Africa-Press – Angola. The coverage rate of the digital network (communication network designed to transmit data in digital form) of the rural population in Angola, in the period 2018-2022, increased from 34.0%, in 2017, to 77.3%, in the year ended.
The increase in the rate is due to the commitment of the Telecommunications and Information Technologies sector, triggered within the framework of the National Development Plan (PDN 2018-2022), which has the Development of Telecommunications Infrastructures and Information Technologies as one of the primary objectives.
The document defines the aim of increasing the availability of communication, via the mobile network, to an Angolan population estimated at over 30 million.
Thus, the national digital teledensity rate (index that measures the number of accesses per group of 100 inhabitants) increased from 20.7% in 2017 to 27.2% in 2022, according to data provided by the Development Plan National (PDN).
In addition to these domains, there are other investments in telecommunications, in which the entry into operation of international submarine cables SACS and Monet stands out, the first being the connection between Africa and the Americas, from the South Atlantic.
Also noteworthy is the start-up of the National Electric Radio Spectrum Monitoring Centre, the National Fiber Optic Network, new telecommunications operators, the granting of a 5G license and the construction of the Angosat-2 Satellite.
The expansion, throughout the national territory, of the network of media libraries in Angola, within the scope of massification and digital inclusion, as well as the projects “N’gola digital” and “Angola Online” are other achievements of the Executive to be noted in the period 2018-2022.
In fact, according to official data, Angola’s entry into the digital world began around 30 years ago, with the first telecommunications infrastructures, via satellite and microwave and, at a later stage, via fiber optic cables. .
Currently, and at a time when the 17th of May is celebrated, World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, the country faces heavy challenges, given that investments in various sectors, such as technologies, are seen as essential for the process of modernization and social inclusion.
Construction of Angosat-2
Indeed, the completion of the construction of the Angosat-2 Satellite plays a preponderant role in the Executive’s strategy, whose entry into operation will make satellite communication operators stop paying foreign satellites.
The satellite, built by Information Satellite Systems Reshetnev (ISS Reshetnev), is made up of two modules: the Express 1000 platform and the payload, the latter being the responsibility of Airbus Defense and Space.
With an expected service life of 15 years, ANGOSAT-2, launched into orbit on October 12, 2022, is one of the projects of the National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN), an agency assigned to the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, built following an agreement signed between Angola and Russia in 2009.
According to the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, the Angolan satellite will allow national telecommunications operators and the Government to benefit from bandwidth capabilities, with costs based on national currency, helping to better manage investments and adjust them to the reality of the end user.
Another objective intended with ANGOSAT-2 is to promote and increase business in totally disconnected regions, contributing considerably to reducing the digital divide in Angola and in the African continent in general.
The satellite covers the entire African continent and a significant part of southern Europe, constituting a source of revenue for the State.
Studies indicate that countries, especially African ones, that have invested in space programs reach very satisfactory levels in terms of increasing internet coverage, mobile telephony, and improving administrative and banking services.
Since February this year, the services of ANGOSAT-2, the Angolan communication satellite that operates in geostationary orbit, providing services in the C, KU and KA band, have been commercialised.
On the subject, the general director of the National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN), Zolana João, recently assured that the commercialization of ANGOSAT-2 services ranges from 750 to 900 dollars per megahertz for the C band, for being the average price in the region.
At the launch of the ANGOSAT-2 services, he underlined that market studies were carried out with experienced companies on the African continent, opening a window of the above amounts to be paid in kwanzas, guaranteeing an availability of 99.9%.
cybersecurity
However, at a time when the country is registering advances in Information Systems and Technologies, cybersecurity issues should not fall short of concerns.
It is in this sense that a Cybersecurity Academy will be built, after signing an agreement between the National Institute for the Promotion of the Information Society – INFOSI and ITGEST, LDA – a company incorporated under Angolan law, specialized in Information Systems and Technologies .
The protocol aims to align the terms of the partnership, which both parties intend to establish for the installation of a cybersecurity academy.
With this instrument, the signatories understood to cooperate in the area of education and training, whose theme will be limited to matters related to cybersecurity.
In addition to the academy, the Government plans to create the National Cybersecurity Strategy, aiming to outline the approach of policies that guarantee a safe and resilient cyberspace, as well as establishing the Executive’s vision for the five-year period 2022/2027.
The project also serves to identify and establish cybersecurity actions.
The authorities’ idea is to make Angola a safe country with a society that is aware of cyber security.
The strategy is designed to improve the security, trust and resilience of vital infrastructures and services, ensuring the reduction of cyber crimes, the protection and defense of critical infrastructures and vital information services, as well as enhancing the use free, secure and efficient use of cyberspace by public and private companies and citizens.
Mobile Market and Internet
In another sense, the internet currently represents one of the most used means of communication between people and institutions around the world, including Angola, where close to 23 out of every 100 inhabitants have access to or make use of this tool.
The number of internet subscribers in the country is around 10 million, out of a total of at least 34 million inhabitants.
The demand for internet services in Angola has opened up an attractive market disputed by several providers, with Angola Cable, Angola Telecom, Infrasat, Unitel, Movicel, NetOne, ITA, TS2, Quantis, Businesscom Network and Tikona Digital Networks, Africell, TVCabo and ZAP.
Despite the abundance of providers, the price and quality of the service are still far from satisfying the majority of consumers, who consider it expensive, in addition to the fact that the internet is quite slow, both for downloading content and, sometimes, for accessing to websites.
Regarding prices, providers practice different rates. TVCabo, for example, offers monthly plans for “residential” internet, with rates ranging from Kz 12,450 (1Mb) to Kz 91,150 (20 Mb), whereas Angola Telecom, the first provider on the market, has packages for talking and surfing from Kz 10,260 to 36,786 kwanzas.
As for the internet, data from the Angolan Institute of Communications (INACOM) for 2022 indicate 9.3 million users using the mobile network and 685.7 thousand users of the fixed network, in a market with 12 Internet Providers.
Available data indicate that the mobile communications market grew by 7.3 million subscribers, after the entry into operation of Africell in Angola, in April last year.
Unitel continues to dominate the market, with almost three million users, while Movicel gives way to the new operator Africell.
As is known, the mobile communications sector grew 49% between the third quarter of 2021 and the same period of 2022, from 14.8 million mobile phone users to 22.1 million, growth driven by the start of Africell, bringing to three the number of companies operating in the segment.
The fixed network already has 94 thousand users, with six fixed telephony operators.
In the third quarter of 2022, there was a growth of 7.3 million subscribers, when compared to data from the same period of 2021, given that, in a market where two operators operated, Unitel held 90% of market share and Movicel had 10% – numbers that changed with the entry of Africell.
World Telecommunications and Information Society Day was established because, on May 17, 1865, the International Telegraph Union was created and the first International Telegraph Convention was signed. From 1932 onwards, this entity was renamed the International Telecommunications Union – ITU.
The objectives of the date are to celebrate progress in information technologies and to draw people’s attention to the changes that are taking place in society, with the power of the internet and other forms of telecommunication.
Telecommunication allows the sharing of information worldwide and the approximation of the different peoples of the world, making the world more local and connected.
“Tele” in Greek means “distance”, while “communication” derives from the Latin communicare, which means “to share”, “conference” and “to make common”.
Around the world, commemorations include debates, institutional sessions, exhibitions and special activities for schools.
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