Comoros Wireless Communication Green Base Station

The Comoros project addressed telecoms from several angles. The World Bank and IFC advised the government on liberalizing the sector, including by supporting development of the 2014 Communications Act.

The Union of the Comoros, an archipelago off Africa's east coast with high levels of poverty, sought to improve communications, trade, and economic opportunities by expanding mobile communications and internet services.

In 2013, Comoros was one of the few countries worldwide with a telecoms monopoly. The state-owned enterprise, Comores Télécoms, charged customers a high price but provided poor services. Consequently, only 40 percent of the country's 800,000 people had mobile service, and less than 1 percent had broadband internet.

Through competition, Comoros now has better quality and cheaper telecoms services, as well as broader coverage. In a country with scarce government resources, the World Bank's $32 million has made a substantial contribution by leveraging over $90 million in telecoms licensing fees and infrastructure investment. Development Challenge

In a wireless communications network, the base station should maintain high-quality coverage. It should also have the potential for upgrade or evolution. As network traffic increases, power consumption increases proportionally to the number of base stations. However, reducing the number of base stations may degrade network quality.

Instead, in 2015, with World Bank support, the Comoros' telecoms regulator (ANRTIC) held an international tender for a second telecoms license. This attracted African bidders Telecom Malagasy S.A. and Mauritius Telecom, and international firms, including France's SFR.