Senegal announces XOF50bn investment in fibre network

The Senegalese government has announced it is partnering with Spanish telecom infrastructure specialist Liteyca on a two-year project to expand the country’s fibre-optic network and connect government offices in all regional and municipal capitals. The XOF50 billion (USD84.7 million) PASSANT project (Projet d’Appui Structurel a la Strategie d’Amenagement Numerique du Territoire), managed by the state IT agency ADIE (Agence De l’Informatique de l’Etat), will extend the country’s backbone network by nearly 340,000 kilometres, improve backhaul links with the deployment of over 75,000 kilometres of fibre, and bring high speed connectivity to more than 400 government buildings. The public administration will also benefit from a new national data centre, which could be built in Kaolack, while 125 Wi-Fi hotspots will be deployed in public places to provide access to digital services.