Mali - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Mali - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Mali slowly improves internet connectivity One of the key difficulties for fixed-line internet services to develop in Mali relates to the considerable distances from the country’s borders to the landing stations of the regional submarine cables. This consideration, along with the relatively low bandwidth capacity, has contributed to the high cost of access to internet services. Indeed, the country came in at 187th of 2011 countries in a recent comparison of the average monthly cost of a broadband service. In 2020, the regulator commissioned a report aimed at addressing these issues, hoping to reduce the wholesale price of bandwidth to a level closer to costs. It developed a program of measures, including the creation of a virtual landing point to increase international bandwidth, unbundling the copper and fibre access network, facilitating civil engineering required for additional terrestrial cabling, and setting up a monitoring system for wholesale and retail tariffs (aimed at bringing the two closer together). Fixed broadband subscriptions are provided via a variety of platforms, including DSL, fibre, WiFi, WiMAX, and fixed-wireless (based on 3G and LTE). The number of subscriptions increased 71% in 2020 (to 243,806), though the sector still accounted for only 2.5% of all broadband connections. In common with most markets in this region, broadband access is dominated by the mobile platforms. DSL accounted for less than 10% of all fixed broadband connections . Almost four-fifths of all DSL connections are in the capital, Bamako. The small fibre broadband sector has grown rapidly though it accounts for only a small fraction of fixed connections. The national carrier Sotelma is the principal provider: the company reported a 2.7% increase in the number of fixed broadband subscribers in 2020, year-on-year, and a 4% increase in 2021. Some progress is being made with improving international connectivity, including Mali being tapped into the National Fibre Optic Backbone Project (the PBNT) of neighbouring Burkina Faso. This network also provides Mali with interconnection to Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Niger.