Cape Verde: Globalcomms Database

TeleGeography
GlobalComms Database
Cape Verde
Summary Data
Total mobile subscriptions (Dec 2022): 577,000

Population penetration: 96.8%
Average penetration in region: 89.2%
Average penetration in GDP per cap decile: 125.3%
Total fixed broadband subscriptions (Dec 2022): 31,000
Household penetration: 24.5%
Total PSTN+VoIP (2022): 54,787
Household penetration: 43.2%
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Country Overview
Key Data
Area (sq km): 4,033
Population 2021 (million): 0.6
Households 2021 (million): 0.1
Capital: Praia
Language: Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole
Exchange rate annual average (2022): USD 1 = CVE 104.94
GDP 2021 (USD billion): 1.9
GDP per capita 2021 (USD thousand): 3.3
Sources: BBC, CIA World Factbook, IMF, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), World Bank
Map
Political Profile
The Republic of Cape Verde (Republica de Cabo Verde) consists of an archipelago of ten islands
and eight islets 570km off the west coast of Africa. The largest island in size and population is
Santiago, home to the capital city, Praia. Repeated droughts during the second half of the 20th century
caused significant hardship and prompted heavy emigration and, as a result, Cape Verde’s expatriate
population is greater than the number of residents. Most Cabo Verdeans have both African and
Portuguese antecedents.
Cape Verde was colonised by Portugal in the 15th century, and in 1951 Portugal altered the status
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of the islands from a colony to an overseas province, but this failed to quieten a growing nationalist
movement. In 1956 Cape Verde national Amilcar Cabral founded the African Party for Independence
of Guinea and Cape Verde (Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine e Cabo Verde, PAIGC) which
linked the nationalist faction on the islands with that of another West African territory, Portuguese
Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau). The PAIGC began a mainland armed rebellion in 1961, supported by
Russia, China and Cuba, resulting in full-blown war before Guinea-Bissau was granted independence
in 1973. In Cape Verde, meanwhile, the PAIGC remained a political rather than a paramilitary
movement, and it took until 1975 to achieve independence and elect the first single-party National
Assembly, before breaking ties with Guinea-Bissau in 1980, with the PAIGC renaming itself the
African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (Partido Africano da Independencia de Cabo Verde,
PAICV). In September 1990 the constitution was altered to enable a multi-party system, and the first
full elections were held the following January. These were won by the Movement for Democracy
(Movimento para a Democracia, MPD) and a concurrent presidential poll saw the MPD’s Antonio
Mascarenhas Monteiro gain victory over the PAICV candidate.
The president is the head of state and is elected by popular vote for a five-year renewable term. Jorge
Carlos Fonseca of the MPD took office in September 2011 after securing 54% of the vote to beat his
PAICV opponent, Manuel Inocencio Sousa, and in the subsequent election in October 2016 Fonseca
won a second term with 74% of the vote ahead of nearest rival, independent candidate Albertino
Graca (23%). The most recent presidential election in October 2021 witnessed a defeat for the MPD’s
presidential candidate Carlos Veiga, who managed to secure only 42% of votes due to the popularity
of the PAICV’s Jose Maria Neves, polling 52%, who had previously served as prime minister for 15
years between 2001 and 2016.
Members of parliament are elected to the 72-seat unicameral National Assembly through a closed-
list proportional representation system to serve five-year terms. Parliamentary elections in March
2016 saw a turnaround as the MPD won the most seats (40) ahead of the PAICV (29), compared
to the previous election (February 2011) standings of PAICV (38 seats)/MPD (32 seats). The MPD
maintained its leading position in the most recent parliamentary election in April 2021, although its
seats were reduced by two to 38, as the PAICV’s seats increased by one to 30. The current prime
minister is Ulisses Correia e Silva of the MPD, who has been in office since April 2016.
Economic Development
The islands of Cape Verde are volcanic in origin and most are mountainous, with few natural
resources, therefore only four of the ten main islands support any major agricultural production and
the country is prone to severe droughts. Although about 40% of the population lives in rural areas,
the share of food production in GDP is low, and over 80% of food must be imported. Further, the
country’s fishing potential, primarily lobster and tuna, is not yet fully exploited. The tourism industry,
however, has developed rapidly, whilst the government is making efforts to turn the islands into a
trade and transport hub.
The country experienced a recession in 2009 (1.3% annual GDP decline) caused by the global
financial crisis, though it recovered modestly the following year, and GDP growth averaged 2.2% in
2010-2012. The IMF reported that Cape Verde’s economy grew by a relatively low annual average of
0.8% in 2013-2015 before a hike in the growth rate to average 4.5% in 2016-2018, reaching a peak
of 5.7% in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused GDP to contract by 14.8% in 2020, according to
the IMF, which reported a return to annual economic growth of 7.0% for FY21 and estimated 4.0%
GDP growth for 2022, with a projected rate of 4.8% for 2023. Inflation was relatively low and stable
for a number of years, with the IMF reporting rates of 0.8% (2017), 1.3% (2018), 1.1% (2019), 0.6%
(2020) and 1.9% (2021), but forecasts a spike to 6.5% for FY22, before falling back to around 3.5% in
2023. Unemployment fell from a peak of 16.8% in 2012 to 8.5% in 2019, and the IMF did not report
any significant change to this figure over the subsequent three years despite 2020’s recession.
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Regulations
Regulatory Overview
Cape Verde established a regulator for the telecommunications, broadcasting and postal sectors
in June 2006, originally named the National Agency of Communications (Agencia Nacional das
Comunicacoes, ANAC), following the enactment of Decree-Law 31/2006. ANAC was merged into
the new Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy (Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da
Economia, ARME) under Decree-Law 50/2018 of 20 September 2018. ARME is an independent
authority regulating the communications, energy, water and passenger transport sectors. Its primary
telecoms regulatory duties comprise managing radio spectrum, granting licences to operators,
promoting competition, encouraging investment, promoting innovation of technology and protecting
consumers.
Legislation governing the sector is contained in the Law on Electronic Communications (Decree-Law
7/2005), enacted on 28 November 2005, plus related amendments including Decree-Law 2/2014 of
13 October 2014, which updated the framework of identification of significant market power (SMP)
and the obligations imposed on SMP operators, most recently amended via Decree-Law 2/2021 of 20
April 2021.
Network Sharing
An infrastructure sharing framework for networks to host other operators’ services was finalised in
Resolution No. 31/CA/2019 of 29 November 2019, ‘Regulation for the Sharing of Infrastructures
capable of hosting Electronic Communications Networks and Services’. The rules apply to all
operators, owners and managers of infrastructure capable of hosting electronic communications
networks and services, including telcos, power companies and broadcasters. In December
2021-January 2022 ARME held a public consultation on a new Draft Regulation on Infrastructure
Sharing, aimed at updating the rules for sharing of sites and resources. According to the Draft,
access and sharing of infrastructure suitable for hosting electronic communications networks must
be guaranteed by the regulator in compliance with the principles of equality, transparency and non-
discrimination, while it should also be compatible with the principle of proportionality and oriented
to costs. Finalisation of the rules had yet to be announced by end-February 2023.
Regulation Links
Mobile Key Legislation
Fixed Broadband Key Legislation
Fixed Voice Key Legislation
Mobile Regulatory Overview

Regulatory Bodies
Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Economy (ARME)
Edificio da ARME, Piso 5, Cha d'Areia

Avenida da China
Praia
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 4400
https://www.arme.cv
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https://www.consumidor.arme.cv
Mobile Key Legislation

Cape Verde’s mobile market is overseen by the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy
(Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME), into which the original regulator – the
National Agency of Communications (Agencia Nacional das Comunicacoes, ANAC) – was merged
under Decree-Law 50/2018 of 20 September 2018.
2G Licensing
Between 1997 and 2007 the mobile sector was a monopoly for Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) and its
wholly owned subsidiary CV Movel. CVT received its mobile licence in October 1997 and spun off its
mobile division into the newly formed CV Movel on 1 January 2006, as required by Decree-Law 72/
95 (Article 18) of 20 September 2005. A re-merger of CV Movel and CVT was scheduled for January
2023 but was postponed and remained on hold at the time of writing (February 2023).
Waiving the requirement to tender following a failed attempt to auction a second mobile licence
in 2004, the government began private negotiations later that year with Alexander Group
Telecommunications (ASG). The US-backed company was subsequently awarded a ten-year licence
– starting from December 2005 – for the equivalent of USD2 million (around CVE180 million at
the time in local currency). ASG was issued 900MHz/1800MHz spectrum, whilst the government
agreed to a two-year moratorium on granting new licences. In 2006 Senegal’s Teylium Telecom
Group bought a 70% stake in ASG, which was later dubbed T+ Telecomunicacoes, and the cellco
launched GSM services in 2007; it was renamed Unitel T+ following its October 2012 takeover by
Netherlands-registered Unitel International Holdings (UIH), backed by Angolan tycoon Isabel dos
Santos. TeleGeography notes though, that in December 2022 Angola’s Supreme Court ordered the
seizure of dos Santos’ assets including UIH’s stake in Unitel T+.
3G Licensing
In September 2010 ANAC announced a plan to launch a public tender for up to three nationwide 3G
2100MHz (UMTS) licences and a single 2G (GSM) concession. The deadline for the submission of
proposals was set for 7 December 2010, although it took another twelve months before the regulator
revealed the 3G concession winners, while the 2G licence remained unsold. As expected, the two
existing mobile operators, CV Movel and T+, each secured a 3G licence. The former claimed to have
won a concession with a bid nearly four times higher than the minimum requirement and promised
to cover the majority of the country within the first year of operation. CV Movel went on to launch
commercial W-CDMA services in the first quarter of 2012, while T+ inaugurated its 3G network in
the third quarter of that year. ARME’s quality of service (QoS) study completed in April 2019 (latest
national study as of February 2023) rated both cellcos’ voice and data service (2G and 3G) QoS as
satisfactory, with no significant difference in QoS between the two.
4G Licensing
ANAC selected Thomson Broadcast to oversee Cape Verde’s analogue-to-digital terrestrial TV (DTT)
migration in August 2015, a process freeing up 800MHz (790MHz-862MHz) ‘digital dividend’
spectrum for 4G mobile broadband. In December 2017 the first phase of DTT rollout was completed,
covering twelve out of 22 municipalities and 70% of the population, and in April 2018 a newly-
established publicly-owned company, Cabo Verde Broadcast (CVB), took responsibility for managing
the national DTT project. In November 2020 DTT reached 95% of the population, with a presence
in all 22 municipalities (up from 87% in 18 municipalities reported in February that year). Analogue
TV switch-off began in August 2020 on the island of Santiago and was completed when analogue
transmitters on Santo Antao, Cape Verde’s most mountainous island, were decommissioned in Q3
2021. According to information provided by the Cape Verdean authorities to the ITU, the latter’s
website indicated that the digital dividend spectrum had been successfully reallocated on a national
level by the end of 2021.
In September-November 2015 ANAC held a public consultation on proposed 4G LTE licensing

