China Telecom Global (CTG), the wholly-owned international business subsidiary of China Telecom, has won a contract to build a 428km national optical network in Malawi.
The deal involves fiber network construction for the Malawi Virtual Landing Point for a regional ring connecting Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia, with a link to five subsea cable networks.
The network is being constructed by Wananchi Group, east Africa's largest telecom operator, via its corporate business arm SimbaNET.
SimbaNET is undertaking a World Bank funded project to build a fiber network between Malawian capital Lilongwe and neighboring countries. The project is known as the Regional Communication Infrastructure Programme Malawi.
CTG provides integrated communications services to multinational businesses, telecom operators and overseas Chinese consumers. The company has been pursuing an expansion in Africa over the past three years and is now an established service provider in over 10 countries in the region.
“We choose to build and own our fiber networks in Africa wherever possible, and we trust CTG to help us cross the massive distances found in this continent,” Wananchi Group CEO Richard Alden said.