MAP > Internet Providers in Burundi

Given the high population density and low penetration levels across all the telecom sectors, this country has among the highly attractive telecom markets in the African continent for the investors. Nonetheless, the investor’s reticence has been evident given country’s low economic output as well as the fact that outside major town areas fixed line infrastructure remain poor. To be able to overcome such difficulties, government, supported by World Bank, has gone on to back the joint venture with the number of the prominent telco’s to construct the national fiber backbone network, providing the onward connectivity to the submarine cable system landings in Tanzania and Kenya.

First sections of the network got to be switched on in early 2014, and the additional provinces have since then been connected. Also, the government in early 2018, kick-started Burundi broadband project, that aims to be able to deliver the national connectivity by the year 2025. International bandwidth expanded fivefold between the year 2014 and at the end of the year 2017, hence resulting in the lower retail prices for the consumers. There have been efforts to be able to encourage country ISPSs to join national IXP in the bid to cannel the internet traffic locally and hence to reduce the cost of offering utility to the end users.

Two of mobile operators have gone on and launched the 3G and the LTE mobile services to be able to capitalize on developing demand for internet access. A number of the mobile subscribers has grown rapidly for the numerous years, and though this has slowed down in the year 2016, there have been about 6 million subscribers. The mobile penetration at the half has remained low by the regional standards, suggesting the considerable room for extra growth.

The new player, the Viettel Group, has received the license to offer mobile services in early 2014, hence launched the 3G and 2G services in the year 2015 and the LTE services in the year 2016 on February. It has developed and become a leading player in this country as a very extensive fiber backhaul network that it can use to offer the fixed line services.

Long established plans to be able to privatize national telco Onatel, that also operate one of the mobile networks that have been delayed on various times, but government since the year 2013. Some of the companies mentioned in this report include Millenium Finance; Linkstone Capital, Renaissance Capital; BNP Paribas,  Econet Wireless Burundi (Spacetel), VTEL Holdings (Tempo, Africell Safaris), U-Com.