Mali, located in West Africa, is landlocked and has a diverse geography, ranging from desert in the north to subtropical in the south. The population is unevenly distributed with about 56% residing in rural areas, mostly in the southern regions which are more fertile. Meanwhile, the vast, sparsely populated northern regions are prone to conflict, which poses challenges to infrastructure development. In terms of telecommunications, Mali has a relatively underdeveloped sector, with fixed-line services being minimal and mobile telephony reaching only about 80% of the population. Internet penetration is relatively low, at about 30%. The country has embarked on several infrastructure projects including the extension of its fibre-optic network, funded by the World Bank. In the energy sector, despite having abundant solar potential, only about 52% of the population have access to electricity, with most relying on traditional biomass for energy. However, several renewable energy projects, particularly solar, are underway to address this.
Mobile Network Operators
The are 3 companies operating mobile networks in this region.
Moov Mali is a prominent telecommunications company operating within the West African nation of Mali. Then known as Malitel, the company was born of the merger between the national telecommunications branch of the former OPT and the international telecommunications of Mali (TIM), the Telecommunications Society of Mali (SOTELMA) was created in 1989 after its separation from the Telecommunications Post. SOTELMA was privatised in 2009 following the sale of 51% share to Maroc Telecom.
Moov Mali is majority-owned by Etisalat, a multinational Emirati based telecommunications services provider, which...
Orange is the largest mobile network operator in Mali. The state-owned telecoms provider Sonatel began building the country's second mobile network under the brand Ikatel in August 2002. Ikatel was partially purchased by Orange Group in November 2006, with Orange reporting ownership of around 29.65%.
