Togo Telecom Chooses Xtera For Fibre Network

Togo Telecom has contracted Xtera Communications, a global provider of optical and IP networking solutions, to deploy a high capacity fibre-optic network across Togo. Phase I of the work was completed in January 2010. When completed, the deployment will migrate the current Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) long-distance domestic network to a new optical layer relying on advanced broadband optical amplification technology for higher capacity, providing enhanced network resilience and availability. The new network will also create a high-capacity, reliable backhaul system, connecting landlocked countries in the west sub-Saharan area to international submarine cable systems via Togo Telecom's cable landing station, which is part of the West African Cable System (WACS).

'Togo Telecom's advanced nationwide optical network combined with the WACS infrastructure will offer landlocked countries in the sub-region and Togo access to the rest of the world,' said Sam Bikassam, general manager of Togo Telecom. 'This will free landlocked countries from the exclusive use of microwave radio systems and satellite connectivity for international communications, enabling them to offer more reliable, higher capacity broadband services to their residential and business customers' he added.

Etisalat Hits 100 Million Mark

UAE-based telecoms operator Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has revealed that its subscriber base has exceeded 100 million customers across 18 markets in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, covering two billion people. The announcement follows Etisalat’s acquisition of the remaining 18% of its West African venture Atlantique Telecom (AT) it did not already own for USD75 million earlier this month.

Etisalat operates AT as part of a ten-year management contract ending in 2015; the company holds majority stakes in seven operators in Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Togo, and Central Africa Republic. At the same time, the UAE incumbent revealed it had filed an application with the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in December 2009 to obtain approval to raise its 45% stake in its Indian subsidiary Etisalat DB to 50% plus one share. The company has said it is targeting majority stakes in its subsidiaries and associates for greater operational and financial synergy.

Togo: Moov Back On Air

Togolese m­obile network operator, Moov has resumed services after being suspended by the regulator last August for non-payment of license fees. The operator has signed an agreement with the Telecommunications Regulation Authority (ARPT) to pay license renewal fees of CFA 25.75 billion (US$48 million) over a twelve year period.

Some 600,000 people lost their mobile phone service as a result of the network closure. During the shut-down, a large number of subscribers moved over to the state-owned operator, Togocel.

When the network was shut-down, there was widespread protests against the move. The local Daily Guide newspaper reported at the time that protesters chanted slogans and carried placards, some of which read "MOOV Forever And Ever" and "Prez. Faure Get Our Phone Connections Back".

Moov is a subsidiary of Atlantique Telecom.

The dominant telco is the state owned Togo Cellular, with around 1.25 million customers. France Telecom's Orange seems to have an operating license but has not started services yet.