Botswana launches 4G mobile technologyBy XINHUA | Wednesday, June 13  2012 at  12:01

Botswana has become the latest marketplace for high end internet devices following the launch of a new mobile technology, the 4th Generation Long term Evolution (4G LTE), by the country's leading mobile operator Mascom.

"4G LTE is simply life changing for all of us and we are proud to be leading the market in that regard," said Ricardo Luz, Mascom's chief operating officer in a press briefing on Tuesday.

"As market leaders, we do not only sit down and enjoy the revenue from the market but we always strive to be at the cutting edge on innovation," he added.

Mascom launched 4G LTE pilot project ahead of its competitors in the country. The development comes after MTC of Namibia became the first operator in Africa to commercially roll-out 4G LTE in May 2012.

Mascom 4GLTE with maximum speed of 100 megabytes per second is expected to transform Botswana's mobile broadband internet landscape putting the internet penetration in the country at a very high level.

Apart from increasing speed and ensuring less latency (time consumed before a request returns to sender) the development is also expected to attract new devices, laptops, phones, internet dongles and new IP based services in the high end into Botswana's market.

Commenting on the development, Mascom chief executive officer Jose Veira Couceirio said Botswana remains part of the fast evolving technology world.

"Mascom remains convinced that ICT and internet use presents great possibilities to Botswana. We believe that ICT provides a golden opportunity for Botswana to generate income, combat hunger, ill health and most important enhance literacy," he said.