Gambian incumbent telco Gamtel and its counterpart in Senegal, Sonatel, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase Gambia’s international network capacity and go ahead with other moves to increase connectivity and reduce mobile roaming charges between the two countries, reports Gambian newspaper The Point, quoting a press release from the country’s Department of State for Communications, Information and Information Technology (DOSCIT). Under the MoU, Sonatel has agreed to increase Gambia’s internet capacity from 34Mbps to 68Mbps by the end of this month and to double the bandwidth to STM-1 capacity by the end of the year. The cost of the bandwidth has also been negotiated, with a discount of 28% given to Gamtel. In addition, plans were laid down for a new microwave link to be installed within three months time to connect Banjul and Kaolack, and a fibre-optic cable extension to Dakar for enhancement of Gamtel’s network, which would also serve as a back-up to the South Bank fibre-optic network. Gamtel and Sonatel also agreed to reduce the charges for mobile roaming by 50% between their respective GSM networks, Gamcel and Orange Senegal.

Original Source: TeleGeography CommsUpdate