Telecom Shake-Up: Airtel and Moov Sign Infrastructure Sharing Deal in Gabon 🇬🇦📡

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Airtel Gabon and Moov Africa-Gabon Telecom signed a memorandum of understanding on September 11, 2025, to share their telecom infrastructure. The announcement came from the Ministry of Digital Economy, Digitalization, and Innovation, which mediated the talks between the two operators.

A Step Toward Network Sharing 🫱🏾‍🫲🏽

In March 2025, Airtel Africa and MTN had already signed a similar agreement in Nigeria and Uganda. In August, Airtel also partnered with Vodacom for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Mozambique.

For Gabon, the goal is to cut deployment costs while maximizing investments. At the same time, the move aims to expand coverage and improve the quality of digital services.

What Does Infrastructure Sharing Mean? 🏗️

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), there are two main forms:

• Passive sharing: pooling physical assets (sites, towers, buildings) while keeping separate networks.
• Active sharing: joint use of active equipment (antennas, base stations, core network elements).

This approach can speed up mobile broadband deployment, lower costs in rural areas, and boost competition. Safeguards, however, are essential to avoid anti-competitive practices.

A Government Priority 🏛️

For months, the Gabonese government has been pushing network sharing as a way to expand access. According to the ARCEP, about 1,253 villages — roughly 6.5% of the population — still lack mobile or internet coverage.

In February 2024, Airtel and Moov had already pledged to connect 200 villages as part of the second phase of the Universal Service Development Project. The first phase, carried out between 2016 and 2018, covered 33 villages. With this new agreement, authorities hope to speed up efforts to bridge the digital divide and bring the country closer to its goal of digital inclusion for all.

👉🏾 What do you think: is network sharing the best way to close Africa’s digital divide?