• Phase I of the PMICE includes data center and 1,200 km fiber backbone

• Project aims to strengthen state digital infrastructure and connectivity

• Authorities frame rollout as step toward digital sovereignty

Chadian authorities announced on December 20 they have completed and provisionally accepted Phase I of the State Connectivity Infrastructure Modernization Project (PMICE). The ceremony, held in the city of Sarh, was chaired by the minister of Telecommunications, Digital Economy, and Administrative Digitalization, Boukar Michel.

Phase 1 of the project carries a total cost of €175.1 million, or about $205.3 million, and marks the completion of a major program described by the government as strategic for the country’s digital development.

Phase I focuses on the rollout of core digital infrastructure for the state. It includes the establishment of a National Data Center, the deployment of a 1,200-kilometer national fiber-optic backbone, and the expansion of the wireless network operated by the public telecom company SOTEL. This last component covers the installation of several dozen GSM, 3G, and 4G sites across different regions of the country.

“The provisional acceptance carried out in Sarh covers all of these infrastructures, which are now considered operational and compliant with the state’s technical and operational requirements,” the ministry said.

Beyond physical infrastructure, the PMICE forms part of a broader strategy focused on digital sovereignty. According to the authorities, state control over fiber-optic networks and data storage capacity represents a key lever to modernize public administration, secure digital exchanges, and improve public governance.

Adoni Conrad Quenum