In South Sudan, more than 70% of the population does not use mobile telephone services. MTN wants to leverage space technology to bring telecom services to all communities in the country, including those living in rural areas.

MTN Group will rely on the capabilities of the satellite operator Intelsat to better extend the coverage of its network and its services throughout the territory of South Sudan, including in remote rural areas. A partnership agreement signed to this effect by both parties was unveiled on Wednesday 9 November.

Under this partnership, MTN South Sudan will use Intelsat’s expertise and advanced connectivity infrastructure to diversify its offerings, improve application performance, among others.

The partnership is part of “  MTN’s ambition to better serve its customers and provide coverage across South Sudan  ”, according to Chisanga Kaziya, Technical and Information Director of MTN South Sudan. In December 2021, the company had signed a partnership agreement with the Canadian company NuRAN Wireless for the deployment of 250 telecom sites to extend its presence, particularly in rural areas.

According to the “Digital 2022: Global Overview Report” by Hootsuite and We Are Social, South Sudan has a mobile penetration rate of 28.4% compared to a penetration rate of 19.9% ​​for the Internet. The strong market potential offers ample room for maneuver both in the voice and data segments and in Mobile Money for MTN, which competes with Zain. The company also announced in December 2021 an investment of 120 million USD over three years.

Source: Agence Ecofin