04 November 2024

Telecommunications players in Burkina Faso are seeking to strengthen the sharing of telecoms infrastructure to facilitate their deployment on a national scale.

The Burkinabe government is seeking to generalize access to telecom services. 1,700 dead zones have been identified in the country, 1,000 of which should be covered by 2027. Official figures indicate that mobile phone coverage is at 85%, compared to 64% for 3G Internet and 46% for 4G Internet.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) believes that infrastructure sharing can lower the cost of deploying networks, particularly in rural areas or marginal markets. However, the effectiveness of infrastructure sharing can be undermined by operators’ desire for leadership and the risk of collusion can endanger competition.