PROJECT # 0014

Malawi National Fibre Backbone Phase II and Last Mile Rural Connectivity

The first phase of the National Fibre Backbone Project was completed in early 2018, connecting the country’s 28 districts via a 1,230 km fibre-optic cable network. It included fibre routes from Mapanga to Chiradzulu and Zomba to Liwonde. The fibre-optic cables were deployed by Huawei Technologies on power transmission lines owned by the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM). Phase Two is again being implemented by Huawei Technologies and will include the rollout of up to 3,000 km of fibre-optic cable from the northern border to the south of the country, and the construction of a national data centre. The project seeks to improve nationwide connectivity through the rollout of broadband services to connect government ministries, departments and agencies, as well as over 100,000 companies and households. The Last Mile Rural Connectivity Project aims at providing mobile phone telecommunication services and internet connectivity to un-served rural areas, with the erection of 136 towers, of which 28 have been constructed and 17 are operational. Managed by the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA), the towers will be used by all mobile phone operators in the country.