AFTER successful expansion of its services in all 26 regions, covering over 1,500 villages in just three months, the newly-established mobile telecoms firm, Halotel, plans to cover 95 per cent of Tanzanian population by the end of this year.
The firm, which is a partnership between the government of Vietnam and Tanzania started operation last October with total investment of One Billion USD (over 2 trillion/-). If the pledge by the company is anything to go by, it will be the widest network coverage in the country.
Speaking at a news conference in Dar es Salaam, Halotel Deputy Managing Director (MD) Mr Le Van Dai said after constructing and installing network infrastructure in just one year, the company’s operations have already covered 26 regions in the country across rural and urban areas.
The company, which started its operation in October last year, according to the Deputy MD, has so far created over 1,500 direct and 20,000 indirect jobs. Since it started operation, the company has so far paid various forms of taxes amounting to 27 million US dollars (over 54bn/-).Mr Dai further noted that despite the fact that it had so far created over 21,500 direct and indirect jobs, his company was fully abiding by Tanzania’s labour laws. “Currently we have 1,505 total number of Tanzanian employees.
1,021 staff are registered to different social security funds (SSF) of their choice, 484 probation staffs are on the initial process to register, and on top of that our human resource policy ensures employees interests are prioritized’’, said Mr Dai.
According to Mr Dai, because of a partnership between two countries, Halotel will always abide by the governing laws of Tanzania for the investment to benefit both countries and citizens.
With 18,000 km of optical cable and more than 2,500 Basic Transceiver Station (BTS) all over the country, the company can give coverage for up to more than 90 per cent of Tanzania’s population of over 47 million.
He said Halotel would continue its commitment with the government of Tanzania to provide mobile services to another 1,500 villages which are yet to be connected. “The company is committed to improving the telecommunication landscape in Tanzania and contributing to the development of both the country and its people,” he explained.
With a strong telecom infrastructure, the company is implementing social programmes including bringing free internet for 450 schools. Mr Dai explained that, Halotel has optic cable connected to 150 committee offices, 150 hospitals, 150 police stations and 65 post offices at district level.
“In 2016, Halotel continues to deploy Backup Rings (New Transmission Line) to Basic Transceiver Station (BTS) which ensures that the signal is strong and smooth every time and everywhere in order to bring to Tanzanians improved experience of high and new level of mobile services”, he said.
However, Mr Dai also expressed his dismay to the incidences of theft and robbery facing Halotel’s infrastructure, noting that a total of 52 cases has been reported to authorities since January to December 2015, causing damages of 393m/-.
The company has an operation in the Southern African country of Mozambique. The Tanzanian venture is the first time that the company is entering the East African telecom market.
/Daily News.
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