The Guinean government is still determined to resurrect the incumbent operator Societe des Telecommunications de Guinee (Sotelgui), now known as Guinee Telecoms, reports Mosaique Guinee.
Following a visit to the company’s headquarters on 30 June, Bamba Oliano, Secretary General of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, reiterated that the state is still seeking financial partners to relaunch the company. ‘Among our objectives is the launch of Guinee Telecoms and the digitalisation of the State as a whole … It will be the national operator that will support government communication, its launch will allow competition in the telephony sector to improve the quality of service. This will reduce the cost of communication and access to the internet,’ he said.
For his part, Samoura Lamine, chief coordinator of Guinee Telecoms, claimed the operator has a total of 183 GSM, LTE and transmission sites throughout the country, including 151 4G sites, and is planning to acquire a global licence permitting the operation of 3G and 4G services and fibre-optic infrastructure delivering TV, broadband and fixed telephony networks.
Guinea has been without a fixed telephone network since Sotelgui was declared bankrupt in February 2013, leaving the country reliant on mobile networks owned by international companies. With a view to creating a new legal entity which would take over its assets and activities, former President Alpha Conde issued a decree in September 2017 formally dissolving the company and assuming responsibility for its debts. However, despite a series of announcements in recent years, little progress has been made in reviving the operator.