Airtel Seychelles, previously known as Seychelles Telecom, is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, a multinational telecommunications company based in India. Bharti Airtel acquired a 100% stake in Telecom Seychelles in August 2010, expanding its global presence to 19 countries. Established in 1998, Telecom Seychelles provided services including 3G, fixed line, ship-to-shore services, satellite telephony, and various value-added services like VSAT and gateways for international traffic across Seychelles. The acquisition saw Bharti Airtel investing US$10 million in its fixed and mobile telecoms network in Seychelles over three years, while also participating in the Seychelles East Africa submarine cable (SEAS) project. Airtel Seychelles has been a significant player in the Seychellois telecommunications sector, providing an alternative to Cable & Wireless Seychelles.
Alias
Seychelles Telecom
Country
Seychelles
Type
Mobile Network Operator
Ownership
Bharti Airtel Group
Airtel Chad logo

3G Network

Airtel Seychelles launched its 3G services in March 2009 and was part of its initial offerings after the acquisition by Bharti Airtel. The company used the UMTS frequency band B1 (2100 MHz) for its 3G services. The 3G network provided mobile data services and was part of Airtel's strategy to enhance its coverage and service offerings in Seychelles. As of the latest information available, there is no indication that the 3G network has been shut down.

Network Frequency Band Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
Active
B8 (900 MHz)
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 3G Network
Launch

4G Network

Airtel Seychelles officially launched its 4G LTE network on November 26, 2014. This marked the company's first commercial LTE network in Africa. The network was based on FD-LTE technology and utilised the 800 MHz (Band 20) frequency band, known for its wide area coverage and deep penetration, making it suitable for regional and rural environments, as well as in-building coverage. The launch was celebrated with a ceremony and was part of Airtel's commitment to providing cutting-edge technology in Africa. The infrastructure was designed to meet the growing customer demand for mobile broadband services, initially catering to 10,000 LTE subscribers. Airtel partnered with Ericsson to deploy the LTE network, which was expected to provide superior data speeds of up to 100 Mbps, supporting services such as internet TV, mobile video-blogging, and online gaming.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status Known EARFCNs
B3 (1800 MHz)
20
Active
1300
B20 (800 MHz)
10
Active
6400
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch

5G Network

As of December 2024, Airtel Seychelles had not yet launched a commercial 5G network. However, the company partnered with Ericsson on a turnkey project to modernise its existing network and core services in preparation for VoLTE and 5G network infrastructure. This project involved relocating and upgrading the network to a new datacentre in Seychelles, empowering Airtel with a blend of legacy and virtualised network functions, and a new hybrid network cloud environment. This environment was expected to increase network and cost efficiency, reduce time to deploy applications, and enable developers to innovate and bring new applications to Airtel subscribers more quickly. Although commercial 5G NR was available in Seychelles since June 2020 with Cable & Wireless Seychelles, it was not yet available through Airtel Seychelles. The timeline for Airtel's 5G rollout remains unspecified, and it is unknown when prepaid customers will gain access to 5G NR networks.

Date Event Subtype