Gambia’s telecommunications operator Gamcel risks closing down if government fails to assist.

Gambia’s telecommunications operator Gamcel risks closing down if the government does not bail it out of the financial challenges it is currently facing.

An insider at the company, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Gamcel is already limited in its network coverage and that any additional loss of coverage could necessitate a halt in its operation as a service provider.

She said for the company to continue operating, it needs significant capital investment to expand and modernise its infrastructure, but that the government was currently not doing anything to save the company from collapsing.

She added that Gamcel is currently operating a network infrastructure with only 2G and 3G networks, while competitors have rolled out 3G and 4G networks countrywide.

“Gamcel needs capital injection from the government in order for the operator to continue operating and if nothing is done quickly, the operator will soon close down. The money is needed to upgrade infrastructure and stabilise the network,” said the insider.

Confirming the financial challenges the company is facing, Gamcel general manager Elizabeth Johnson told the Public Enterprise Committee (PEC) of the National Assembly that Gamcel network is not easily accessible and that where the network is accessible, they face serious network congestion.

Johnson said the company is unable to expand its network coverage from internally generated revenue alone, hence the need for capital injection.

Johnson added that the company has lost 70% of its market share to competitors in the last ten years.

“We have been losing our market share to competitors because of low or not investment in network expansion and infrastructure,” Johnson said.

According to statistics from research firm BuddeComm, Gambia’s telecom market is dominated by Africell with 65% market share while Comium and Qcell compete closely for second and third places, adding that Gamcel is the smallest operator with about 10% market share.

ITWeb Africa contacted industry officials for comment, but did not receive reply at the time of publishing.