Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has contracted South Korean tech consultancy firm KT Corp to design, deploy and test an LTE network.

BTC worked with KT Corp in 2017 during which the consultancy services provider helped to refurbish BTC's mobile and landline network infrastructure. It conducted network diagnosis and recommended strategies on how to improve the telco's service.

The LTE network was one of the recommended strategies and is expected to be rolled out in 11 months.

Headquartered in Gaborone, BTC provides telecommunications services across Botswana, although Gaborone and Francistown are its flagship target areas.

In September 2018, BTC reported audited earnings results for the year ended March 31, 2018 including the sale of goods and services of BWP 1,566,908,000 (over US$147 million) against BWP 1,615,022,000 (about US$152 million) a year ago.

The operator's profit before tax was BWP 263,915,000 (US$24.8 million) against BWP 274,543,000 (about US$26 million) y-o-y.

Hwang Woo-keun, KT Corp's head of global technology consulting unit, said, "KT has been offering consulting services for landline and wireless network technologies to global partners based on its rich experience and technical expertise in network operations."

In a statement, KT Corp explained that its involvement with BTC is a reflection of its expansion efforts aimed at improving access to quality data services in Africa.

In addition to Botswana, KT Corp has strong footing in Gabon where it built a high-speed network and seven regional operation centres.

It has also won major contracts in Angola, Sierra Leone and Liberia.