Malawi activates 36th Last Mile rural telecom tower

TL;DR: Malawi has activated the Kalira telecommunications tower in Lilongwe Nyanja, bringing the number of operational sites under the government's Last Mile Rural Connectivity Project to 36. The project targets 136 towers in total, with five more under construction and 16 planned for completion in the current financial year.

Malawi has activated a new telecommunications tower in Lilongwe Nyanja, taking the number of operational towers under the government's Last Mile Rural Connectivity Project to 36. Information and Digitalisation Minister Shadric Namalomba launched the Kalira tower to improve access to mobile services, internet connectivity and digital payments in the area.

The Malawi government plans to deploy 136 towers under the Last Mile Rural Connectivity Project. Five more towers are under construction, and 16 are targeted for completion during the current financial year.

The Last Mile Rural Connectivity Project is designed to extend mobile and internet coverage to unserved rural communities where commercial operators have been reluctant to invest. The 136 towers are intended to be shared by Malawi's mobile operators and managed through the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, or MACRA.

The rollout has faced land disputes, power supply issues and maintenance challenges. Malawi is working with mobile operators, MACRA and technical partners on those issues, and Huawei has been identified as the primary private contractor involved in the tower rollout.