Republic of Guinea's state-owned telco Societe des Telecoms de Guinee (Sotelgui), now known as Guinee Telecom, won't be launching commercial services until next year.

It's a setback for the operator after it was initially thought that Guinee Telecom could be operational in the Republic of Guinea this month.

The country's telecom minister Ousmane Gaoual Diallo provided an update, telling Guinee News that commercial services won't be launching this year.

Diallo told the publication that the operator will continue network testing this year, ahead of a launch next year.

"Antennas in Kaloum [an area in the capital city Conakry] have undergone testing and are now operational. It will take until the end of the first half of the year to complete all of Conakry and then gradually move into the interior of the country to activate all Guinee Telecom’s antennas. Only then can marketing operations begin," said Diallo.

The publication reports that Guinee Telecom could begin selling 4G and 5G SIM cards in the first quarter of next year.

The relaunch of Sotelgui follows a turbulent last decade for the company after it was declared bankrupt in February 2013, which left the country reliant on mobile networks from international providers including Orange, MTN, and Cellcom.