(Ecofin Agency) - Senegal’s national telecoms company (Sonatel) reduced, again, its mobile internet rates. The tariff cut which reaches 50% is in line with the second phase of its strategy to support the “Sénégal Numérique 2025” program initiated by the government to fast-track access to efficient and affordable internet.

Last February, the company had cut internet cost by 25% during the first stage of its support strategy.

According to Abdou Karim Mbengue, Head of Sonatel’s institutional communication and external relations, whose comments are reported by the news website senegaldirect, the new cut comes a year before the deadline that government set the operator to do so.

Indeed, government, upon granting 4G license to the company, urged its officials to halve its rates in 2019.

Beside this measure, the company wants as well to fully provide the nation with broadband internet before 2019. In this framework, it wants to add this year another 728 access points for 4G to the 466 points it already has in the country.

This will bring the total of operational access points to 1,194. Sonatel indicated that these improvements aim to rank Senegal in the top 5 best connected African countries.