Mali’s state telecom operator SMTD-SA and Senegal Numérique-SA commissioned a cross-border connection between their national fibre-optic backbones on October 5. A Malian government statement published October 6 said the ceremony took place around the border localities of Kidira and Diboli and the project was carried out under the West African Backbone Network (ROA-BN).

The government and operators said the link could increase data-carrying capacity and service quality, and improve resilience by routing traffic over an alternative path if another route fails. The announcement presents the connection as a step toward interoperable regional backbones and wider digital services. It provides no project cost, capacity, latency measurements or forecast savings, so economic benefits remain prospective rather than measured outcomes.