Angola’s government has appointed a consortium headed by asset manager Gemcorp to upgrade, manage and operate the national transmission network of state-owned fixed provider Angola Telecom.
As reported by Agence Ecofin, the consortium will oversee both nationwide backbone infrastructure and metro fibre-optic networks, among other operations. The 15-year partnership is expected to be made official with the award of a US$188.8 million service contract to Gemcorp.
The Angolan government has stated that the deal will allow other communications providers in the market “to benefit from access to a robust and redundant national coverage network, and to offer their subscribers quality services at competitive prices.” It expects this to boost growth in Angola’s digital economy, thereby increasing socio-economic development.
TeleGeography reports that the agreement is part of the Angolan state’s drive to “make the public business sector more dynamic and profitable” by developing AT’s wholesale operations. This initiative began on 14th September 2021 following Presidential Order No. 99/21 signed on 17th June. While the ‘sub-concession’ was due to be awarded before the end of 2021, the process was eventually delayed by a year.
