Mozambique’s Tmcel (Mocambique Telecom) has signed a US$23 million 4G expansion deal with Huawei that will also see the operator preparing for the advent of 5G services.
TeleGeography reports that Tmcel plans to extend its 4G coverage nationwide, beginning with upgrades to its networks in Maputo and Matola. The operator is also looking to secure funds for the modernisation and expansion of its fibre backbone infrastructure.
Local news outlet A Verdade quoted the operator’s chairman Mahomed Rafique Jusob as saying: “The implementation of the latest generation 5G technology, together with the project to expand the 4G network, is in the testing phase in Maputo and, if everything goes according to schedule, the respective equipment will arrive in the country within a month, which will allow the company to operate the entire network in the parameters of LTE 4G technology.”
Earlier this month, it emerged that Vodacom Mozambique looked set to block voice calls from Tmcel’s network, claiming that the latter operator had failed to pay interconnection charges since 2018 – accruing a debt of around US$9.6 million.
Jusob claimed that Tmcel would clear this debt, saying: “We will pay MZN200 million [USD3.1 million] within the next three months, and from then on we will pay the current and accumulated debt, an average of MZN12 million monthly, starting in June.”