rollout, not to mention a timescale, do not appear to have been revealed.