Skip to content
Back to infrastructure

02. Pillar 02

Fiber optic

+1 180km

Fiber backbone deployed across the regions of Mali

10+

Years · continuous maintenance of the SOTELMA network since 2015

Pillar 02

Mali's first great fiber axes were deployed by TME between 1996 and 2000 — starting with Bamako–Sikasso–Zégoua. 1,180+ km trenched, spliced, tested, and handed over under acceptance today; continuous maintenance of the SOTELMA network since 2015.

Six phases · from civil works to acceptance

6phases

Civil works · ducting · pulling · fusion splicing · acceptance · maintenance

Fiber isn't laid in a single operation: it runs through six distinct phases, all owned by our teams. Civil works — trenching, duct laying, backfilling. Cable pulling — tension and bending-radius management. Splicing — fusion welds, sealed junction boxes. Acceptance — end-to-end OTDR measurements, attenuation tests, dossier assembly. Corrective and preventive maintenance then take over. One counterpart, six phases.

The great axes of Mali

560km

Bamako–Sikasso–Zégoua · founding axis to the Ivorian border

Bamako–Sikasso–Zégoua, 560 km to the Ivorian border. Bla–San–Mopti, 300 km across the delta. Kayes–Bamako, 170 km west. Sikasso–Koutiala, 150 km south. Bamako–Ségou, plus metropolitan networks (Bamako, Fana, Sikasso, Koulikoro) — roughly 70 km combined. Each axis carries its own constraints: geology, river crossings, security zones, HSE protocols adapted to each. 1,180+ km in total.

Continuous maintenance · since 2015

Ten years without a gap. Fault localization via reflectometry, on-site re-splicing, preventive rounds, accidental-cut handling. Fiber only becomes strategic if it stays available — our job is to keep the operator signal up night and day, through the rainy season and the Harmattan. Since 2015, without a week of interruption on the SOTELMA contract.

Regional dimension · PANAF-TEL

5countries

West Africa · Senegal · Mauritania · Burkina Faso · Niger · Benin

Beyond Mali, TME has extended its fiber expertise to several West African countries. Through the PANAF-TEL program, our teams have deployed fiber equipment and segments in Senegal and Mauritania — alongside energy and solar installations across five countries in the region (Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin). This regional dimension reinforces TME's logistical capacity on structuring projects of the sub-continent.

Related projects

  • Orange Mali · 2024

    Bamako → Kayes

    Fiber-optic backbone deployment between Bamako and Kayes for Orange Mali, linking the country's two main economic regions.

  • SOTELMA · 2023

    Gao, Kidal, Mopti

    Reinforcement and extension of a phased batch of telecom sites in northern Mali, under demanding logistical and security conditions.

Partners

SOTELMAOrange Mali