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Botswana: Mascom Commissions New Base Station
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
18 March 2008
Posted to the web 18 March 2008
Kenneth Banda
Seolwane
Mobile communication service provider Mascom has extended its coverage to Seolwane where a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) was commissioned at the weekend.
Commissioning the facility last Saturday, Mascom Chief Communications and Public Relations Officer, Meshack Mokone, said the facility offered the people of this Tswapong village abundant business opportunities. In addition to the availability of scratch cards, these opportunities included the creation of direct and indirect employment. The creation of direct employment and income generation had a multiplier effect.
"There are spin-offs arising from the presence of this BTS through the sales of scratch cards in shops here in Seolwane," Mokone said. "Other avenues include the 'under-the-tree' phones.
"The shop owner who sells scratch cards hires a shop assistant, (who) hires a maid, who provides income to a parent, who buys books for a younger sibling, and the cycle widens further and further." He urged the people of Seolwane to look after the facility as it was going to become an important aspect of their lives. Mokone said the commissioning of the transmitter strengthened rural telephony and the "propagation of cellular telephony" in Botswana. The installation of a base station in remote areas bridged the digital divide between urban and rural areas and reduced distances between the countryside and urban centres."You will no longer be alone in a remote corner of Botswana but (be) a part of the bigger village and the global village," Mokone said.
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He noted that telecommunications promoted efficiency, productivity and cost effectiveness by enabling entrepreneurs to communicate easily. "It is our desire to continue with this pilgrimage of being first, innovative and people-centric," Mokone said. Mokone said communication was dynamic, always changing and evolving. Also speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Chief of Seolwane Kgosi Oteng Mhaladi, hailed the installation and commissioning of the base station in his village, saying his people had relied on fixed lines for too long. Kgosi Mhaladi said Mascom had responded to their quest for a reliable mobile communication service. His only complaint was that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) preceding the installation of the BTS had taken long to carry out.
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