New fibre corridor to link Namibia and Botswana

Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) of Namibia and Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet) have signed an agreement aimed at enhancing cross-border connectivity and collaboration between the two nations.

The partnership poised to enhance digital infrastructure in Southern African was formalised yesterday in Gaborone.

The agreement represents the shared vision for regional digital infrastructure transformation, and it is vital to trade facilitation, driving industrialization, and overall socio-economic development between the two countries and SADC region at large.

Through the agreement, the two parties will establish a structured framework for cross-border fibre interconnection, capacity exchange, and IP transit collaboration between Namibia and Botswana. Furthermore, it will support the critical essential route (Buitepos–Ngoma corridor) to enhance resilience and optimize latency across both nations' digital networks. MTC’s MD, Dr. Licky Erastus, said the agreement aligns with one of MTC's strategic pillars that prioritises regional connectivity expansion and the development of a robust digital corridor.

“This partnership provides the framework guiding our transformation. It aligns with our strategic pillar of expanding our core and building the future through digital infrastructure leadership and ecosystem partnerships, specifically under regional connectivity, international wholesale growth and digital corridor development”.

“The Buitepos–Ngoma corridor is not a mere physical interconnect point. It is a route key to our international expansion strategy - providing an operational entry point into the Botswana wholesale ecosystem while reinforcing Namibia’s position as a transit and digital gateway market”, he added.

BoFiNet Acting CEO, Mr. Keabetswe Segole, reaffirmed BoFiNet’s commitment to deepening

practical, infrastructure-led collaboration between Botswana and Namibia.

“Both institutions share a responsibility to reduce administrative red tape that often delays infrastructure activation and commercial realization. We must ensure that technical integration and wholesale arrangements are implemented efficiently, in the mutual interest of both operators and the two countries. This engagement is not merely institutional, but strategic at a national level, contributing to regional digital resilience and strengthening long-standing bilateral relations between Botswana and Namibia."