Telma launches commercial 5G in Madagascar

Telma Madagascar has become the first operator to launch a 5G commercial network in the island country in the Indian Ocean. The 5G network is powered by Ericsson equipment and is now live in Madagascar's capital of Antananarivo and the city of Toamasina.

"5G will transform how we use and adopt technology and will have a huge impact on businesses and society in Madagascar," said Telma Madagascar CEO, Patrick Pisal-Hamida, about the launch.

"We are very proud to be among the first countries in the world to roll out this technology. It's a new step ahead for Madagascar as one of the leading ICT countries in the Indian Ocean and Africa."

5G is suddenly ramping up in Africa as operator MTN on Tuesday announced it had rolled out 5G at 100 sites across South Africa. Vodacom also launched 5G in three cities in South Africa in May.

Telma believes that the two key 5G use cases for the Madagascar market will be enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA).

"It will bring high speed, ultra-low latency and highly secure connectivity to a massive number of devices and is a technology that will unlock a vast array of new use cases through Telma's next-generation network," Pisal-Hamida added.

Telma is a leading operator in the Indian Ocean area with 5 million subscribers in Madagascar and 200,000 in Comoros.

Telma Madagascar's CEO, Patrick Pisal-Hamida, and Fadi Pharaon, president, Ericsson Middle East and Africa

Ericsson was selected by Telma in October 2019 to upgrade its core and radio network in Madagascar building on the two companies' existing 5G partnership.

Telma has activated the 5G network on 3.6-3.7GHz spectrum bands using the latest radio access and transport products from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio.

"5G will accelerate the digital transformation of all society sectors as well as industries in the country, enabling new opportunities and applications in areas such as healthcare, education, energy services and agriculture. We look forward to driving joint innovations with Telma, bringing our industry-leading technology in support of Madagascar's connectivity vision and our commitment to Africa," said Fadi Pharaon, president of Ericsson Middle East and Africa.

With Telma's launch, Ericsson currently has 41 live 5G networks in 24 countries. Ericsson's live networks are part of 95 commercial 5G agreements or contracts, of which 55 are publicly announced 5G deals.