Orange, the French telecommunications group, launched Africa’s first 5G network in Botswana on Friday. It is reported that Orange’s 5G network will cover 30% of the country’s population, including residents living in Gaborone and Francistown, the two largest cities.The company said that its coverage would be extended to other cities early next year.

It is worth mentioning that although most Chinese users have enjoyed the convenience brought by 5G, and 5G mobile phones are becoming more and more cheap, most African people still cannot afford it.

Therefore, Orange pays more attention to 5G itself than providing convenience for users. After all, the population density in Africa is low, and it is uneconomical to deploy optical fiber, base stations and other infrastructure there.

“For us, the main use scenario is fixed wireless access, which means that users can access the Internet at home,” said the CEO of Orange Maiga said.

Orange’s business in Africa and the Middle East has spread to 18 countries, accounting for more than 60% of the company’s total mobile customers, with a revenue of 6.4 billion euros (about 46.912 billion yuan), and there are more than 44 million 4G users in the region.

Jerome, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa? Enrique said that the company’s goal is to launch 5G networks in about six countries by 2023, most likely starting from Jordan.

“We have reached an agreement with the government on the conditions for launching 5G in Jordan. Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal are likely to follow suit, but we are still discussing regulatory conditions.”