(Ecofin Agency) – The telecommunications sector is one of those experiencing significant disruption to activities in the country. The infrastructures which ensure its profitability are victims of various nuisances which hamper the service offering.
The mobile telephone operator Orange Burkina Faso no longer has access to nearly 15% of its telecoms sites. The information was revealed by Jérôme Hénique, executive director of Orange Africa and Middle East (OMEA), on Monday October 1 during an interview on French public radio RFI. Clearly, the technical teams of the telecoms company can no longer go to certain sites to carry out essential maintenance services because of the security situation which prevails in certain localities of the country.
“There is strong insecurity, red zones which prevent us from operating in part of the country […] we are not going to expose our employees to carry out maintenance or repair them at the slightest security risk [sites télécoms]. We obviously choose to operate only in part of the territory where security conditions are associated”explained the boss of Orange in Africa. The direct consequence of this situation is the degradation of the quality of service provided by Orange to its customers.
Last August, Aminata Zerbo/Sabane (photo), Minister of Digital Transition, Posts and Electronic Communications, deplored acts of vandalism or destruction of telecoms infrastructure committed by terrorists in several areas of the country. She claimed that these actions had caused a drop in the coverage rates of mobile telephone and Internet services in the country by 10 to 20%, as well as a deterioration in the overall quality of services. The government has also committed to investing 3 billion CFA francs ($5.07 million) to restore the telecoms network in areas that have been deprived of it.
In Burkina Faso, Orange is currently the leader in the telecoms market according to the latest data from the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (Arcep) dated the 1st quarter of 2024. With 12,694,159 customers, the company held 46.57% market shares compared to 42.89% for Onatel SA and 10.55% for Telecel Faso. Despite the inaccessibility of its technicians to part of its telecoms sites, the company recorded subscriber growth of around 600,000 between 1is quarter of 2023 and that of 2024.
Also read:
Terrorism: $5 million to restore telecoms services in Burkina Faso
