Senegal: la copertura

Cosa vogliono dire i numeri di Senegal

Contano due numeri e solo uno è quello che citano tutti. La velocità tipica, 29 Mbps, dice com'è un buon momento.

Il decimo percentile, 6 Mbps, è quello che vale la pena leggere. È la velocità nel decimo peggiore della giornata, quando la cella sopra la stazione è piena e tutti intorno a te ci sono dentro. Un paese con mediana alta e pavimento basso funziona benissimo, fino al momento in cui ti serve davvero.

Se il viaggio dipende da videochiamate o hotspot, pianifica sul dato delle ore di punta e non su quello tipico.

Cosa succede in Senegal quando la rete è congestionata

La congestione non è un guasto, è un martedì sera. La domanda è cosa può farci la tua eSIM, e per quasi tutte le eSIM da viaggio la risposta è niente: un accordo all'ingrosso per paese, una rete, e nessuna via d'uscita se non comprare una seconda eSIM da qualcun altro mentre sei in mezzo alla strada.

Qui il traffico Orbislo passa da Orange e Free. Quando la rete su cui sei peggiora ti spostiamo su un'altra, a metà viaggio, senza che tu lo chieda, e te lo diciamo dopo invece di interromperti sul momento.

Senegal: operatori mobili

• Orange (Sonatel): Orange, operated by Sonatel, held 55.17 percent of Senegal's 24.8 million active mobile lines at 30 June 2026, according to the regulator ARTP. About 24.4 million of those lines are prepaid.
• Yas: Yas, the former Free network, held 24.35 percent of mobile lines at 30 June 2026 and had gained share in every quarter over the previous year, up from 22.92 percent in June 2025.
• Expresso: Expresso held 14.95 percent of mobile lines at 30 June 2026. The virtual operator Promobile had 5.40 percent and Hayo 0.12 percent.
• Orange (Sonatel): Sonatel paid 100 billion CFA francs in 2016 to renew its licence for 17 years, including 32 billion for the extension to 4G.
• Expresso: Expresso's operating licence had been due to expire in 2027. A decree of 20 March 2024, days before the presidential election, extended it by ten years, a renewal that a government review later called unjustified.
• Orange (Sonatel): The Sonatel group, present in Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, reported 43 million customers at 30 June 2026 and said it aims to bring fibre within reach of about 13 million people in Senegal by the end of December 2026.

Senegal: il 5G

• In the 2023 5G tender the base lot was 10 MHz at 700 MHz plus 70 MHz at 3.5 GHz, with a reserve price of 19.5 billion CFA francs. Sonatel was the only compliant bidder and took 10 MHz at 700 MHz and 120 MHz at 3.5 GHz for 34.5 billion.
• Decrees signed on 18 April and 28 May 2025 withdrew the 5G frequency approvals later granted to Expresso and to Yas, after a government review found those awards had bypassed the tender and fell below its reserve price.
• Sonatel started a commercial 5G pilot on 6 March 2024 under the Orange brand, beginning with fixed 5G broadband for homes and businesses before mobile offers.
• Orange launched mobile 5G on 8 June 2024 with 176 sites across six cities, and said it planned to extend 5G to the whole Dakar region by the end of 2024. A 5G-compatible phone is needed to use it.

Senegal: note sulla rete

• During the Grand Magal of Touba in August 2026 the regulator drive-tested calls on the A2 and RN3 pilgrim routes and in Touba and Mbacké. Orange completed 99.03 percent of call attempts, Yas 93.81 percent and Expresso 90.72 percent, against a 96 percent threshold.
• On the first day of the Magal tests, on the roads into Touba, 28.23 percent of Expresso call attempts were blocked, against the regulator's 2 percent ceiling. Orange's blocking rate over the four days was 0.85 percent.
• 3G still carries traffic alongside 4G and 5G: for the 2026 Gamou pilgrimage Orange raised 3G+ capacity by 29 percent in Tivaouane and ran 64 3G sites around Kaolack, together with 16 5G sites.
• Sonatel commissioned the 2Africa submarine cable at its Senegal landing station in December 2025 and announced it operational in February 2026. The 45,000 km system links 33 countries across Africa, Europe and Asia.