Alpha Telecommunications Mali (Atel-SA) operating as Telecel has tested the reliability of its network and is now offering telecoms services to customers starting with the country's capital city of Bamako. The company plans to extend services to other parts of the country in Q1 of 2018.

ITWeb Africa reported that Atel-SA outbid Bharti Airtel and Viettel Corporation to secure the country's third telecom's license in 2012 for XOF55 billion. The new operator also said it aims to raise and invest over US$200m to service the Malian market.

It began to test its network for reliability on 16 October 2017.

With this development, Telecel has become Mali's third telecoms company and it aims to be the market leaders regarding quality of services. To achieve this, it engaged Huawei to provide high-end network to facilitate 3 million subscribers.

The company said it has already invested about 100 billion Fcfa to build its network with support from the West African Development Bank (BOAD). It added it would take five years to be ready to compete with Malitel and Orange which are the two telecoms companies that are already operating in Mali.

"We will not only bring a plus to the telecom market, our company will also contribute to job creation. Direct and indirect jobs will be created with the recruitment of a hundred Malian employees, from the first year, and several thousand distributors and resellers; local subcontracting contracts for site construction and other deployment works," said Souleymane Diallo, CEO of Atel-SA.