Senegal’s telecom regulatory authority wants 4G to become a reality in the country by Q1 2016. To this end, it fixed next January 18, 2016, as the deadline for the submission of tenders by all the operators interested in acquiring the licence.

During last week’s seminar on training and networking with Réseau des Journalistes en Technologie de l’Information et de la Communication (REJOTIC), Abdou Karim Sall, director general of Senegal’s telecom regulator, said 4G would boost the growth of the economy.

At the moment, no minimal financial estimation has been provided by the regulator regarding the acquisition of 4G licence. The same does not stand for the list of potential applicants which is known. The technology is to cover at least 65% of Senegal’s population by 2021 and 85% by 2026. Dakar and other regional capitals are also to be covered under a five-year period. As for all nine main axes of the country, they shall be covered under a 10-year period.

“In 2014, the telecommunication industry represented 10% of GDP. It is one of the most dynamic sectors of the tertiary and subsequently, it is one of the economy’s major, growing, sectors, based on the mobile market and services”, said Abdou Karim Sall. With 4G, the sector will become as twice as dynamic as it is currently. Technology will drive development in other weak industries such as e-commerce, added value services, contents, etc.