Burkina Faso

WORK IN PROCESS

Basics
There are three mobile operators in Burkina Faso:
 * Telmob, by ONATEL
 * Airtel, by Bharti Airtel, taken over by France Télécom
 * Telecel Faso, 3G being rolled out

About 1 out of 3 inhabitants has a mobile phone, and Telmob and Airtel are fighting to be the largest operator in the country with each about 40% market share, both having 2G and 3G available. Telmob on top also has a CDMA Network for "fixed lines". Telecel is with 20 % market share the smaller provider and being only on 2G, but started to roll out 3G in Ouagadougou.

When buying a SIM card bring a valid ID.

On 28th of November 2016, the telecom regulators of Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Senegal signed an agreement to abolish roaming charges between the 5 countries, that has to be in place by March 31st 2017.

Telmob
Telmob is the mobile telephony branch of state-owned ONATEL.

Availability
SIM cards are available in Telmob and in ONATEL shops for 500 CFA. Recharge cards are called Nanan

Data feature packages
Forfaits Connect Forfaits Connect are packages for Facebook and WhatsApp permitting the user 1 day access to the social media with a FUP of 100 MB per day, after that the speed will be throttled to 128 kbps.

Libertis Libertis packages are combination of calls, 200 texts and data and are valid for 30 days.


 * 146*11# 500 MB
 * 146*55# 1GB
 * 146*1010# 1GB

Data Packages

Additional Info
APN: Nettelmob

Airtel (soon Orange)
Airtel is broadcasting 2G on 900 MHz and 3G on 2100 MHz bands with good coverage in the country. The company has recently been sold to France Télécom and a rebranding to Orange will be expected soon.

Availability
Starter pack's are available from Airtel Shops and its authorized resellers. A SIM card

Data Packages
The base rate is 50 CFA per MB. Airtel offers data packages for that can be activated with *103*PRICE# in which the PRICE is the price in CFA of the data volume package.

Data while roaming in neighboring countries costs 281 CFA per MB

Additional Information
APN: internet Website in French: Airtel.com

Telecel
Telecel Faso is member of the Telecel group active many West-African countries. They broadcast on 900 Mhz band with GPRS and EDGE, and only in March 2015 they have started investing in 3G in Burkina Faso. Currently the capital is covered with 3G on 2100 MHz band with according to OpenSignal survey the fastest speed of 3.5 mbps.

Data Packages
Data Packages are available for 1 day, 1 week and 1 month (31 days) by texting navitel to matching number.
 * 1 Day for 300 CFA, text to 160
 * 1 Week for 2000 CFA, text to 161
 * 1 Month for 7000 CFA, text to 162

Additional Data

 * APN: wap.telecelfaso.bf
 * Username: wap
 * Password: miep
 * Proxy: 172.18.3.65
 * Port: 8080 or 9201
 * Website in French: telecelfaso.bf