Bharti Airtel has been awarded 3G and 4G licences by the government of Chad, a central African country.

The granting of the Chad’s first licence is an important milestone towards the development of the telecommunications infrastructure, and will facilitate better Internet access for the social and business community, Airtel said in a statement.

“Mobile devices, using either 3G or even 2.5G EDGE networks, are already the main platform for internet access in Africa, allowing people to bypass the limited reach of the fixed broadband network,” said Christian de Faria, Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa.

Mobile services are already available to a larger portion of Africa’s population than many other basic services, including electricity, sanitation and financial services. As a result, mobile services can play a unique role in addressing social, economic and environmental issues, he added.

The licence would enable Airtel, which already provides internet services across 17 African countries, to extend its 3G footprint to 16 countries.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in