5G is seen to have huge economic promise for one of the world’s top five poorest countries
Orange DRC, part of the French-owned Orange group, claims to be the first operator in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to begin testing 5G.
According to wearetech.africa, the Congolese authorities are keen to improve connectivity and see 5G as presenting new economic opportunities as demand for digital services is booming in Africa – especially when 5G is combined with technologies like big data, AI and augmented reality.
Orange DRC did not disclose details about the trials, but noted that the technology would support connections of up to 1Gbps and the lower latency of the 5G would open the door for IoT applications.
Digital divide
In February, Orange DRC launched FTTH service in Gombe with coverage in other municipalities to follow in the next few months.
Fibre packages are available to residential customers with download speeds of 30Mbps, 100Mbps or 200Mbps for $59, $99 or $149 per month respectively.
Business customers can opt for downlink speeds of up to 500Mbps for $350 per month.
The World Bank says that the DRC is about the size of Western Europe and the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. It also one of the five poorest countries in the world: about 62% of Congolese – around 60 million people – lived on less than $2.15 a day.