in the 800MHz band, while cellcos requested that the 1800MHz band also be assigned for 4G/
technology-neutral usage. ANAC proposed a 2×10MHz assignment per cellco in the 800MHz band,
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but Unitel T+ suggested a 2×15MHz award (plus at least 2×20MHz in the 1800MHz band), whilst
CVT also suggested the regulator’s proposed bandwidth allocations were too small. 4G LTE coverage
obligations were proposed as follows: 50% population within the first year of service, rising to 70%
within three years, 80% after five years and 95% coverage a decade after receiving the initial licence.
In October 2018 ANAC/ARME announced that the government had approved regulations (under
Resolution No. 93/2018 of 14 September 2018) for a public tender of LTE spectrum licences, which
was launched by ARME at the end of December 2018, resulting in the existing two cellcos being
selected to receive concessions in May 2019. In June that year, ARME allocated 4G trial spectrum to
CV Movel and Unitel T+, prompting both to launch pilot LTE networks on the island of Sal, before
officially awarding the pair commercial 4G mobile licences including 1800MHz frequencies on 18
September 2019. The awards followed three months of network trials and completion of a spectrum
reorganisation process, enabling the operators to introduce commercial services that month. One of the
operators, CV Movel, reported an 80% population coverage level by end-2021, ahead of the requisite
licensing schedule, and whilst ARME had not published a comprehensive national LTE QoS audit by
February 2023, it had issued smaller QoS reports validating LTE coverage on Fogo and Maio islands
by that date.
5G Proposals
In September 2019 ARME’s chairman Isaias Barreto declared that Cape Verde would conduct a 5G
technology ‘pilot experiment’ in partnership with Huawei. Barreto said that ARME was in the process
of choosing which island to conduct the 5G pilot on. More recently, in January 2022 CV Movel said
that it aimed to proceed with 5G mobile network pilot projects ‘on tourist islands’ later that year
if the government clarified its position on the choice of fifth-generation equipment vendors, while
upcoming negotiations would be aimed at securing 5G spectrum alongside tax breaks to support new
investments. Further developments were awaited as at end-February 2023, however.
Mobile Number Portability
Mobile number portability (MNP) was introduced on 2 May 2013. Following a consultation on
amendments to MNP regulation in July-August 2019, ARME implemented Resolution No. 1/CA/2020
on 27 January 2020, resulting in the reduction of the time allowed for operators to respond to a porting
request (from 48 hours to 24 hours) alongside other adjustments to streamline and simplify the MNP
process.
Significant Market Power
In November 2015 ANAC declared CV Movel to hold significant market power (SMP) in both retail
mobile voice communication and wholesale mobile voice call termination, whilst Unitel T+ was
declared to hold SMP in wholesale mobile voice call termination only (see ‘Mobile Termination
Rates’ below for further developments). In the retail market, ANAC imposed on CV Movel minimum
and maximum mobile voice price cap obligations (effective 1 January 2016) and in September 2017
ANAC ordered CV Movel to change its ‘D’Kel BOM’ (voice, internet and SMS) packages due to
transgression of the minimum price cap.
In the wholesale segment, the following obligations were imposed on both CV Movel and Unitel T+
(effective 1 January 2016): responding to reasonable requests for access; non-discrimination in the
provision of access and interconnection; transparency in publishing information; and price control/
cost accounting. A subsequent ANAC market analysis document, issued in June 2018, confirmed that
the CVT group (including CV Movel and CV Multimedia) had SMP obligations in all 13 applicable
telecoms markets identified; Unitel T+ continued to be designated SMP in only two markets –
termination of mobile and fixed calls. ARME’s follow-on market analysis document in May 2020
maintained the same SMP designations. New analyses from ARME were pending as at end-February
2023.
SIM Registration
Following public consultation on a draft SIM Card Registration & Activation Regulation launched in
April 2021, in January 2022 ARME published comments from market participants, state agencies and
other interested parties, noting that the ‘non-binding’ feedback would receive ‘due treatment’. While
the legal enforcement of SIM registration had yet to be announced by February 2023, at that date
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Unitel T+ was offering its users a 1GB mobile data bonus in return for registering.
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Asymmetry of Mobile Termination Rates
CVE per
minute 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014-15 Jan-16 May-16 Jul-16 Sep-16->Jul-21 Aug-21 Nov-21 Feb-22 May-22 Aug-22 Nov-22->Jan-23
CV Movel 9.00 8.50 8.50 7.30 7.30 7.30 6.30 5.80 5.30 4.80 2.00 1.75 1.50 1.25 1.15 1.00
Unitel T+ 10.00 10.00 10.00 8.50 8.45 8.45 7.45 6.95 6.45 5.95 3.00 2.60 2.15 1.65 1.40 1.20
Sources: ANAC/ARME
Mobile Termination Rates
Source: ANAC/ARME
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ANAC issued a decision in November 2015 maintaining asymmetric mobile termination rates (MTRs)
in favour of Unitel T+ as the smaller operator in subscription terms behind CV Movel. ARME’s
subsequent Public Consultation Report on Cost Modelling for Determining Mobile Wholesale
Termination Rates (published 30 October 2019) concluded that an updated MTR framework based
on a Long Run Incremental Cost (LRIC) model was needed. In May 2020 ARME’s update to SMP
obligations (set by ANAC in June 2018) contained a draft proposal to reduce MTRs significantly,
to around CVE1 per minute (to help lower retail prices, in particular the cost of off-net calls), and
the regulator ran another consultation on ‘Definition of Concepts and Methodological Approach’ for
implementing the Pure LRIC model in February-March 2021. Finally, on 29 July 2021 ARME issued
Resolution No. 25/CA/2021 approving an 18-month MTR glidepath, initially reducing the respective
MTRs for CV Movel and Unitel T+ from CVE4.8/CVE5.95 to CVE2/CVE3 effective 1 August 2021,
sliding in three-month steps to CVE1/CVE1.2 on 1 November 2022 (valid to 31 January 2023). The
glidepath reduced the amount of MTR asymmetry from CVE1.15 to just CVE0.2 (see ‘Asymmetry of
Mobile Termination Rates’ table). As at end-February 2023 a follow-on determination on MTRs was
awaited from ARME, expected to be backdated to that month.
MVNO Legislation
Cape Verde has yet to authorise any MVNOs and no MVNO-specific regulations are in place,
although the wholesale obligations of mobile network operators (MNOs) CV Movel and Unitel T+
include responding to ‘reasonable’ access requests (potentially applicable to virtual operators). A
regulatory framework for networks hosting other operators’ electronic communication services came
into force on 29 November 2019, potentially supporting MVNOs, but largely aimed at physical
infrastructure sharing between telecoms/non-telecoms operators; draft updates to these rules went out
to public consultation between December 2021 and January 2022, but there have been no subsequent
announcements.
Fixed Broadband Regulatory Overview

Regulatory Bodies

Avenida da China
Praia
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 4400
https://www.arme.cv
Current Status of Local Loop Unbundling: Pre-commercial

Reference unbundling offer: http://www.cvtelecom.cv/content/novo-tarif%C3%A1rio-cvtelecom
Fixed Broadband Key Legislation

Cape Verde’s fixed broadband market is overseen by the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of
the Economy (Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME), into which the original
regulator – the National Agency of Communications (Agencia Nacional das Comunicacoes, ANAC) –
was merged under Decree-Law 50/2018 of 20 September 2018.
Fixed Broadband Licensees
The sector is dominated by national fixed line incumbent Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT), which operates
ADSL and fibre broadband services via its wholly owned subsidiary CV Multimedia. Aside from
mobile operators, as of February 2023 there were no other active licensed ISPs. Small Wi-Fi-based
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provider CaboCom received its national internet services licence in February 2008 and launched
services in July that year, but it shut its operations in 2018.
Other companies have received ISP licences but were not offering internet services at February
2023, namely: CVWiFi (licensed December 2007, but later confirmed by ARME to have folded);
MB Investimentos and Telmax (both licensed October 2008); SGPM Comunicacoes (licensed January
2010, alongside a cable pay-TV permit); and TLC (launched fixed wireless internet/telephony in
October 2012 but subsequently exited the market).
International Capacity Access
Decree 014/CA/2014 of 20 November 2014 approved CVT’s mandatory ‘ORAE’ reference offer
for wholesale access to its international submarine cable capacity, including via local cable landing
stations. In August 2020 CVT was issued a CVE5 million fine by ARME for preventing Unitel T+
from accessing its submarine cable station. In June that year a decision from ARME forced CVT to
grant access to Unitel T+, a ruling which CVT argued against.
Universal Internet Access
In December 2021 the government announced the upcoming launch of a Universal Internet Access
Fund alongside a ‘social tariff’ for affordable internet access, aiming to establish internet access as
an essential service, with tariffs accessible to lower-income citizens, under the wider umbrellas of
national digital transformation initiatives. On this theme, Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva told
the ITU in July 2022: ‘To promote more [internet] use, we introduced some incentives with good
pricing for users’; in January that year the PM set a goal for the digital economy to contribute 25% of
GDP, up from a current estimated 6%, helped by various public investments in digital platforms and
exclusive economic zones for the sector on the islands of Santiago and Sao Vicente.
Fixed Broadband Wholesale Access

