Hits Telecom Wins Mobile License in Equatorial Guinea

Hits Africa, a subsidiary of Hits Telecom says that it has been selected by the government of Equatorial Guinea as the second national telecommunications operator. Hits Africa is to implement the first converged network which consists of mobile, fixed and data networks that will offer country-wide coverage by the end of 2008.

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Location of Equatorial Guinea

The move will end the current telecommunications monopoly in Equatorial Guinea and comes as a result of the evaluation of over ten applications from international operators by Equatorial Guinea's Ministry of Transport and Communications.

"Hits is dedicated to launching and operating a sophisticated network that will open up new services and categories of telecommunications to Equatorial Guinea," said Hits Vice Chairman Dr. Mohammed Bahabri. "We believe this move will open up the market, create new growth and dynamism in that market and build significant opportunities for the people of the country to gain effective access to today's powerful communication tools and deliver more efficient services to our customer in Africa through converged network."

"Our clear aim is to enhance the communication infrastructure by investing in a state of the art technology, to increase access to communication to the people of Equatorial Guinea and to create hundreds of jobs" said Talaat El Lahham, CEO of Hits Africa.

Hits Africa will implement a GSM 2.5 / 3G capable mobile network in Equatorial Guinea covering both the mainland and Bioko Island. An international gateway will open competitive global telecommunications access for the country, while a national WiMax network will also be implemented to provide fixed-wireless services including voice and broadband data access.

According to figures from the Mobile World analysts, Equatorial Guinea's monopoly operator ended last year with some 220,000 subscribers - representing a population penetration level of just under 40%.

Posted to the site on 24th March 2008