The MNO experience on Madagascar – getting online with Blueline

Blueline were launched in 2015 by local internet service provider Gulfsat Madagascar and are an LTE-only operator. Madagascar’s voice market has been almost stable with little recent growth, however the market has been shifting towards higher data usage, especially in the urban areas which account for over 70% of the mobile market. Blueline own and operate some of their own towers and rooftop sites and lease space on shared towers in Madagascar. TowerXchange asked Blueline CEO Mohib Pirbay what life is like for a small MNO on a big island.

TowerXchange: Please introduce yourself and Blueline’s current tower strategy in Madagascar.

Blueline are the fourth MNO in Madagascar. We are specialists in 4G/LTE connectivity. 

We tend to build our own towers and enjoy the independence it gives us to direct our network strategy. We also find there is a cost advantage in building our own towers because we are mainly a data operator and can build towers and rooftop structures which suit our needs. We own around 120 towers and around 60% of those are rooftop installations.

As we focus on urban markets, our sites tend to be on grid, but we still require a backup in case grid unreliability strikes. We’ve experimented with solar too, but not to a great extent as none of our sites are hard to reach – we can refuel and maintain our gensets easily.

TowerXchange: What can you tell me about how the Madagascan mobile market is evolving?

It is a fact that the voice market is almost stable with little if not zero growth. However, the market is shifting quickly towards a higher data usage especially in urban areas which account for over 70% of the current market. This is why we are investing in the growth of our 4G infrastructure. Coverage across the country is around 35-40%. There’s still a lot of potential for expansion in the market. The growth of coverage is limited by the actions of the major operators and neither Airtel nor Orange have significantly expanded their tower portfolios or network reach in recent years.

TowerXchange: How do you see Blueline’s network developing and do you have plans to work with independent towercos or share towers in the future?

Blueline already shares some towers where it makes sense to do so but has no plans to share towers more than the limited amount we already do until we see an increase demand for 4G services. Blueline are lucky to own three times more spectrum than our competition and that gives us a big edge. Once cheaper phones and economic development arrive, Blueline would see an independent towerco as a very important partner to improve capex efficiency to enable Blueline to rapidly grow its 4G services and market share across the country.