Under Decrees 05/CA/2010 and 01/CA/2011, the National Agency of Communications (Agencia
Nacional das Comunicacoes, ANAC) recognised incumbent PTO Cape Verde Telecom (CVT) as a
fixed network operator with significant market power (SMP), and Decree 04/CA/2012 of June 2012
imposed an obligation upon the telco to open up its infrastructure to other providers. In October 2012
CVT submitted a reference unbundling offer (RUO), and the regulator held public consultations on
the proposals – including local loop unbundling (LLU) pricing – through 2013. In October that year
ANAC requested CVT submit additional information and administrative fees by 31 January 2014, and
the finalised commercial RUO – or ‘ORALL’ (Oferta de Referencia para o Acesso ao Lacete Local)
– was published in March 2014. In May 2020 the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy
(Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME) published a market analysis document
stating that it would impose obligations on CVT to add unbundled fibre access to its wholesale offer
– responsibilities which will be developed further under CVT’s new 20-year operating concession
contract with the government, approved via Decree 36/2021 of 14 April 2021 and finally signed on 12
January 2022.
As of February 2023 neither ARME nor CVT identified any retail ISP competitors using the RUO
(ORALL) wholesale product, but CVT’s own ISP subsidiary CV Multimedia is required to operate via
the RUO. ARME confirmed in its May 2020 market document that CV Multimedia remained the sole
LLU wholesale ‘customer’ at that date (utilising over 20,000 local loops according to previous ARME
reports).
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Fixed Voice Regulatory Overview
Regulatory Bodies

Avenida da China
Praia
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 4400
https://www.arme.cv
Dates of Liberalisation
• Local Telephony: Jan 2007
• Domestic Long-distance Telephony: Jan 2007
• International Telephony: Jan 2006
Fixed Voice Key Legislation

Cape Verde’s fixed voice market is overseen by the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy
(Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME), into which the original regulator – the
National Agency of Communications (Agencia Nacional das Comunicacoes, ANAC) – was merged
under Decree-Law 50/2018 of 20 September 2018.
Fixed line incumbent Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) was created in 1994 following the separation
of state-backed telco, postal services operator and then-regulator, the Public Postal and
Telecommunications Company (Empresa Public dos Correios e Telecomunicaoes, CTT-EP). Under
November 2005’s Law on Electronic Communications (Decree-Law 7/2005) CVT lost its legal
monopolies over international fixed telephony and leased line services on 1 January 2006, and local/
national fixed telephony on 1 January 2007. As at February 2023 the CVT group’s only fixed voice
competitor was Unitel T+ which offers B2B-only VoIP/SIP Trunk services plus a residential fixed
line replacement service over its cellular network. CVT’s own CV Multimedia division is the main
provider of VoIP telephony. Regarding interconnection and access to CVT’s fixed voice network,
in ARME’s May 2020 market analysis document, the regulator stated under the heading ‘Wholesale
Call Origination’: ‘Any problems should be resolved under bilateral interconnection agreements. In
view of the recent signing of interconnection agreements in this area, there is no need for ARME
intervention.’
Functional Separation
The government originally scheduled the functional separation of management of the CVT group’s
wholesale telecoms infrastructure operations from its retail services in 2021, but the timeline was
delayed. A pre-requisite was CVT’s new 20-year public communications operating concession
contract with the government, approved via Decree 36/2021 of 14 April 2021 and belatedly signed
on 12 January 2022, after CVT’s previous concession (signed in 1996) officially expired at end-2020.
The new contract provides for the division of the public fixed telecoms company, separating retail
services from the operation of inter-island and international telecommunications networks, and directs
CVT to establish an autonomous, operationally independent wholesale division to manage and operate
the inter-island backbone network and international hub, with this providing all operators with
access products and services under the same terms and conditions available to CVT’s own retail
divisions. In January 2022 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance & Digital Economy, Olavo
Correia, declared that functional separation will give ‘greater dynamism to the sector’ and ‘ensure the
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necessary investments.’ Further developments were pending as at 28 end-February 2023.
Privatisation Proposals
CVT – part-privatised in December 1995 – is earmarked for further privatisation. A resolution

published in Cape Verde’s official gazette in August 2017 placed 23 public and part-state-owned
enterprises – including CVT and data centre operator Nucleo Operacional da Sociedade de informacao
(NOSi) – on a list of companies to be privatised and/or restructured ‘by 2021’, although schedules
have been pushed back. In January 2022 Deputy PM Correia highlighted that, after freezing such
proposals amid the COVID-19 crisis, the government still intended to sell further CVT shares but
was waiting for the right opportunity to maximise value for the state and Cape Verdean taxpayers.
In November 2022 a Cabinet of Ministers resolution placed the telco on a list of nine public sector
companies earmarked for share sales by 2026.
Fixed Telephony Tax
In March 2013 ANAC altered the rate of value added tax (VAT) to be applied to fixed telephony
services, in line with the 2013 state budget which stipulated that VAT would cover 100% of the value
of taxable services. Under the terms of Deliberation 1/CA/2013, VAT was henceforth applied to 100%
of the retail price for fixed telephony services, replacing the previous rate of 60% of the cost.
Fixed Number Portability
Fixed number portability (FNP) was introduced in Cape Verde on 2 May 2013. CVT confirms that
FNP can be used to port numbers between its legacy PSTN and VoIP services – (including those
operated by its subsidiary CV Multimedia).
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Fixed Termination Rates
Source: ARME
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An ANAC market analysis document, issued in June 2018, confirmed that the CVT group (including
CV Multimedia) and Unitel T+ continued to be hold significant market power (SMP) for wholesale
termination of fixed voice calls. ARME’s follow-on market analysis document in May 2020
maintained the same SMP designations. After implementing the Pure Long Run Incremental Cost
(LRIC) model, on 29 July 2021 ARME’s Resolution No. 26/CA/2021 finalised a glidepath for the
unified fixed termination rate (FTR), applicable to traditional and VoIP calls, from its existing
CVE5.95 to CVE2.0 (August 2021), CVE1.75 (November 2021), CVE1.5 (February 2022), CVE1.25
(May 2022), CVE1.15 (August 2022) and CVE1.0 (November 2022-January 2023). Note that the pre-
glidepath FTR was equivalent to the mobile termination rate (MTR) of smaller operator Unitel T+
whereas all subsequent FTR glidepath values are equivalent to the MTR glidepath of larger cellco
CV Movel. As at end-February 2023 a follow-on determination on FTRs was awaited from ARME,
expected to be backdated to that month.
VoIP Legislation
Legislation covering VoIP services was introduced in Cape Verde in 2008, when a number of (now-
defunct) ISPs were licensed. Take-up proved slow and the only company to gain traction in the
consumer VoIP sector is fixed line incumbent Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) via its CV Multimedia
division’s ZAP-branded triple-play services – introduced in 2014 and finally overtaking the telco’s
PSTN (POTS) services in terms of line volume in 2022 – whilst Unitel T+ (chiefly a mobile operator)
offers business customers virtual PBX/VoIP/SIP Trunk services.
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Mobile
Market Commentary
According to the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy (Agencia Reguladora
Multissectorial da Economia, ARME), at 30 September 2022 there were 577,582 mobile subscriptions
in Cape Verde, down from 590,150 at the start of the year, and the total was estimated at 577,000
at end-2022, the figure having fluctuated in recent years. Cellular population penetration was
approximately 97% at end-2022, roughly eight percentage points higher than the African average,
although the Cape Verde figure trailed the average for countries in a similar GDP per capita bracket
worldwide by roughly 29pp. According to ARME the proportion of post-paid mobile subscriptions
averaged only around 4.5%-5.0% in 2022, having inched up from 4.0%-4.5% in 2021.
In December 2011 incumbent operators CV Movel and Unitel T+ gained 3G licences, although
the authorities failed to attract a third market player, with additional 2G/3G concessions remaining
unsold. CV Movel and Unitel T+ launched 3G in the first and third quarters of 2012, respectively.
Operators bemoaned delays to the introduction of 4G licensing, which forced them to continue
investing in 3G networks, and it was not until June 2019 that CV Movel and Unitel T+ were permitted
by ARME to launch LTE network pilots, before the issuing of formal licences enabled commercial 4G
service launches in September that year. No official 4G take-up figures were available by the time of
writing (February 2023), but the active LTE subscription base was estimated at 188,900 at end-2022,
up by roughly 70,000 in a year and accounting for around 33% of the total market, compared to 20%
at 31 December 2021. By contrast, 3G take-up has stalled, falling by a net 56,000 between end-2021
and end-2022 to around 288,500 subscriptions, and now accounts for about 50% of the mobile total
(dropping 8pp year-on-year). Most 3G/4G users are on smartphones, while ARME’s reports indicate
there were around 30,000 data-only mobile device subscriptions (modem/tablet/other) at end-2022,
down by 4,000 y-o-y.
Total mobile voice minutes in Q3 2022 (latest figures from ARME) rose to 310.4 million from 306.3
million in the same period of 2021, with on-net calls accounting for the lion’s share – 305.3 million
minutes (3Q21: 299.9 million). International mobile minutes continued a persistent downward trend
to 1.1 million in 3Q22 (from 1.8 million in 3Q21), attributed to the worldwide vogue for using OTT
communications applications instead of phone calls.
5G Developments
In January 2022 CV Movel indicated it could begin a 5G pilot by the end of that year if the government
clarified its 5G vendor policy, although later the same month representatives of both CV Movel and
Unitel T+ stressed that there would be no commercial switch in focus to 5G until 4G had fulfilled
its market potential, with the latter cellco referring to the local 4G LTE sector as remaining in the
‘embryonic’ stage, partly due to development being stunted by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout
2020-21. No further developments were reported by end-February 2023.
Networks
Provider
Name Generation Platform Evolution Frequency Launch Status Network Details
CV Movel 2G GSM None 900/1800 Dec 1997 Live Feb-23: ~99.6%;

