Analysis of Mobile and Internet Network Coverage: Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves and Concept of Digital Divide in Burundi

Mobile and Internet network coverage plays an important role in digital transformation and the exploitation of new services. The evolution of mobile networks from the first generation (1G) to the 5th generation is still a long process. 2G networks have developed the messaging service, which complements the already operational voice service. 2G technology has rapidly progressed to the third generation (3G), incorporating multimedia data transmission techniques. It then progressed to fourth generation (4G) and LTE (Long Term Evolution), increasing the transmission speed to improve 3G. Currently, developed countries have already moved to 5G. In developing countries, including Burundi, a member of the East African Community (ECA) where more than 80% are connected to 2G technologies, 40% are connected to the 3G network and 25% to the 4G network and are not yet connected to the 5G network and then still a process. The objective of this article is to analyze the coverage of 2G, 3G and 4G networks in Burundi. This analysis will make it possible to identify possible deficits in order to reduce the digital divide between connected urban areas and remote rural areas. Furthermore, this analysis will draw the attention of decision-makers to the need to deploy networks and coverage to allow the population to access mobile and Internet services and thus enable the digitalization of the population. Finally, this article shows the level of coverage, the digital divide and an overview of the deployment of base stations (BTS) throughout the country to promote the transformation and digital inclusion of services.