Commercial Executive’s Foreword

I am delighted to share with you our third issue of Bits & Bytes newsletter, which highlights some of the key initiatives and milestones we have achieved as a company in recent months. As we continue to navigate these unprecedented and yet exciting times, I am pleased to say that our team remains focused on achieving our strategic objectives and delivering exceptional value to our customers and stakeholders.

One of our core values is “being in connection”, and we have made some progress in being in connection with our customers as they are the centre of what we do.

We are committed to providing our customers with the highest level of service and support. By engaging with our customers regularly and listening to their feedback, we will continually improve and tailor our offerings to meet their evolving needs. Our recently completed customer satisfaction survey has given us the opportunity to look into the mirror, identify performance gaps, and measure how our business model is fulfilling stakeholder and customer needs. Moving forward into the 2023/24 financial year, we will surely reflect on the feedback provided to enhance operations, customer experience, stakeholder engagement and align strategic initiatives.

We also recognise that in order to be competitive at global level, the quality of our products and services must be world-class. That is why we have made significant investments in improving our network infrastructure, digitalising operations and continue upskilling our workforce. This will allow us to consistently deliver superior results and stay ahead of the curve in our industry as the premier wholesale provider of connectivity.

Lastly, we are dedicated to educating the market and public about what we do and about internet connectivity, usage, safety and other Information and Communication Technology (ICT) topics. We believe that knowledge-sharing is essential for fostering growth, innovation, and broadband uptake, which is why we have made it a priority to engage with our stakeholders through various channels. By hosting industry events to contributing to thought leadership pieces, radio, and social media campaigns, we are committed to raising awareness and driving positive change.

In conclusion, I am extremely proud of our team’s work and dedication to offering quality service and education to our customers and stakeholders. As we move forward, we will continue to build upon what we have achieved together and pursue excellence in all that we do. We thank you for your trust in our company and remain dedicated to delivering exceptional value and service.

BOFINET’S FOOTPRINTS IN THE LAST NINE (9) YEARS

Since its formation in 2013, BoFiNet has been making strides in its mandate to provide and operate the telecommunications backbone network infrastructure that drives connectivity in Botswana. On the eve of its tenth anniversary, which falls in October this year, the company’s Technical Executive, Mr Mpho Koolese, reflects on some of the major achievements of the last nine (9) years, as well as what is in the pipeline for the future.

“BoFiNet remains the backbone that makes it possible for Internet Service Providers and Public Telephony Operators in Botswana to provide voice and data services to end-users. We own and operate two (2) types of ICT infrastructure in the country; an intricate fibre network that runs nearly 12,000km across the length and breadth of Botswana, as well as transmission towers for wireless services. We operate over 150 transmission towers across the country; and the mobile phone operators co-locate on those towers for their own services”.

“At inception, we had the vision to take up shareholding in the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC). Through WIOCC, we are part owners on the East Africa Submarine System (EASSy), a 10,000km submarine cable system along the east coast of Africa; and the West Africa Cable System (WACS), which is a 14,530km ultrahigh-capacity submarine cable linking Europe, West Africa, and South Africa. These cable systems are directly connected to the London Global Switch and service voice, data, video and internet needs of Africa. The systems are also set up to carry services acting as “worker protection”, with traffic being distributed evenly between the two (2). The investment in both cables allows BoFiNet to offer Botswana minimal to no connectivity interruptions as the two (2) links act as back-up to one another; should one link fail, traffic will be routed through the other. Our terrestrial network is connected to these cables through South Africa and Namibia”.

“The BoFiNet network has positioned Botswana as a transit hub to the rest of southern Africa. According to the most recent United Nations estimates, there are close to 70 million people living in Southern Africa. This fosters a favourable climate for BoFiNet to serve as the regional transit hub, lowering latencies for regional traffic in Southern Africa”.

“On the ground, we have been working with the Government of Botswana to bridge the digital divide by connecting 503 villages in Botswana. To date, BoFiNet has connected 206 villages. The remaining 297 villages will be connected through the SmartBots project in the near future”.

