(Ecofin Agency) - The Botswana government is looking into international cooperation to achieve its digital transformation goals. Recently, its telecom regulator signed a cooperation agreement with the Mozambican counterpart.

Botswana aims to establish cooperation agreements with Angola in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as reported by the Angolan Press Agency (ANGOP). Thulagano Segokgo (photo), Botswana’s Minister of Transport and Communications, revealed this intention during a meeting with his Angolan counterpart, Mário Augusto da Silveira Oliveira.

One of Botswana's key objectives is to interconnect with Angola through a terrestrial fiber optic line. Additionally, Botswana has expressed interest in utilizing Angola's AngoSat-2 telecom satellite services.

This initiative aligns with Botswana's National Broadband Strategy (NBS), launched in 2018 by the government to realize its digital transformation aspirations. The NBS aims to connect every citizen, business, and community with high-quality, affordable broadband connectivity. In 2022, the government launched the SmartBots project, aimed at providing Internet access to 500 villages across the country.

If negotiations are successful, the fiber optic interconnection and utilization of AngoSat-2 satellite capacity could accelerate the adoption of mobile services in Botswana, which counts 4.2 million mobile subscribers and 2.6 million high-speed Internet subscribers per figures from the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA).

Isaac K. Kassouwi