Orange and Vodacom JV takes aim at rural DRCOrange and Vodacom JV takes aim at rural DRC

Under their initial agreement, the telcos have pledged to deploy 1,000 cell sites serving less-densely populated areas. Orange and Vodacom have the option to roll out a further 1,000 if all goes well.

The venture is subject to approval from relevant administrative and regulatory authorities, but all being well the first base station is due to come online this year, and total deployment is expected to take around six years.

To overcome some of the challenges inherent to infrastructure deployment in rural DRC, the sites will be solar-powered.

Orange and Vodacom will share active and passive equipment owned by the joint venture, and have agreed to be anchor tenants for an initial term of 20 years. The JV will also offer passive infrastructure services to any MNOs that are interested, provided it is technically feasible to do so.

"Our long-standing presence in Africa, including over 10 years in the DRC, has equipped us with a deep understanding of the market and customer needs," said Orange Middle East and Africa CEO, Jérôme Hénique. "Collaborating with Vodacom by sharing both passive and active infrastructure is the most effective approach to fulfilling our commitment to accelerating connectivity access for everyone, including rural areas, while minimising our environmental footprint."

Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said: "With a footprint serving over 210 million customers across Africa, we have the opportunity to significantly contribute to the continent's socio-economic development by building a digital society and fostering inclusivity for all. This aligns with our purpose to connect for a better future, and our partnership with Orange is a crucial step towards providing mobile coverage to people in previously underserved areas in the DRC."

Underserved is putting it lightly. According to Orange and Vodacom, mobile penetration in the DRC is at 32.3%, making it something of a laggard, not just compared to the rest of the world, but regionally speaking too.

According to the GSMA, there were 527 million unique mobile subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in 2023, which makes for a penetration rate of 44%. Globally, penetration stood at 69%. The gap is expected to close slightly by the end of the decade with SSA penetration increasing to 53% and worldwide penetration hitting 74%.

In the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) – which includes the DRC – penetration is lower at 36% as of 2023, but this is still noticeably higher than the rate in the DRC.

Hopefully Orange and Vodacom's new JV can meaningfully move the needle in the right direction.

As for the possibility of extending their joint activities into other markets, there is limited scope for this since there is little to no overlap between Orange and Vodacom in Africa. However, it could serve as a useful blueprint for other telcos in the region looking for a cost-effective way of extending rural mobile coverage.