Feb-19: 99.34%;
Feb-16: 94%
CV Movel 2.5G GSM GPRS 900/1800 Oct 2008 Live Feb-23: ~99.6%;
Feb-19: 99.34%;
Feb-16: 94%
CV Movel 2.5G GSM EDGE 900/1800 Oct 2008 Live Feb-23: >90% (est.),
incl. full coverage of
15
Provider
Name Generation Platform Evolution Frequency Launch Status Network Details
Santiago and Sao

Vicente
CV Movel 3G W-CDMA None 2100 Q1 2012 Live Feb-23: 95% (est.);

Feb-20: 94% (est.), ~20
out of 22 municipalities;
Dec-17: 91.1%;
Feb-16: 15
municipalities; Aug-12:
all populated islands
CV Movel 3.5G W-CDMA HSDPA 2100 Q1 2012 Live Feb-23: 95% (est.);
Feb-20: 94% (est.), ~20
out of 22 municipalities;
Dec-17: 91.1%;
Feb-16: 15
municipalities; Aug-12:
all populated islands
CV Movel 4G LTE None 1800 Sep 2019 Live Feb-23: ~88% (est.);
Feb-22: >80%; Dec-21:
80%; Feb-21: ~70%
(est.); Feb-20: 40%,
deploying on all main
islands; Sep-19:
Santiago, Sao Vicente,
Sal islands; Jun-19: Sal
(pilot), plan to deploy
on ten islands
CV Movel 5G NR: NSA None Unknown 2023 Planned Feb-23: progress

unknown; company
claimed in Jan-22 it
could pilot 5G ‘on
tourist islands’ (’in
2022’) if government
clarifies 5G vendor
policy, although 4G will
initially remain
commercial focus
Unitel T+ 2G GSM None 900/1800 Dec 2007 Live Feb-23: ~96% (est.)
Unitel T+ 2.5G GSM GPRS 900/1800 Dec 2007 Live Feb-23: ~96% (est.)
Unitel T+ 2.5G GSM EDGE 900/1800 Dec 2007 Live Feb-23: >90% (est.)
Unitel T+ 3G W-CDMA None 2100 Q3 2012 Live Feb-23: >90% (est.);

Mar-18: all major cities/
towns on at least six
islands
Unitel T+ 3.5G W-CDMA HSDPA 2100 Q3 2012 Live Feb-23: >90% (est.);
Mar-18: all major cities/
towns on at least six
islands
Unitel T+ 4G LTE None 1800 Sep 2019 Live Feb-23: ~77% (est.);
Feb-22: ~70% (est.);
Feb-21: ~60% (est.);
Feb-20: ~25% (est.),
islands incl. Santiago,
Sao Vicente and Sal;
Sep-19: 4G commercial
licensing; Jun-19: Sal
(pilot)
16
Spectrum Awarded Timeline
Band Band Block Block
Paid Term Paired Unpaired Paired Unpaired
Recipient Type (USDm) (yrs) (MHz) (MHz) (MHz) (MHz) Note
2019
CV Movel LTE 1800 Augmenting

existing
1800 band
Unitel T+ LTE 1800 Augmenting

existing
1800 band
2015
CV Movel GSM 10 900, 2x8, Renewal

1800 2x16
Unitel T+ GSM 10 900, 2x7.8, Renewal

1800 2x16
2011
CV Movel W-CDMA 10 2100 2100 2x15 1x5
T+ W-CDMA 10 2100 2100 2x15 1x5 Renamed

Unitel T+
2006
CV Movel GSM 10 900, 2x8, Renewal

1800 2x16
2005
Alexander Group GSM 2 10 900, 2x7.8, Renamed

Telecommunications 1800 2x16 T+/Unitel
T+
1997
Cabo Verde GSM 9 900, 2x8, Transferred

Telecom 1800 2x16 to CV
Movel
subsidiary
Notes: for full spectrum awarded timeline details, including additional notes and specific ranges
where available, see Spectrum Timeline downloadable spreadsheet in the Download part of
GlobalComms
Spectrum Held Summary

Company Spectrum Bands (MHz)
CV Movel 900, 1800, 2100
Unitel T+ 900, 1800, 2100
Notes: for full spectrum details, including block sizes, expiry dates and specific ranges where
available, see Spectrum Search in the Search&Export part of GlobalComms
17
Mobile Links
MVNO Market Commentary
Main Players
Total Subscriptions Share by Network
Sources: ARME, estimates
Subscriptions Market Share History

Provider Name Sep 2021 Dec 2021 Mar 2022 Jun 2022 Sep 2022 Dec 2022
CV Movel 69.4% 69.0% 69.0% 69.0% 68.0% 67.9%
Unitel T+ 30.6% 31.0% 31.0% 31.0% 32.0% 32.1%
18
3G Subscriptions Share by Network
19
4G Subscriptions Share by Network
Quarterly Subscriptions by Network

Provider Name Subscriptions Sep 2021 Dec 2021 Mar 2022 Jun 2022 Sep 2022 Dec 2022
CV Movel Total 404,800 407,200 405,197 401,443 392,756 392,000
CV Movel 3G 231,700 221,000 212,000 203,000 188,000 181,000
CV Movel 4G 63,200 79,900 95,555 104,110 117,109 128,000
Unitel T+ Total 178,900 182,950 182,045 180,359 184,826 185,000
Unitel T+ 3G 125,200 123,600 118,500 114,000 111,000 107,500
Unitel T+ 4G 32,190 39,000 45,800 48,700 56,533 60,900
Annual Country Subscriptions Growth

Pop. 3G 4G 5G
Growth Pen. Growth Growth Growth
Year Total (%) (%) 3G (%) 4G (%) 5G (%)
2017 642,000 1.1 113.0 382,000 6.4 0 0
2018 610,000 -5.0 106.2 374,000 -2.1 0 0
2019 595,700 -2.3 102.7 403,000 7.8 14,300 0
2020 544,700 -8.6 93.1 370,400 -8.1 34,300 139.9 0
2021 590,150 8.3 99.9 344,600 -7.0 118,900 246.6 0
2022 577,000 -2.2 96.8 288,500 -16.3 188,900 58.9 0
20
Quarterly Country Subscriptions Growth
3G 4G 5G
Growth Growth Growth Growth
Period Total (%) 3G (%) 4G (%) 5G (%)
Sep 2020 548,400 -0.3 376,400 -0.5 27,150 18.6 0
Dec 2020 544,700 -0.7 370,400 -1.6 34,300 26.3 0
Mar 2021 558,300 2.5 366,700 -1.0 53,350 55.5 0
Jun 2021 563,850 1.0 359,200 -2.0 70,500 32.1 0
Sep 2021 583,700 3.5 356,900 -0.6 95,390 35.3 0
Dec 2021 590,150 1.1 344,600 -3.4 118,900 24.6 0
Mar 2022 587,242 -0.5 330,500 -4.1 141,355 18.9 0
Jun 2022 581,802 -0.9 317,000 -4.1 152,810 8.1 0
Sep 2022 577,582 -0.7 299,000 -5.7 173,642 13.6 0
Dec 2022 577,000 -0.1 288,500 -3.5 188,900 8.8 0
MVNO Market Commentary

