Africa Launch the first 5G network

French telecom group Orange launched Africa's first 5G network in Botswana on Friday(IT Home-November 12). The Orange's 5G network will cover 30 percent of the country's population, including those living in the two largest cities, Gaborone and Francistown, according to the report. The company said its coverage will be expanded to other cities early next year.

It is worth mentioning that although most Chinese users have already enjoyed the convenience brought by 5G, and 5G phones are becoming more and more expensive and cheaper, most Africans still cannot afford it.

So Orange is more focused on 5G itself than providing convenience to users. After all, Africa has a low population density, and it is not economic to deploy infrastructure such as optical fiber and base stations there."For us, the main usage scenario is fixed wireless access, which means (users) can access to the Internet at home," said Orange, CEO of Botswana.

IT Home learned that Orange now operates in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East, accounting for more than 60% of its mobile customers, with revenue of 6.4 billion euros (46.912 billion yuan), which has more than 44 million 4G users.

Orange Middle East and Africa chief Executive Jerome Enrique said the company aims to launch a 5G network in about six countries in 2023, most likely starting in Jordan."We have reached an agreement with the government on the conditions for the introduction of 5G in Jordan. Ivory Coast and Senegal will most likely follow suit, but we are still discussing regulatory conditions.”