International telecommunications operator, Globacom, has recorded another milestone in its bid to build the biggest and best network in Africa as it wins a licence to operate in Senegal. The latest licence was issued by the Government of Senegal on Monday and signed by the country’s Ministers of Finance and Telecommunications. A statement from the Office of Globacom's Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., said the licence would enable the telecommunications giant to offer world class telecommunications services to the government and people of Senegal. The Senegalese licence will also allow Globacom to land its gigantic trans-Atlantic submarine cable, Glo 1, in the West African country with opportunities to extend the infrastructure to Mali. It will also give the telecoms giant the right to carry traffic for major operators, the government and wholesale customers. With this development, the people of Senegal have been positioned to be part of the telecommunications revolution which Globacom is bringing to Africa. Globacom in its statement noted that Glo 1 which is set to commence commercial services will deliver transmission capacity that will offer unprecedented high speed internet and broadband services and make telecoms services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers on the continent. Also, with the Senegalese licence, Glo will be able to provide international carrier services for telecoms operators in the country. The company which has gateway switches outside the continent is currently a major player in the global telecommunications industry. Globacom said the new licence would give impetus to the network’s desire to provide the needed opportunity for the African continent to leap forward economically through an excellent communication network and a cost-effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services. “In line with our vision, Glo will continue to play a major role in stimulating a new era of prosperity in the sub-continent and build facilities that will offer Africa advanced telecoms services such as teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery, telemedicine, on-line diagnosis and video conferencing during surgery and research,” the statement from the office of Globa-com's Chairman added. Globacom also stated that the infrastructure it would deploy would improve on call completion to subscribers’ handsets, reduce call failure rate as well as the cost of international calls not only in Senegal but across all the markets where it operates. Other countries where Globacom has operating licences are Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire. The company started operations in Nigeria in August, 2003 and introduced revolutionary products and services that made telephony affordable and available to Nigerians. Source: Thisdayonline.com