Congolese mobile operator Congo Telecom will benefit from technical support from Spanish firm Applus specializing in testing, inspection and certification, to launch its 5G service. Matt Stead, Applus’ Africa Business and Development Director, while meeting on July 16 the Congolese Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Léon Juste Ibombo, expressed the firm’s desire to collaborate with the incumbent operator Congo Telecom to make it more competitive. In a highly competitive market context, Congo Telecom is far behind other mobile operators which have invested over the years in an increasingly dense network and developed innovative and customized service offerings. There is therefore a need for the public telecom company to upgrade technological means and establish new services, and this is exactly what Applus is committed to provide. “Investments in telecommunications sector in Congo are astronomical and the State needs credible companies to help implement the digital economy ecosystem. This firm (ed: Applus) will help our incumbent operator, Congo Telecom, implement 5G service,” said the minister. According to Matt Stead, the Congolese telecommunications sector still has a huge untapped potential. “We will cooperate with experts from the Post and Telecommunications Department to target priority areas of intervention,” he said.