At the time of writing (February 2023) the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy
(Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME) had yet to authorise any MVNOs.
Total Subscriptions Growth
Sources: ANAC/ARME, estimates
Main Players
CV Movel
Cha de Areia
CP 126/A
Praia, Santiago
Cape Verde
Fax +238 262 2509
21
http://www.cvmovel.cv
https://www.facebook.com/cvmovel
Cape Verde’s mobile market leader CV Movel operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of fixed line
incumbent Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT), which launched GSM network services in December 1997
before spinning off the mobile business into the newly formed CV Movel on 1 January 2006.
Pre-paid services were added to the original contract-only GSM range in 1998, and the 900MHz/
1800MHz GSM network was available on all of Cape Verde’s islands by October 2006, while in 2008
CV Movel rolled out GPRS/EDGE upgrades, offering mobile internet for the first time. At the time
of writing (February 2023) CV Movel covered all 22 national municipalities, claiming population
coverage of around 99.6%, having reported 99.34% four years earlier, up from 94% at February 2016.
CV Movel acquired a 3G licence in December 2011 and launched W-CDMA/HSDPA network services
early the following year on islands including Santiago, Sao Vicente and Sal, rapidly expanding to the
majority of Cape Verde’s islands between April and June 2012 (including Brava island that month).
The ninth and final island to achieve coverage was Sao Nicolau on 25 August that year (a tenth
island, Santa Luzia is not officially inhabited). By Q1 2016 the 3G network was available in 15 cities/
municipalities: Praia, Tarrafal, Assomada/Santa Catarina and Sao Miguel (Santiago island); Mindelo/
Sao Vicente (Sao Vicente island); Santa Maria/Espargos/Sal (Sal island); Sao Filipe (Fogo island);
Sal Rei/Boa Vista (Boa Vista island); Maio (Maio island); Nova Sintra/Brava (Brava island); Ribeira
Brava and Tarrafal de Sao Nicolau (Sao Nicolau island); Paul, Porto Novo and Ribeira Grande (Santo
Antao island). Originally aiming for 80% 3G population coverage by 2013, at the end of 2017 the
operator confirmed that its 3G footprint covered 91.1% of Cape Verdeans (in at least 20 out of 22
municipalities), rising to an estimated 95% by February 2023.
In June 2019 CV Movel deployed a 4G LTE pilot network on Sal island, and upon receiving its
formal 4G licence on 18 September 2019 it launched commercial mobile LTE services on islands
including Santiago, Sao Vicente and Sal in its first month, while claiming that it had already installed
4G antennas on ‘all islands’ of Cape Verde. One day after commercial licensing, Apple iPhone/iOS
devices/services were authorised for usage on the LTE network. Parent CVT indicated that a USD25
million European Investment Bank (EIB) loan alongside its own USD60 investment plans would help
drive expansion of 4G across ‘ten islands’, and in January 2020 the company disclosed that LTE
network coverage had reached nearly 40% of the nation’s population, a figure which it confirmed
reached 80% at end-2021 and was estimated to have risen to around 88% by February 2023. CV Movel
claims typical 4G data speeds above 10Mbps, exceeding the 6Mbps minimum speed specified by the
Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy (Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia,
ARME), reaching peaks of 20Mbps-30Mbps depending on local user traffic levels. China’s Huawei is
reportedly partnering CVT/CV Movel in its 4G expansion and upgrade programme, while the group
also continues to partner European and US vendors.
5G Prospects
In January 2022 CV Movel indicated that it was considering 5G mobile network pilot projects ‘on
tourist islands’ later that year once Cape Verde’s government has clarified its position on the choice
of 5G equipment vendors. However, in terms of commercial services, later that month the group’s
CEO Joao Domingos Correa stated that priority should be given to expanding 4G services, arguing
that it was too early to introduce 5G in view of the state of the local economy – with development
slowed down through 2020/21 by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – and given the relatively
short time that operators had thus far had to recoup their 4G investments. No further developments
were reported by February 2023.
Ownership
CV Movel is the wholly owned mobile arm of Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT), although the latter is
in the process of merging its retail fixed voice, fixed broadband internet/pay-TV (CV Multimedia)
and mobile (CV Movel) divisions into the parent company, whilst parallel plans are afoot to spin off
wholesale network operations into a functionally separate company.
In October 2022 CVT’s plan to merge its retail fixed voice, fixed broadband/TV and mobile divisions
received all necessary approvals to move forward, following unconditional shareholder acceptance
and ministerial authorisation, and the announcement came in December 2022 that the merger was set
22
to go ahead on 1 January 2023. Soon after, however, CVT disclosed that the merger was postponed
due to ‘procedural and operational’ factors beyond its control, with a new proposed date yet to be
announced by end-February 2023.
Separately, in November 2022 a Cabinet of Ministers’ resolution placed the CVT group on a list of
public sector companies earmarked for share sell-offs by 2026.
Unitel T+
Achada santo Antonio
Rua Cidade de Funchal No 8
Praia, Santiago CP 346-A
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 330 3030
https://www.facebook.com/Uniteltmais
Following a failed attempt to auction Cape Verde’s second mobile licence in 2004, the government
began private negotiations with US-backed company Alexander Group Telecommunications (ASG).
The firm was subsequently awarded an initial ten-year licence – commencing in December 2005
– giving it access to spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands for the equivalent of USD2
million (around CVE180 million in local currency at the time), to be paid as a one-off fee of
USD50,000 followed by eight equal payments of USD243,750. In 2006 Senegal’s Teylium Telecom
Group purchased a 70% stake in the company, which was rebranded T+ Telecomunicacoes, before
launching GSM services on the island of Santiago in December 2007. Subsequently, in October 2012
Netherlands-based Unitel International Holdings – backed by Angolan tycoon Isabel dos Santos –
acquired a controlling interest and went on to rename the cellco Unitel T+.
Unitel T+ had an estimated 96% GSM population coverage of Cape Verde by the time of writing
(February 2023). It launched a 3G W-CDMA/HSDPA network in Q3 2012 and now offers 3G services
to customers in Cape Verde’s biggest cities/towns via compatible handsets, dongles, routers and
tablets. Unitel T+ deployed a 4G LTE network pilot on Sal island in June 2019, and its LTE mobile
services were classified as commercial after being issued a requisite licence alongside larger rival CV
Movel on 18 September 2019. Shortly after the commercial licensing, Unitel confirmed that Apple
iOS mobile devices were working on its new 4G network, in addition to Android-based devices, while
it also informed users that 4G network access was available via any of its existing service packages for
compatible SIMs/devices (telling users to request a 4G SIM if needed). In October 2019 Unitel said it
was ‘gradually extending LTE to the entire national territory’. By the start of 2020 4G services were
available on islands including Santiago, Sao Vicente and Sal, and as of February 2023 LTE population
coverage was estimated at roughly 77%.
Unitel T+ also offers fixed line replacement services connected over its cellular network, including
‘Casa+’ (‘Home+’) multi-play bundles which include: mobile smartphone services; fixed replacement
type internet tariffs designed for home modem users (claiming download/upload peak speeds up to
36Mbps/12Mbps on 4G as of February 2023); fixed voice tariffs; and, since August 2021, an OTT
multi-screen TV service with over 70 channels (‘Casa+TV’ – with multi-play home packages starting
at CVE2,720 as of February 2023, free for the first month with certain mobile packages under a
promotion, and a mobile app TV service costing CVE220). The cellco also offers business clients
Virtual PBX service, VoIP/Trunk SIP telephony and multi-play fixed IP/mobile bundles. Elsewhere,
Unitel T+ claimed the first Cape Verdean mobile music application in May 2018, while in December
2019 it signed a partnership agreement with Spain’s Izertis to develop digital solutions targeting the
tourism sector.
5G Prospects
In January 2022 Unitel T+ director general Inoweze Ferreira echoed larger rival CV Movel in stating
that it was too early to roll out 5G services and that the priority should remain 4G – which itself
remained in an ‘embryonic’ market phase in Cape Verde according to the executive, with no further
developments reported by February 2023.
Ownership
23
In October 2012 Netherlands-registered Unitel International Holdings (UIH, originally called
Jadeium) acquired a controlling interest in T+ Telecomunicacoes and subsequently renamed the cello
Unitel T+. UIH’s Angolan tycoon owner Isabel dos Santos funded the T+ acquisition using a USD35
million loan from Angolan cellco Unitel (in which she separately held a 25% indirect stake). In
December 2019 Angolan authorities froze assets belonging to Ms dos Santos including her stake in
Unitel (Angola), with certain Portuguese investments also affected, but this action did not initially
affect her Cape Verde assets. In December 2022, however, Angola’s Supreme Court ordered the
‘preventive’ seizure of dos Santos’ assets including UIH’s stakes in Unitel T+ and another African
cellco, Unitel STP (Sao Tome and Principe). Local implementation of the seizure order was yet to be
confirmed by end-February 2023.
Prior to UIH’s entry into the venture, T+ was 90%-owned by Senegal’s Teylium Telecom Group.
Teylium had originally acquired a 70% stake in 2006 when it was partnered with founding
shareholders Alexander Group Telecommunications (ASG, 15%) and local investor Marco Bento
(15%).
24
Fixed Broadband
Market Commentary
At the end of December 2022 there were an estimated 31,000 fixed broadband subscriptions in Cape
Verde, up slightly from 30,532 at end-2012 reported by the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the
Economy (Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME). The country’s fixed broadband
household penetration rate of 24.5% at end-2022 was around 15 percentage points higher than the
average across Africa. It is noteworthy that the subscription total had previously slipped from a former
peak of 23,000-plus back in 2012, to below 15,000 in 2018 as fixed broadband growth was stunted by
the increasing availability of mobile internet alternatives following the introduction of 3G technology
in 2012 (with commercial 4G services arriving in September 2019). Expansion of fibre broadband
access from 2018 onwards is thought to have been a factor in resurgent fixed broadband take-up, and
the growth rate accelerated somewhat in 2020-21 as user demand increased and service requirements
changed amidst the COVID-19 crisis, before the numbers started to level out again in 2022.
The fixed broadband market is dominated by former monopoly Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT), which
launched ADSL in 2004 and operates triple-play internet, IPTV and VoIP telephony via its CV
Multimedia unit under the ‘ZAP’ brand (introduced in 2014). In 2017 CVT deployed ‘Fibra ZAP’-
branded fibre broadband services for consumers in selected areas, upping its maximum download/
upload speeds to 50Mbps/25Mbps in the first year, and 100Mbps/50Mbps by February 2023
(unchanged year-on-year, although up from 80Mbps/40Mbps two years earlier). Mobile operator
Unitel T+ provides some competition, with its ‘Casa+’ converged bundles of mobile, home internet,
fixed replacement voice and OTT TV (the latter added to its range in August 2021), enabled by 4G
cellular connectivity. Other than Unitel T+, CVT’s only ISP competitor was previously fixed wireless/
Wi-Fi operator CaboCom, although this company remained restricted to one island, Sal, and its user
numbers dwindled before shutting down completely in 2018, according to regulatory reports.
In December 2019 Maio Island (with 6,800 residents) was provided with free public broadband
internet access ‘in all locations’ through the EU-funded Sustainable Villages project, involving
multiple agencies including the telecoms regulator, Maio council, national government and telecoms
operators.
International Connectivity
CVT’s international satellite system was set up in 1983, and in February 2000 the telco connected
Cape Verde to its first international submarine cable, Atlantis-2, linking South America and Europe
(note: Atlantis-2 was decommissioned on 10 January 2022). A higher-capacity undersea link, the West
African Cable System (WACS), went live in May 2012, linking Europe (the UK/Portugal) to a string
of African countries including Cape Verde; CVT is the local WACS consortium partner.
EllaLink, a new 72Tbps Portugal-to-Brazil submarine cable branching to Praia, Cape Verde, is backed
by Spain’s IslaLink, Brazil’s Telebras and European equity fund Marguerite II, and was deployed by
Nokia’s Alcatel Submarine Networks. In December 2018 CVT inked an agreement to invest USD25
million to connect to EllaLink, a move funded by a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan agreed
in July 2019. Cape Verde’s local EllaLink branch – with initial capacity of 200Gbps – was landed
in Praia in February 2021, and while the transatlantic system was ready-for-service (RFS) in June
2021, CVT reported in January 2022 that Cape Verde’s EllaLink connection was still preparing for its
commercial launch, which finally went ahead on 6 June 2022.
Additionally, the Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express submarine cable linking Praia (Cape
Verde) and Dakar (Senegal) was reportedly RFS at end-March 2022, after HMN Tech completed its
marine deployment in January that year. SHARE – operated by Senegal’s state IT agency ADIE –
is chiefly aimed at enabling African countries to tap into Cape Verde’s inter-continental links, with
more West African nations expected to connect to the system in due course.
25
Networks
Provider Name Access Technology Frequency Launch Status Network Details
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV DSL ADSL 2004 Live Feb-23: all populated islands
Multimedia)
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV DSL ADSL2+ Live Feb-23: all populated islands
Multimedia)
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV LAN/FTTx FTTx Oct 2017 Live Feb-23: Praia, Mindelo, Espargos, Santa Maria, Sal Rei (selected
Multimedia) zones), other areas
26
Fixed Broadband Links
Main Players
Retail Subscriptions Share by Provider

Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec
2021 2021 2022 2022 2022 2022
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Multimedia)
Quarterly Subscriptions by Operator

Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec
2021 2021 2022 2022 2022 2022
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV 28,835 30,532 29,550 31,239 30,700 31,000
Multimedia)
Annual Country Subscriptions Growth

Year Total Growth (%) H'hold Pen. (%) DSL Cable Fibre/LAN Fixed Wireless Other
2017 14,993 -3.5 12.4 14,293 0 200 500 0
2018 15,657 4.4 12.8 14,466 0 1,191 0 0
2019 17,732 13.3 14.4 16,116 0 1,616 0 0
2020 24,839 40.1 19.9 18,728 0 6,111 0 0
2021 30,532 22.9 24.3 19,229 0 11,303 0 0
2022 31,000 1.5 24.5 15,500 0 15,500 0 0
27
Quarterly Country Subscriptions Growth
Period Total Growth (%) DSL Cable Fibre/LAN Fixed Wireless Other
Sep 2020 22,809 14.8 17,884 0 4,925 0 0
Dec 2020 24,839 8.9 18,728 0 6,111 0 0
Mar 2021 26,755 7.7 19,505 0 7,250 0 0
Jun 2021 27,813 4.0 19,613 0 8,200 0 0
Sep 2021 28,835 3.7 19,435 0 9,400 0 0
Dec 2021 30,532 5.9 19,229 0 11,303 0 0
Mar 2022 29,550 -3.2 19,000 0 10,550 0 0
Jun 2022 31,239 5.7 18,000 0 13,239 0 0
Sep 2022 30,700 -1.7 16,100 0 14,600 0 0
Dec 2022 31,000 1.0 15,500 0 15,500 0 0
Subscriptions Growth
Subscriptions Growth by Technology
28
Subscription Plans
Speed
Product Cap/ Set-up Monthly Local Date

Provider Access Name Downstream Upstream Limit Fee Cost Currency Observed
Cabo DSL ZAP Net 12Mbps 1Mbps 10GB CVE1,150 USD7.14 CVE749.00 Feb-2023
Verde Control
Telecom 10,000
(CVT, incl. Megas
CV
Multimedia)
Cabo DSL ZAP Net 12Mbps 1Mbps 25GB CVE1,150 USD29.54 CVE3,100.00 Feb-2023
Verde Control
Telecom 25,000
(CVT, incl. Megas
CV
Multimedia)
Cabo DSL ZAP Net 12Mbps 1Mbps 45GB CVE1,150 USD50.03 CVE5,250.00 Feb-2023
Verde Control
Telecom 45,000
(CVT, incl. Megas
CV
Multimedia)
Cabo DSL ZAP 2P up to 24Mbps 1Mbps Unlimited CVE1,150 USD43.36 CVE4,550.00 Feb-2023
Verde Net Plus
Telecom
(CVT, incl.
CV
Multimedia)
Cabo LAN/ Fibra - 40Mbps 20Mbps Unlimited CVE1,150 USD43.36 CVE4,550.00 Feb-2023
Verde FTTx ZAP 2P
Telecom Net Fast
(CVT, incl.
CV
Multimedia)
Verde FTTx ZAP Net
Telecom Fast (80/
(CVT, incl. 40)
CV
Multimedia)
29
Speed
Product Cap/ Set-up Monthly Local Date

Provider Access Name Downstream Upstream Limit Fee Cost Currency Observed
Verde FTTx ZAP Fast

Telecom Pro
(CVT, incl.
CV
Multimedia)
Notes: CVT ‘Control’ tariffs automatically bill the user at a higher price tier if they exceed the initial
chosen data allowance
30
Main Players
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV Multimedia)
Rua Cabo Verde Telecom
CP 220
Praia, Santiago
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 9200
Fax +238 261 3725
http://www.cvtelecom.cv
http://zap.cvmultimedia.cv
http://www.grupocvt.com.cv/
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) was created in 1994 by the separation of state-backed telco, postal
services operator and regulator, the Public Postal and Telecommunications Company (Empresa Public
dos Correios e Telecomunicaoes, CTT-EP). The former entity had achieved ‘nationwide’ fixed line
coverage in 1991, and by 2000 its successor had at least one telephone line in all communities of more
than 200 inhabitants, meanwhile introducing fixed data/internet services in 1997. Prior to 2006 CVT
directly provided mobile, fixed broadband and fixed telephony services, but at the start of that year
mobile services were spun off into a new cellular subsidiary, CV Movel, whilst fixed broadband and
newly-licensed pay-TV operations became the responsibility of CVT’s wholly-owned CV Multimedia
division (established in December 2005).
ADSL was launched in 2004, subsequently rolled out to all populated islands and upgraded with
ADSL2+ technology. As of February 2023 consumer ADSL packages offered 12Mbps or 24Mbps
peak download speed (the latter having been available only to businesses up until 2019), and an
upstream limit of 1Mbps. Multi-play bundles under the ‘ZAP’ brand (with VoIP telephony and IPTV)
were launched in 2014.
In 2017 CVT upgraded its local access network with fibre-optics in selected locations – introducing
‘Fibra ZAP’ branded internet services initially with speeds capped at 30Mbps/15Mbps (down/upload)
– upgraded to a maximum 50Mbps/25Mbps in the first year, and reaching 80Mbps/40Mbps in 2019, a
period in which CVT’s entry-level fibre speeds were also boosted, from 35Mbps/15Mbps to 40Mbps/
20Mbps (at a reduced price). In 2021 CVT introduced a new premium fibre package (100Mbps/
50Mbps down/upload) – although at more than double the price of the previous top-speed package –
and the speed limit and cost of the premium option remained unchanged at February 2023. At that date
the telco had made only slight year-on-year pricing adjustments to its range, raising the price of top-
speed DSL and entry-speed fibre packages by 2%. Fibra ZAP coverage zones include Praia (Achada
Santo Antonio, Prainha and Palmarejo), Mindelo (‘historical centre’/Morado) and other areas, with
FTTH expansion reportedly taking place from 2018 onwards in main cities including Praia, Mindelo,
Espargos, Santa Maria and Sal Rei, while in late-2019 CVT was reported to have installed fibre at
over 300 government/local authority institutions across Cape Verde. In January 2022, following the
signing of CVT’s new 20-year Concession Contract for Public Electronic Communications Services,
the company resolved to ‘make a strong commitment to expanding the coverage of the country with
the fibre-optic network, allowing greater speed for users.’
ADSL and fibre users could choose from double-play (internet/phone or TV/phone) or triple-play
(internet/TV/phone) with unlimited internet traffic, unlimited on-net ZAP VoIP calls, and up to 56
IPTV channels as of February 2023, including multi-room TV capability plus optional premium
channels and VoD services. Fibra ZAP triple-play customers could access internet speeds capped at
80Mbps/40Mbps (down/upload, unchanged y-o-y but having doubled compared to two years before),
while the 100Mbps/50Mbps internet option remained standalone-only at that date. Planned quadruple-
play fixed/mobile service convergence was previously not allowed under regulations but is supported
by CVT’s new Concession Contract effective January 2022 (although with a requisite intra-group
divisional merger on hold as of end-February 2023 – see Ownership), under which CVT is also
expected to undergo functional separation of its wholesale and retail operations.
In July 2019 the European Investment Bank (EIB) provided a USD25 million loan to fund CVT
connecting to the new trans-Atlantic submarine cable EllaLink, which landed in Praia in February
31
2021, with its Cape Verdean connection finally launched commercially on 6 June 2022. The EIB loan
will also support USD60 million of new investment by CVT aimed at expanding FTTH and 4G, plus
implementing solar energy facilities.
Ownership
On 21 May 2019 Brazilian telco Oi’s indirect subsidiary PT Ventures SGPS sold its entire 40%
stake in Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) for USD26.3 million to two Cape Verdean entities – the
government-owned National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional de Previdencia Social, which
thereby raised its CVT stake from 37.9% to 57.9%) and public company ASA–National Airport
& Aerial Security Company (ASA–Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Seguranca Aerea, entering
CVT’s ownership with a 20% share). CVT’s other shareholders are: private local investors including
employees (13.0%), Angolan-backed Sonangol Cape Verde (5%), the State of Cape Verde (3.4%) and
postal operator Correios de Cabo Verde (0.7%).
Oi also terminated arbitration proceedings against the State of Cape Verde in May 2019, having filed
cases at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and the International Chamber
of Commerce in March 2015 after the government suspended its shareholder agreement. Oi’s former
CVT stake was held via an 86% stake in Africatel Holdings (which had given Oi an effective 34.4%
interest in CVT, without management control), inherited in May 2014 from the Portugal Telecom
group – which had bought the 40% CVT share from the government for USD20 million in December
1995.
In August 2017 a government resolution earmarked CVT for further privatisation, and in June 2018
a local shareholder meeting approved a proposal to list CVT on the Cape Verde Stock Exchange
(Bolsa de Valores Cabo Verde [BVC]), but an original target of 2021 was not met. In November
2022, however, a new Cabinet of Ministers resolution placed the telco on a list of nine public sector
In October 2022, meanwhile, CVT’s plan to merge its retail fixed voice (CVT), fixed broadband/pay-
TV (CV Multimedia) and mobile (CV Movel) divisions into a single company (CVT) received all
necessary approvals to move forward, following unconditional shareholder acceptance and ministerial
authorisation, before it was announced in December 2022 that the merger was set to go ahead on 1
January 2023. Shortly after that date, however, CVT disclosed that the merger was postponed, with a
new proposed date yet to be announced, due to ‘procedural and operational’ factors beyond its control.
Parallel plans are afoot to spin off wholesale network operations into a functionally separate company.
Unitel T+
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 330 3030
Mobile operator Unitel T+ also offers fixed line replacement services connected over its cellular
network, including ‘Casa+’ (‘Home+’) multi-play bundles which include: mobile smartphone
services; fixed replacement type internet tariffs designed for home modem users; fixed voice tariffs;
and, since August 2021, an OTT multi-screen TV service with over 70 channels (‘Casa+TV’ – with
multi-play home packages priced from CVE2,720 as of February 2023). As of February 2023 the
Casa+ home internet service claimed download/upload peak speeds up to 36Mbps/12Mbps, or a lower
speed cap option of 12Mbps/4Mbps, both requiring 4G coverage, with choices of volume-based or
‘unlimited’ data traffic, although such subscriptions are currently counted as part of the Unitel T+
mobile base. Casa+TV channels are viewable on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and PCs.
Ownership

