Mobile network operator Smart Telecom Burundi (formerly Lacell SU) launched its new 3G service on 5 September in and around the capital Bujumburo, according to its website. The operator’s ‘Smart Bouquet Internet’ packages are available in a wide range of flavours to provide flexibility to customers, with access prices starting at BIF299 (USD0.195) for a 24-hour pass with 20MB of downloads, rising to BIF38,000 for a 30-day access and a 7GB data cap. It is also offering off-peak (i.e. midnight until 6.00am) access for BIF99 per 200MB and a weekend pass for BIF999, which includes 100 minutes of voice calls, 50 SMS and 200MB of downloads.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Smart Telecom Burundi is a partnership of Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) Kenya (a division of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development [AKFED]) and Cyprus-based, Russian-owned Timeturns Holdings. The cellco was originally wholly-owned by Timeturns, before AKFED/IPS took a majority stake in Timeturns’ portfolio of operations in Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania.