• Orange Sierra Leone inaugurated a €23 million ($26.7 million) backup datacenter in Bo.
• The company invested $50 million to modernise its network, now fully 4G- and 5G-compatible.
• Orange Sierra Leone controls 51% of the mobile market with 3.04 million subscribers.

Orange Sierra Leone continues to scale its network infrastructure as the market leader. The company recently announced that it invested $50 million to modernise its nationwide telecom network.

Orange Sierra Leone inaugurated a new datacenter on 29 November in the southern city of Bo. The company built the facility for €23 million ($26.7 million) as an identical replica of its main datacenter in Freetown. The operator says the new site will function as a disaster-recovery hub to prevent emergencies, outages or natural disasters from disrupting digital services across the country.

The company highlighted the strategic location of the site. “Strategically located in the south of the country, the new centre contributes to extending digital infrastructure to rural and regional communities, particularly in the southern and eastern corridors toward Makeni, Kono and Kenema. It will enable better distribution of network traffic and improve connectivity in underserved areas,” Orange said in a statement posted on Facebook on 30 November.

The operator built the datacenter as Freetown remains exposed to landslides such as the 2017 event and as the country continues to face recurrent flooding. The backup site aims to ensure service continuity if such disasters threaten the capital.

The inauguration aligns with Sierra Leone’s broader digital-transformation agenda. Telecom services now support daily activities for businesses, households and public administration. Communications Minister Salima Bah stressed the importance of uninterrupted service after a brief outage in August 2024. “The Internet has become an indispensable tool in our daily lives. If the connection were interrupted, everyone would realise how much we depend on it,” she said. She added that the government and telecom operators have made significant investments to prevent future disruptions.

Beyond the new datacenter, Orange Sierra Leone operates 616 telecom sites nationwide, including 40 recently deployed sites. The company powers 70% of those sites with green-energy sources. Orange also invested $50 million to modernise its entire network, which now supports full 4G and 5G capability.

The GSMA argues that these upgrades should strengthen Orange Sierra Leone’s competitive position. The organisation notes that “good quality of service can improve the digital experience and create new opportunities for individuals and the broader community.” By December 2024, Orange Sierra Leone reported 3.04 million mobile subscribers and a 51% market share in competition with Africell and QCell.

This article was initially published in French by Isaac K. Kassouwi

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum