Orange Botswana, has announced the launch of its commercial 5G network in Botswana. The company has become the first Orange affiliate in Africa to launch 5G commercially.
The company reports that, the 5G network will be available in greater Gaborone and Francistown, covering 30% of the population from the 11th November 2022. Other cities will follow in early 2023. According to Orange, the 5G network will enable new health, education and security services will also be used to launch other services including connected vehicles, connected cities, real-time gaming, smart homes, and learning through VR and augmented reality.
It follows the launch of Botswana’s first Orange Digital Centre this morning, which will help bridge the digital divide and prepare Batswana youth for employment in a blossoming digital ecosystem. This 5G launch will further support innovation and digital inclusion in the country, putting Botswana at the forefront of 5G in Africa and is closely aligned with the government’s ambition to leverage Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) innovation towards transforming Botswana into a knowledge-based economy, leaving no-one behind.
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. It offers a new world of possibilities to companies, innovators and society at large. Orange Botswana has also gone into partnership 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. This telemedicine intervention will change lives and would not have been possible without 5G. Orange Botswana is looking forward to collaborating with government and enterprises to implement 5G-based use cases.
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Commenting on the launch, Orange Botswana CEO Nene Maiga said, “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. 5G connectivity is an incredible opportunity for businesses and the government, who are eager to take their operations to the next level. It is going to change how customers experience connectivity.”
Orange Botswana also unveiled new 5G fixed broadband services and mobile data bundles for residential customers and small and medium enterprises. The fixed offers will be available from 15Mbps for prepaid and 20Mbps for postpaid with a monthly rental from P699.00.
After this very first commercial launch of its 5G services in Botswana, Orange Middle East and Africa intends to maintain its efforts in getting the latest and most advanced technologies in all its MEA countries adding value to local economies and continuously bridging the digital gap within the African populations.
Also commenting, Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, says: “The launch of 5G technology in Botswana will allow us to scale-up this technology and gain experience for other Orange countries across Africa. The benefits and potential impact of this are promising. It will help promote Africa’s digital inclusion, resulting in socio-economic growth and job creation. It is also ensuring Africa’s skills development on digital management tools and is in line with the ambitions of the African Union “Digital Transformation for Africa (2022 – 2030)”. It begins here and now, in Botswana.” The launch of the 5G network will help bridge the digital divide and prepare Botswana youth for employment in a blossoming digital ecosystem.
