• One of Africa’s largest telecom groups, Orange, has launched its first commercial 5G network on the continent.
• Orange’s 5G comes to Botswana through and will be available in the greater Gabarone region and Francistown.
• SMEs and residential customers can purchase 5G data bundles or subscriptions from BWP 699.

One of Africa’s largest telecommunication companies, the Orange Group, has selected Botswana to host its first 5G network on the continent through its Orange Botswana subsidiary.

The 5G network will be available in greater Gaborone and Francistown, reportedly covering 30 percent of the population from the 11th November 2022. The telecom says that other cities in the Southern African country will follow in early 2023.

According to a press release sent to Hypertext, the launch of the 5G network follows the launch of Botswana’s first Orange Digital Center, which the group hopes will “help bridge the digital divide and prepare Botswana youth for employment in a blossoming digital ecosystem.”

“5G, with its ultra-high speed and low latency, will support new disruptive services such as e-health, connected vehicles, connected cities, real-time gaming, smart homes and learning through VR and augmented reality,” says Orange.

To this end, Orange Bostwana has already partnered with MRI Botswana to create a “Connected Ambulance” project that will allow Doctors to guide Paramedics through life-saving procedures on their way to hospitals.

The group says that this telemedicine intervention is expected to save lives and would not have been possible without 5G. Orange Botswana says it is looking forward to collaborating with the country’s government and enterprises to implement more 5G-based use cases.

“At Orange Botswana, we are excited to be bringing in a new technology that will allow economic players to discover new possibilities enabled by 5G and the way it could positively transform their daily activities,” says Nene Maiga, CEO of Orange Botswana.

The telecom is still seeking to launch 5G services in its other African homes, but the regulation boards in these countries have yet to officially initiate the 5G licenses attribution process.

However, countries such as in Cote d’Ivoire showed a clear interest to make the 5G spectrum available in 2023.

In the meantime, the telecom says it is collaborating with “several regulatory bodies” to design a 5G deployment roadmap while testing the technology and establishing practical uses for 5G that will benefit Africans the most.

“The launch of 5G technology in Botswana will allow us to scale-up this technology and gain experience for other Orange countries across Africa,” adds Jerôme Henique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa.

Orange Botswana has launched new 5G fixed broadband services and mobile data bundles for residential customers, and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in covered areas.

The fixed offers are available from 15Mbps for Prepaid and from 20Mbps for postpaid with a monthly rental from BWP 699 (~R916). Its fastest offering is a 40Mbps subscription for BWP 2399 (~R3 138) per month.

Orange says the subscription of Prepaid offers is accessible through Orange Yame App, USSD and Card to Wallet.