Mobile networks hit by land shortage

Mobile networks are struggling to offer better quality of service in certain areas because they simply can’t get base stations to reduce congestion. Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority’s (BOCRA) Acting Chief Executive Officer Ketshotse Kepaletswe revealed recently that the Authority is trying hard to assist telecommunication companies to improve their network connectivity but that the issue of land still remains a problem.

“The service providers are facing difficulties to get radio base stations in certain areas to alleviate congestion. We have tried all the engineering techniques but we still have the problem. There is a need to increase base stations in certain areas but operators are struggling to get the land,” said Kepaletswe. He explained that there are no plots in towns and major villages reserved for the radio base stations and in addition landlords charge very high tariffs for the radio base stations to be installed in their premises. He said the authority encourages consumers to shop around for the best service among the three network operators - Mascom, Orange and BTC.

BOCRA is still negotiating with local authorities to include radio base stations during the planning stages, said Kepaletswe. To enhance the competition on the local access network, Kepaletswe said the Authority has released the spectrum for the fixed wireless access and the licensing is currently ongoing. Available data from BOCRA indicates that mobile penetration in Botswana has increased steadily to more than 170 percent and the number of Internet users has risen strongly in recent years to more than 1.4 million subscribers in December 2016.

In 2015 BOCRA mandated the service providers to roll out 4G mobile broadband systems in all the areas with more than 10 000 inhabitants without any subsidy over a period of three years and in addition the service providers were requested to roll out 3G in areas with more than 5000 inhabitants. Currently it is estimated that 4G mobile broadband system covers about 45 percent of the population while more than 250 radio base stations and 3G systems cover 57 percent of the population with more than 640 radio base stations. Kepaletswe told the Committee that to minimise the cost of deploying mobile broadband technologies in rural areas, the authority will review the spectrum management strategy this year to try to identify lower radio frequencies which can provide wide coverage.