We are at completion stages of constructing our strategic national data centre, the Digital Delta Data Centre. This is a 400-rack capacity, Tier III Uptime Institute certified facility that will work as the nerve centre for content and connectivity in Botswana. Through the data centre, we envisage bringing content providers who were initially based mostly in Europe and the United States of America closer to Botswana. Our ultimate goal is to attract the biggest content providers such as Google, Meta, YouTube, e.t.c. Through the data centre, BoFiNet will deliver the following:

High speed connectivity and enhanced user experience.

Mass storage and computing capabilities. This will provide create a data boom that will require mining, thus building Botswana’s Data hosting environment.

Introduction of cloud services.

Development of Internet of things (IOT) and next gen services.

“BoFiNet is ready to facilitate the digitalisation agenda as the trusted Government technology partner. Our drive to expand our footprint and position ourselves as the leading enabler of the ICT ecosystem within Botswana and Africa is unwavering”.

Mr. Mpho Koolese oversees BoFiNet’s national and international network assets as the Technical Executive. He joined BoFiNet in 2013 from Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC). Through his intensive work in optical networks, he is one of the pioneers of the East African Submarine System (EASSy) and West Africa Cable System (WACS) submarine cables, where he currently sits on the management committees. He has over 19 years of managerial experience in the field of technology planning and operations. Mr Koolese has attained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Botswana, a Management Development Programme from the University of Stellenbosch, and a Master’s Degree in Strategic Management from the University of Derby.

TAKATOKWANE- MORWAMOSU OVERHEAD FIBRE PROJECT UNDERWAY

These developments by law require an assessement of the risk and impact of the project on the environment and the affected communities.

The study assesses among others, the socioeconomic and bio-physical impacts of the project on the communities along the route during construction. It also investigates all the impacts (both negative and positive) for each of the project phases namely pre-construction, construction, and operation phases. Approval of the study report by the Department of Environment Affairs (DEA) triggers the deployment of the optical fibre cable.

Mr. Noga Noga

Project Manager

BoFiNet will be extending its network coverage from Takatokwane to Morwamosu villages to bring connectivity closer to those communities. These areas are in the Kweneng district, located in the Kalahari Desert, 100km northwest of Molepolole.

The project commenced in December 2022 with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study and it consists of multiple sub-projects namely; palisade fence, equipment shelters, the metro network, solar batteries, rectifiers, backup generators and optical fibre to government facilities such as schools, clinics, and dikgotla in Takatokwane, Dutlwe, Tshwaane, Khekhenye, Motokwe and Morwamosu.

The project is expected to improve the livelihoods of the people in the area through improved network infrastructure and connectivity. The project is going to:

Enable the private sector such as Public Telephony Operators (PTOs), Value Added Networks and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Facilitate e-government, e-health, and e-learning.

Improve access to knowledge.

Better quality of service.

Upgrade infrastructure.

The contracting stage has been concluded and the optical fibre works will start once the EIA study is approved. The other sub-projects will be done alongside the main fibre project and are expected to be completed by mid-August 2023.

Local Access Connectivity To Be Expanded

BoFiNet is in the process of rolling out projects in the local access and national backbone categories as a continuation of the efforts that the company has been undertaking ever since its establishment in 2013. The projects are fully sponsored by the Government of Botswana through the Ministry of Communications, Knowledge, and Technology. The local access project will be completed in Tlokweng, Kanye, Molepolole and Mahalapye by the end of August 2023.

The primary aim of these projects is to provide highspeed internet connectivity to business premises, schools, hospitals and clinics.The target number of premises to be covered varies as per the needs of the villages to be covered.

The works to be performed and provided by contractors under these projects entail the deployement of optical fibre cable to business centres, Government offices, and other strategic sites including towers within the target areas.

The planning for the projects started in August 2022, starting with the detailed surveys and network designs, followed by identifying the potential contractors for the implementation of the project and subsequent contracting. Contracting has been completed for Tlokweng, Molepolole and Mahalapye. Kanye will be completed in the near future. All the projects have been awarded to 100% citizen owned contractors.

The projects are envisioned to provide employment and improve local economies where they are implemented. The other spin-off effects include a boost to economic activities such as rental and transportation during implementation.