The Gambia has signed a 50-million-dollar public-private partnership to modernise its national internet backbone, a project that will expand core network capacity more than fifteenfold and is aimed at easing connectivity bottlenecks and strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure, state-owned operator Gamtel said on Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Gamtel will work with Senegalese systems integrator SYSROAD SA Holding to upgrade the backbone’s capacity from 50 gigabits per second to 800 Gbps, a leap officials say is critical for supporting economic growth and improving the reliability of internet services nationwide.
The project marks one of the largest investments in The Gambia’s telecommunications sector in recent years and reflects growing efforts by the government to position digital infrastructure as a pillar of development.
“The upgrade is not just about capacity,” Gamtel managing director Lamin A. Tunkara said in a statement. “We are investing in sovereignty, resilience and the economic future of generations yet to come. Connectivity is the new infrastructure of development.”
According to Gamtel, the expansion will help address persistent congestion on the national backbone, improve service quality for mobile and internet providers, and lay the groundwork for a more competitive digital economy.
The Gambia, a small West African country of around 2.6 million people, has made strides in expanding fibre-optic infrastructure over the past decade, including connections to international submarine cables. However, the domestic backbone has struggled to keep pace with rising demand for data services driven by mobile broadband, digital payments and online public services.
A World Bank diagnostic study on The Gambia’s digital economy published in May 2021 found that while the country’s fibre backbone was relatively well developed, it was significantly underutilised.
At the time of the study, the network extended 1,367 kilometres across the country, with more than 90 percent of the population living within 10 kilometres of a fibre node. Despite this, only about 27 percent of radio access network sites mostly in urban areas were connected to the backbone, and just five percent of the population had direct access, according to figures cited by the World Bank from the national telecoms regulator.
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Rural segments of the network were described as unreliable, suffering from frequent fibre cuts, maintenance disruptions and high tariffs. The World Bank attributed these shortcomings to weak management, limited commercialisation of services and quality gaps, which together constrained effective use of the infrastructure.
The report recommended greater private sector participation in the wholesale network and reforms involving public operators Gamtel and its mobile subsidiary Gamcel, arguing that such steps could improve utilisation of the backbone while easing pressure on public finances.
The new partnership with SYSROAD appears to reflect that advice, introducing private capital and technical expertise into a sector long dominated by the state.
Officials say the expanded backbone will support a wide range of uses, from mobile broadband and enterprise connectivity to e-government services, education platforms and data centres. By increasing capacity and improving resilience, the project is also expected to reduce downtime and improve service continuity, particularly outside the capital, Banjul.
The upgrade comes as many African countries race to strengthen digital infrastructure seen as essential for economic diversification, job creation and regional integration. Poor connectivity has often been cited as a barrier to investment and innovation, particularly for small economies seeking to attract technology-driven businesses.
For The Gambia, which relies heavily on tourism, agriculture and remittances, officials argue that a stronger digital backbone could help unlock new growth areas, including business process outsourcing, fintech and digital public services.
The government has repeatedly said that improving internet reliability and affordability is key to boosting productivity and reducing inequalities between urban and rural areas.
While Gamtel did not provide a detailed timeline for the completion of the upgrade, it said the project would be implemented in phases to minimise service disruptions.
Challenges remain, including the need to address long-standing issues such as vandalism of fibre cables, high operating costs and the pricing of wholesale access to ensure that gains in capacity translate into lower costs for consumers.
Nevertheless, authorities say the scale of the planned expansion marks a turning point.
By lifting backbone capacity from 50 Gbps to 800 Gbps, The Gambia would significantly narrow the gap with larger regional peers and strengthen its position in an increasingly digital West African economy.
As demand for data continues to surge, the success of the project may prove critical in determining whether the country can convert infrastructure investment into broader economic and social gains.