32
(15%).
33
Fixed Voice
Market Commentary
Cape Verde was home to an estimated 54,787 ‘active’ fixed voice subscriptions at 31 December
2022, based on the most recent figure, for 3Q22, reported by the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency
of the Economy (Agencia Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia, ARME), up from a confirmed
end-2021 statistic of 53,586, and compared to a peak of 82,856 in 2011. National fixed telco Cabo
Verde Telecom (CVT) has reported in recent years that whilst its residential PSTN subscriptions
have decreased due to mobile/VoIP substitution, demand for its business lines has remained relatively
strong, but after levelling out in 2020 it indicated a dip in B2B line usage in 2021 as a knock-on effect
of the COVID-19 pandemic, with only a partial recovery seen in 2022. The total voice line figures
equated to a household penetration figure of roughly 43% at end-2022, about 34 percentage points
higher than the African average despite the percentage having fallen in each year from 2011 to 2021
before levelling out in FY22.
Despite the market having been fully open to competition since the start of 2007, CVT continues
to dominate the sector via both PSTN and VoIP platforms (the latter through its CV Multimedia
subsidiary). The government made efforts to encourage VoIP-based competition from 2008 onwards,
although to date (February 2023) mobile operator Unitel T+ is the only other fixed voice provider –
offering business customers virtual PBX/VoIP/SIP Trunk telephony services. Unitel T+ also offers
residential ‘fixed line replacement’ services, giving options for connecting fixed handsets over its
cellular network, and for bundling fixed voice tariffs with mobile, home internet and, since August
2021, OTT TV services, although such subscriptions are currently counted as part of its mobile base,
and in 3Q22 ARME reported that Unitel’s share of the fixed voice sector had shrunk from an already-
small portion to just 0.2%.
Cape Verde’s fixed line voice minutes in H1 2022 (latest comparable figures reported by ARME at
February 2023) totalled 11.69 million, down from 13.30 million in H1 2021 and 13.66 million in
1H20, having plummeted from 21.72 million clocked in 1H19 and 39.25 million minutes in 1H18.
National call minutes fell to 7.43 million in H1 2022 from 7.90 million (1H21), partly reversing a
moderate increase from 7.06 million (H1 2020), whilst having previously dropped substantially from
11.32 million (1H19) and 1H18’s figure of 17.37 million minutes. International minutes declined to
4.26 million in 1H22 from 5.40 million the previous year, 6.60 million (1H20), 10.41 million (1H19)
and compared to 21.88 million in H1 2018.
Networks
Local Access
Provider Name Type Licence(s)
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, incl. CV Wireline Local, Long-distance,

Multimedia) International
Unitel T+ Wireline Local, Long-distance,

International
Annual Statistics by Operator

Reporting
Provider Name Type Period 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, Total Lines December 47,428 42,570 35,181 32,693 27,675 25,913
incl. CV Multimedia) (PSTN)
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT, VoIP December 14,293 17,095 20,390 23,660 25,456 28,760
34
Reporting
Provider Name Type Period 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
incl. CV Multimedia) Subscriptions
Unitel T+ VoIP December 3,249 3,015 1,940 1,310 455 114

Subscriptions
Notes: company figures may not sum to country total due to variations in metrics reported by the
companies and on occasion unavoidable double-counting. Total Lines (PSTN) represents all lines in
service which the company owns (retail and wholesale), while Retail Lines (PSTN) and Local
Subscriptions (PSTN) represent the lines/subscriptions of the company's own service/brand (and as
such excludes wholesale services)
Annual Country Fixed Voice Growth

Total (PSTN + Total Total PSTN PSTN VoIP VoIP
Year VoIP) Growth Pen. Lines Pen. Subs Pen.
2017 64,970 0.4% 53.7% 47,428 39.2% 17,542 14.5%
2018 62,680 -3.5% 51.3% 42,570 34.8% 20,110 16.5%
2019 57,511 -8.2% 46.6% 35,181 28.5% 22,330 18.1%
2020 57,668 0.3% 46.3% 32,693 26.3% 24,975 20.1%
2021 53,586 -7.1% 42.7% 27,675 22.0% 25,911 20.6%
2022 54,787 2.2% 43.2% 25,913 20.4% 28,874 22.8%
Fixed Voice Links

