Minister of ICT, Alhaji Kargbo, presented the agreement to Sierra Leone’s parliament pointing out that it would complement the government’s “rebranding” of the country to bring in investors, according to local publication Awareness Times.
The agreement was approved by all sides of the parliament and could break the wireline monopoly that Sierratel has held since 1995.
Sierra Leone is set to connect to the 17,000km Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable system, which runs along the continent’s west coast. The link will be the country’s first fibre-optic connection to the outside world.
According to some reports, the country received a $15 million donation from China to complete the connection, which could indicate that a Chinese carrier would be interested in Sierratel.
