The state owned internet infrastructure company, Bofinet has announced that it is giving itself up to 2028 by which time it envisages to have covered the entire Botswana with internet infrastructure.
This was said by Acting Chief Executive Officer Mpho Koolese when briefing the media on the occasion that also marked Bofinet’s ten years in existence.
At inception Bofinet had just six thousand (6000) kilometers of fibre infrastructure that they had inherited from BTC when the telco was unbundled.
Bofinet was created with the key mandate of providing backbone internet infrastructure.
Koolese said over the 10 years of its operations Bofinet has more than doubled the national coverage to over 12 000 kilometers of fibre infrastructure.
The CEO also said that Bofinet is now a shareholder in three global connectivity undersea cables companies being Easy Africa Submarine Cable system (EASSy), West Africa Cable System (WACS) and also the west Indian Ocean Company (WIOCC)
One of the big announcements that Koolese made was that Bofinet is about to complete its state of the art data centre which will see many companies operating in Botswana migrate much of their customer data to Botswana currently domiciled abroad, which will be in line with the dictates of Data Protection Law that was passed by Parliament.
Koolese underscored the fact that Bofinet has taken all precautions to ensure the security and safety of customer data.
“The 1000 sqm, 400 -rack facility is a strategic national asset and a critical part of the ICT ecosystem in the country,” said Koolese.
He added that the Digital Delta Data Centre is part of the national strategy to effectively link the country’s priority sectors with regional value chains.
“It will not only pave the way for the country to take sovereignty of its data but also facilitate socio-economic transformation,” said Koolese.
The administration of President Mokgweetsi Masisi has from the onset marked Digital Transformation as a key aspect of the country’s overall economic development.
Government has also sought to use the internet to unlock entrepreneurship especially in ecommerce using such sectors like agriculture and tourism to promote even the SMMEs.
Over the years Bofinet, which provides wholesale infrastructure services has seen its customer base grow including the number of licensed ISPs (Internet Service Providers).
Spelling out some of their key achievements over the last ten years, Koolese said Bofinet has built a secure and efficient state of the art core network linking all government ministries and agencies at a cost of P500 million.
“Bofinet was contracted by the Government to build a Security Operations Centre (SOC) which enables the government to monitor its network for vulnerabilities and manage cyber threats,” said Koolese.
Bofinet infrastructure has facilitated both government and also business through service delivery, secure communication and cost savings.
