Chad is finally inching closer to getting its first-ever fibre-optic connection. This comes after the Company Sitcom-Chad, and Cameroonian national operator Camtel signed a fibre-optic interconnection agreement.
Under the agreement, Chad will connect to the rest of the world’s fibre-optic network, with Sitcom and Camtel providing back-up services to one another on their fibre routes from North to South, just to ensure network availability and uptime by both service providers.
Mr. David Nkoto, DG of Camtel, said, “Camtel assisted Chad in inaugurating the Chadian National Fiber Network in March 2012 and we are now happy to work with SITCOM as a partner to extend the Fiber Services to customers and end users.”
Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Ataoula Haq, the DG of SITCOM said, “Our agreement with Camtel has paved the way for fibre-optic services and high-speed Internet connectivity in Chad. It has also commercialised the much awaited broadband access that many have been waiting for.”
Sitcom is a private-public company that was formed in June 2012 for the exploitation and operation of the Chadian national fibre-optic network. Since its formation, it has signed agreements with multiple customers and is currently providing service to three Internet Service Providers licensed by OTRT, Chad’s Telecommunications regulatory body.
Camtel on the other hand is a government owned national operator in Cameroon, with a 3000-kilometre fibre-optic network from Douala to Yaounde and to the north of Cameroon.
The partnership is expected to boost Chad’s Internet penetration considering it has one of the lowest Internet penetrations in Africa. As of December 2011, only 1.8 percent of its population of 10.7 million people had access to the Net.
