Alpha Telecom Mali hopes to accelerate its network rollout following the delivery of new equipment from Huawei, according to Agence Ecofin. With Alpha Telecom Mali said to be eyeing a commercial launch by the end of this year, it has reportedly received new hardware from the Chinese vendor with which it will look to finalise its long-winded infrastructure deployment. Beyond the provision of technical equipment, Huawei is also responsible for the construction of the operator’s countrywide network, in accordance with the turnkey contract signed between the two companies.
As noted in TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Alpha Telecom Mali placed a winning bid for the country’s third mobile network operator concession back in 2012. Having resolved financial issues related to payment for the licence by late 2013, in January 2014 the company confirmed it had begun to deploy its infrastructure, though progress since then has been stymied by legal and technical issues.