Sudan to soon launch 4G wireless service: official
May 17, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Minister of Science and Telecommunications Tahani Abdullah announced that the country’s telecom companies will launch Fourth Generation (4G) wireless service in the coming three months.
However she gave no details on the coverage and whether this service will be provided by all carriers.
4G upgrade is expected to provide comprehensive and secure solutions for voice, data and multimedia streaming services to users on the basis of “anytime, anywhere” concept and at a much higher speed than is currently available.
Internet users in Sudan often complain of mediocre speeds particularly in recent months despite relatively high cost of subscription charged by the four Telecom providers.
The minister, at a telecommunications symposium held on Sunday evening at Rashid Diab Center in Khartoum, called for the responsible and positive use of smart phone applications.
She disclosed that the telecom industry contributed to the national income by more than 10%.
“The entire Sudan will be covered by the Internet and computer services through e-government and other services. The telecommunications sector will contribute to the national income by 10%,” Abdullah said.
“Sudan will turn into a smart world,” she added.
Zain Telecom’s managing director El-Fatih Erwa for his part urged the government to work seriously on removing obstacles and allow public liberties.
Erwa accused Darfur rebels of destroying networks and communication towers, stressing that the security situation in the region degrades telecom quality there.
He noted that customer service complaints are focused on Internet service and not voice calls, adding that they invested $200 million to improve the network.
The former diplomat and intelligence official revealed that Zain wanted to roll out 4G service on a trial basis but that the government prevented them from doing so.
(ST)