Government says there are raft of factors that makes internet in Botswana slow and unreliable. Answering a question in parliament, Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo admitted that internet is slow and unreliable across the country. He explained that the distribution of Internet connectivity to business, learning institutions and domestic users is done through various technologies by different licensed service providers.
“The issue of Quality of Service for Internet service is quite complex since there are many factors involved,” Mabeo said. He stated the factors that makes internet slow and unreliable are high contention ratio on Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), limited data speed on Second Generation (2G) Mobile Network which is widely available throughout the country.
Equally, he blamed slow speed to limited coverage of Third Generation (3G) and Fourth Generation (4G) Mobile Networks which offer better internet experience, limited access network which connects customer premises to the telecommunications network and customers (hospitality facilities, residential and added that other businesses) purchase lower data packages and share it among many users.
On the other hand, he said some Public Telecommunications Operators and Internet Service Providers experience congestion in internet capacity that they have procured from various wholesale providers.
Mabeo added that in order to keep on monitoring the quality of service to ensure the customer gets value for money, Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has acquired a Quality of Service Monitoring tool which will be used to check the quality of services by operators. BOCRA will also continue with consumer education and awareness on issues of Quality of Service.
“My Ministry continues to urge Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) and operators to inform the public in cases where there are network outages and or unavailability of services.”
Member of Parliament for Selebi-Phikwe West, Dithapelo Keorapetse had asked the Minister of Transport and Communications if he is aware of concerns from businesses, learning institutions and domestic users about the slow and erratic internet. If so, what causes this slow and unreliable internet and how and when will he address the issue.