Botswana’s state-owned infrastructure company, Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNeT), has awarded contracts for the construction of three new fiber-optic backbone links covering around 1,000km in total, as well as two metropolitan rings, MmegiOnline reports. The contracts are estimated to be costing around BWP200 million (USD21.6 million) and were awarded as follows: the 360km Sekoma-Tsabong link will be deployed by Dimension Data; the 325km Sehithwa-Mohembo project was handed to Complant Botswana and Mepi Building Construction; the 362km Maun-Ngoma optical fibre project is being carried out by Four Arrows and Echoes Holdings; the Maun metro ring will be deployed by MMP Construction and Nowaji Services; and the Kasane-Kazungula metro fibre project will be carried out by Business Online.
BoFiNeT was spun off from former monopoly fixed line operator Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) in November 2012 and now owns and operates the country’s nationwide backbone networks, as well as its interests in international cable systems such as Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy) and West African Cable System (WACS).
