Network upgrade brings challenges

TELECOMS

By John Churu, Gaborone, Botswana

Mascom, one of Botswana’s premier mobile network service providers, is currently undergoing a network upgrade and this seems to be tampering with the quality of service.

In a statement to the media, Mascom said; “We wish to inform its valued customers and the general public that due to the ongoing network upgrade we are experiencing quality of service challenges.”  

According to the company, Mascom is undertaking a network upgrade project that will raise 2.5G capacity by 50%. This will translate to increased capacity for about 80% of the population. “This increased capacity will enhance voice services to higher performance rates and it will lower latency for EDGE based services.”

“We are further currently increasing our 3.5G coverage and capacity by more than 100%. This introduces the fastest data speed at 21 Megabits per seconds from the previous 7.2 Megabits per second. The 3.5G capacity is covering 14 urban centers including Gaborone and Francistown. Ultimately, the target is to have 80% of the population covered by 3.5G,” said Mascom. 

“We wish to reassure our valued customers and stakeholders that we are working 24 hours to normalize the situation to ensure as minimal inconvenience to you. We highly value your continued support and are indeed Number 1 because of you.”