Main Players
Fixed Voice Growth
35
Main Players
CP 220
Praia, Santiago
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 9200
Fax +238 261 3725
Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) was created in 1994 by the separation of state-backed telco, postal
services operator and regulator, the Public Postal and Telecommunications Company (Empresa Public
dos Correios e Telecomunicaoes, CTT-EP). The original entity had achieved ‘nationwide’ fixed line
coverage in 1991, and by 2000 its successor had at least one telephone line in all communities of more
than 200 inhabitants, fulfilling universal service obligations imposed by the regulator in 1996. CVT’s
switching network – digital since 1991 – was upgraded with IP technology in 2010, and today the
national network incorporates over 1,200km of fibre-optics linking all municipalities of Cape Verde.
At the beginning of 2006 CVT restructured its operations, placing mobile and fixed broadband/
TV services under two wholly owned subsidiaries, CV Movel and CV Multimedia, respectively.
CVT lost its legal monopolies on international telephony (January 2006) and domestic telephony
(January 2007), but it continues to dominate the market. At the time of writing (February 2023) CVT
highlighted its residential ‘Di Casa’ PSTN telephony package costing CVE649 per month (unchanged
year-on-year) for unlimited national fixed line calls (evenings, weekends and national holidays) and
discounts on international calls.
CVT launched the nation’s first pre-paid fixed line service in 1999, under the ‘Telefacil’ brand.
Telefacil top-up scratch cards are sold in denominations of CVE200, CVE300 and CVE500, valid
for one year from activation and useable with any fixed line phone. CVT also offers a cheaper pre-
paid offering, ‘Telefacil Bla Bla Bla’, which is available in CVE50, CVE100, CVE200 and CVE300
denominations, only active for five days, but offering lower rates to certain countries.
2014 saw CVT’s ISP arm CV Multimedia introduce VoIP services under the ‘ZAP’ multi-play
package brand with IPTV and fixed internet (see Fixed Broadband section for details). The IP
telephony platform provides unlimited free calls to other ZAP users in all packages. CVT hopes
that convergence strategies will support its fixed line business going forward. Currently blocked by
regulations from integrating its mobile (CV Movel) and fixed services for consumers, in January 2022
CVT indicated plans to merge all its retail divisions ‘within six months’ following the signing that
month of a new operating concession contract with the government (see below), and the merger was
scheduled for 1 January 2023, but was postponed and remined on hold as of end-February 2023 (see
Ownership).
CVT had an estimated 25,913 traditional PSTN (POTS) subscriptions at end-2022 (based on a
3Q22 report from the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy [Agencia Reguladora
Multissectorial da Economia, ARME]), having continued a long-term annual downward trend, falling
from 27,675 a year earlier after sliding from a total of 47,428 claimed back in 2017. In contrast,
the telco’s CV Multimedia division’s VoIP fixed lines continued to rise to approximately 28,760 in
2022 (based on the 3Q22 ARME report), up by more than 3,000 in a year – notably the IP line total
overtaking the POTS figure for the first time – and compared to 14,293 at end-2017.
New Public Telecoms Services Concession
Decree 36/2021 of 14 April 2021 approved the 20-year renewal of CVT’s Concession Contract for
Public Electronic Communications Services, with 27 modifications, setting an annual fee of CVE41
million. CVT finally signed the new Concession Contract on 12 January 2022, pledging to invest
CVE40 billion over the 20-year period, having invested CVE35.8 billion during the previous 25
36
years. The licence/contract grants CVT rights to operate across the national territory and manage
international calls, including transit calls through Cape Verde, while obligating it to promote high
quality internet access – recognised by the government as an essential asset and a universal right of
citizens – and contribute to nationwide coverage of telecoms services. Every three years CVT must
present and implement an investment programme to improve the coverage and quality of services
under its concession, with particular focus on international connectivity. Under the new terms, CVT
is also expected to undergo functional separation of its retail operations and its wholesale network
operations, to offer wholesale services to other operators on the same terms as its own retail divisions,
including domestic and international connectivity services.
Financials
The CVT group posted a 7.90% increase in consolidated annual revenues (including retail and
wholesale fixed voice, fixed broadband and mobile) to CVE4.90 billion in full-year 2021 (latest
available figure as of February 2023), on the back of 2.0% and 1.7% growth in FY20 and FY19
respectively, prior to which it suffered seven consecutive years of annual revenue decline, with major
factors pressuring revenues identified as fixed-mobile substitution, mobile price competition and
mobile usage of OTT services. The sales recovery in 2019-21 was attributed to factors including
‘business structuring measures for a sustainable path of development’, and while 2020’s sales had
been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, counterbalancing factors emerged such as teleworking,
tele-teaching, remote meetings and others (with the telco noting that FY21’s accelerated growth
rate was ‘influenced by the growth in telecommuting and associated resources, despite declines in
traditional sectors’). Furthermore, CVT achieved a 36.5% improvement in consolidated net income
to CVE284 million in 2021, up 10.5% from CVE207 million in FY20, and following 3.3% growth in
FY19.
Ownership
On 21 May 2019 Brazilian telco Oi’s indirect subsidiary PT Ventures SGPS sold its entire 40%
stake in Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) for USD26.3 million to two Cape Verdean entities – the
government-owned National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional de Previdencia Social, which
thereby raised its CVT stake from 37.9% to 57.9%) and public company ASA–National Airport
& Aerial Security Company (ASA–Empresa Nacional de Aeroportos e Seguranca Aerea, entering
CVT’s ownership with a 20% share). CVT’s other shareholders are: private local investors including
employees (13.0%), Angolan-backed Sonangol Cape Verde (5%), the State of Cape Verde (3.4%) and
postal operator Correios de Cabo Verde (0.7%).
Oi also terminated arbitration proceedings against the State of Cape Verde in May 2019, having filed
cases at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and the International Chamber
of Commerce in March 2015 after the government suspended its shareholder agreement. Oi’s former
CVT stake was held via an 86% stake in Africatel Holdings (which had given Oi an effective 34.4%
interest in CVT, without management control), inherited in May 2014 from the Portugal Telecom
group – which had bought the 40% CVT share from the government for USD20 million in December
1995.
In August 2017 a government resolution earmarked CVT for further privatisation, and in June 2018
a local shareholder meeting approved a proposal to list CVT on the Cape Verde Stock Exchange
(Bolsa de Valores Cabo Verde [BVC]), but an original target of 2021 was not met. In November
2022, however, a new Cabinet of Ministers resolution placed the telco on a list of nine public sector
In October 2022, meanwhile, CVT’s plan to merge its retail fixed voice (CVT), fixed broadband/pay-
TV (CV Multimedia) and mobile (CV Movel) divisions into a single company (CVT) received all
necessary approvals to move forward, following unconditional shareholder acceptance and ministerial
authorisation, before it was announced in December 2022 that the merger was set to go ahead on 1
January 2023. Shortly after that date, however, CVT disclosed that the merger was postponed, with a
new proposed date yet to be announced, due to ‘procedural and operational’ factors beyond its control.
Parallel plans are afoot to spin off wholesale network operations into a functionally separate company.
37
Unitel T+
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 330 3030
Unitel T+ offers business clients the ‘Pro+’ range, including VoIP/Trunk SIP telephony and Virtual
PBX services. It also offers fixed line replacement services connected over its cellular network,
marketing fixed home/desk phones and tariffs under the ‘Fixo+’ banner as well as ‘Casa+’ converged
bundles. Casa+ subscribers are offered four services: mobile smartphone voice/data; fixed
replacement type internet tariffs designed for 4G home modems; fixed voice tariffs (with free calling
between five family/friend numbers); and, since August 2021, an OTT multi-screen TV service
with over 70 channels (‘Casa+TV’). Furthermore, the company has introduced ‘Office+’ bundles of
internet, IP voice and mobile services to enterprise customers (unclear if remaining available as of
February 2023), although the Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy (Agencia Reguladora
Multissectorial da Economia, ARME) reported that Unitel’s fixed IP voice lines accounted for just
0.2% of the fixed telephony market at end-September 2022. (Unitel’s ‘Fixed Voice’ subscriptions in
GlobalComms represent its B2B VoIP users only, with other services connected via cellular included
in its ‘Mobile’ totals.)
Ownership

(15%).
38
Country Directory
Regulators
Avenida da China
Praia
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 4400
https://www.arme.cv
Service Providers
CP 220
Praia, Santiago
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 260 9200
Fax +238 261 3725
CV Movel
Cha de Areia
CP 126/A
Praia, Santiago
Cape Verde
Fax +238 262 2509
http://www.cvmovel.cv
https://www.facebook.com/cvmovel
Unitel T+
Cape Verde
Tel. +238 330 3030
Last Updated: 28 February 2023
39
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Cape Verde: Globalcomms Database

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TeleGeography

Total mobile subscriptions (Dec 2022): 577,000

Population 2021 (million): 0.6

Households 2021 (million): 0.1

Language: Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole

Exchange rate annual average (2022): USD 1 = CVE 104.94

GDP 2021 (USD billion): 1.9

GDP per capita 2021 (USD thousand): 3.3

Fixed Broadband Key Legislation

Fixed Voice Key Legislation

Mobile Regulatory Overview

Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Economy (ARME)

Edificio da ARME, Piso 5, Cha d'Areia

Mobile Key Legislation

In September-November 2015 ANAC held a public consultation on proposed 4G LTE licensing

Mobile Number Portability

Significant Market Power

Mobile Termination Rates

Fixed Broadband Regulatory Overview

Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Economy (ARME)

Edificio da ARME, Piso 5, Cha d'Areia

Current Status of Local Loop Unbundling: Pre-commercial

Fixed Broadband Key Legislation

Fixed Broadband Licensees

International Capacity Access

Universal Internet Access

Fixed Broadband Wholesale Access

Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Economy (ARME)

Edificio da ARME, Piso 5, Cha d'Areia

Fixed Voice Key Legislation

CVT – part-privatised in December 1995 – is earmarked for further privatisation. A resolution

Fixed Telephony Tax

Fixed Number Portability

CV Movel 2G GSM None 900/1800 Dec 1997 Live Feb-23: ~99.6%;

Santiago and Sao

CV Movel 3G W-CDMA None 2100 Q1 2012 Live Feb-23: 95% (est.);

CV Movel 5G NR: NSA None Unknown 2023 Planned Feb-23: progress

Unitel T+ 3G W-CDMA None 2100 Q3 2012 Live Feb-23: >90% (est.);

CV Movel LTE 1800 Augmenting

Unitel T+ LTE 1800 Augmenting

CV Movel GSM 10 900, 2x8, Renewal

Unitel T+ GSM 10 900, 2x7.8, Renewal

CV Movel W-CDMA 10 2100 2100 2x15 1x5

T+ W-CDMA 10 2100 2100 2x15 1x5 Renamed

CV Movel GSM 10 900, 2x8, Renewal

Alexander Group GSM 2 10 900, 2x7.8, Renamed

Cabo Verde GSM 9 900, 2x8, Transferred

Spectrum Held Summary

CV Movel 900, 1800, 2100

Unitel T+ 900, 1800, 2100

Total Subscriptions Share by Network

Sources: ARME, estimates

Subscriptions Market Share History

CV Movel 69.4% 69.0% 69.0% 69.0% 68.0% 67.9%

Unitel T+ 30.6% 31.0% 31.0% 31.0% 32.0% 32.1%

Sources: ARME, estimates

3G Subscriptions Share by Network

Sources: ARME, estimates

Sources: ARME, estimates

Quarterly Subscriptions by Network

CV Movel Total 404,800 407,200 405,197 401,443 392,756 392,000

CV Movel 3G 231,700 221,000 212,000 203,000 188,000 181,000

CV Movel 4G 63,200 79,900 95,555 104,110 117,109 128,000