{"id":65568,"date":"2025-03-18T07:02:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T07:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa"},"modified":"2025-04-19T19:08:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T19:08:29","slug":"costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa","title":{"rendered":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to being costly, unreliable internet connectivity and access disparities between urban and rural areas have held the country back across the economy.<\/b><\/p>\n

The high cost of internet access and persistent connectivity issues continue to hinder economic growth, education and government services in Botswana, the Minister for State President, Moeti Mohwasa, said this week.<\/p>\n

Speaking at an event hosted by digital transformation group and authorised reseller of Starlink for enterprise markets, T-Connect, Mohwasa underscored the urgent need for affordable and stable internet across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternet is no longer a luxury; it is the backbone of economies,\u201d he said. \u201cFor too long, unreliable internet access has hindered businesses, slowed innovation, and widened the gap between rural and urban communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Challenging period<\/p>\n

The minister noted that despite growing demand, internet access in Botswana remains expensive for both businesses and individuals. While the problem is even more pronounced in rural areas, inconsistent speeds frequently disrupt operations everywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is also a problem of unequal access to internet connectivity, and it has disturbed opportunities between those in urban and rural areas,\u201d Mohwasa said.<\/p>\n

The minister\u2019s remarks come in a challenging period for the local telecommunications sector.<\/p>\n

Internet subscriptions down<\/p>\n

According to Statistics Botswana\u2019s latest Transport and Infrastructure Stats Brief for the third quarter of 2024, total internet subscriptions \u2013 comprising mobile and fixed internet services \u2013 declined by 3.5 percent.<\/p>\n

The report attributes this decline to a 4.0 percent drop in mobile internet subscriptions, which fell from 3,047,654 in the third quarter of 2023 to 2,927,018 in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

In contrast, fixed internet subscriptions saw a 6.1 percent increase, rising from 155,034 in Q3 2023 to 164,423 in Q4 2023.<\/p>\n

Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, total internet subscriptions in Q4 2023 increased by 3.8 percent, with mobile internet growing by 2.9 percent and fixed internet by 23.7 percent.<\/p>\n

Education and healthcare<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, Mohwasa described the introduction of Starlink through T-Connect as a \u201cgame changer\u201d for Botswana\u2019s connectivity challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike traditional internet services, Starlink\u2019s high speed offers practical solutions to many of the challenges that the country faces, some of which include transforming education and enhancing healthcare services,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Botswana the primary market<\/p>\n

T-Connect, which launched in Botswana as its primary market, aims to provide high-speed satellite internet tailored to businesses across Africa. The company\u2019s expansion seeks to address connectivity gaps that have long plagued the region.<\/p>\n

As Botswana navigates its digital transformation, Mohwasa emphasised that improved internet infrastructure is critical for fostering innovation, economic growth, and social equity.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, unreliable internet access has hindered businesses, slowed innovation, and widened the gap between rural and urban communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to being costly, unreliable internet connectivity and access disparities between urban and rural areas have held the country back across the economy. The high cost of internet access and persistent connectivity issues continue to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":65567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-65568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nCostly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-18T07:02:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-19T19:08:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-18T07:02:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-19T19:08:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\"},\"wordCount\":469,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\",\"name\":\"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa - Botswana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-18T07:02:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-19T19:08:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg\",\"width\":1152,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/\",\"name\":\"Botswana\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa - Botswana","description":"Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa","og_description":"Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa","og_site_name":"Botswana","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-03-18T07:02:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-19T19:08:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1152,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa","datePublished":"2025-03-18T07:02:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-19T19:08:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa"},"wordCount":469,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg","keywords":["Botswana"],"articleSection":["all news","economy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa","name":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa - Botswana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-18T07:02:23+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-19T19:08:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Speaking at an event to mark the introduction of Starlink to Botswana recently, Minister Mohwasa said in addition to ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2025\/03\/sm_1742269603.115066.jpg","width":1152,"height":630,"caption":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/costly-unreliable-internet-holds-botswana-back-mohwasa#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Costly, Unreliable Internet Holds Botswana Back \u2013 Mohwasa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/","name":"Botswana","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}