Speech – Strategic Impact On Fiber Optic Communications Infrastructure On Ict Development in Sierra Leone

Concord Times (Freetown)

Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo – Information Minister

13 June 2011

Freetown — Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests, colleague stakeholders in the telecommunications industry, a very good morning. My role here this morning is

to set the stage for a frank discussion on the impact of fiber optic

communications infrastructure on ICT development in Sierra Leone.

Africa, like all developing regions in the world stands at the doorstep of a

global information revolution that present a lot of opportunities. New

technologies like the Internet, VoIP and IPv6 proliferate rapidly elsewhere and

even in the developing world. Africa, and for that matter Sierra Leone can only

take a fare share of this window of opportunities presented by this information

revolution if it has adequate telecommunications infrastructure and a conducive

environment.

Mr. Chairman, the telecommunications sector in Sierra Leone experienced

important developments in the recent past with a Government decision to embrace

liberalization and open the market to competition. The market currently includes

three active private Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)operators (

namely; Zain -previously Celtel and recently acquired by Bharti, Comium, and

Africel), two new GSM Operators are about to begin operations (Intergroup and

Ambitel trading as Greenet) and one state-owned fixed line operator and Code

Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator (SierraTel). There have been some

consolidations in the sector, with Tigo being recently acquired by Africel,

while Datatel’s License was acquired by CellCom. Cellcom is yet to start

operating in Sierra Leone.

Results from the early phases of competition show significant improvement in

access in the mobile sector, lower prices and diversified products to end-users.

Sierra Leone has made notable strides in terms of mobile penetration.

Penetration stood at 0.28% in 2000 and 18% by 2008. Today it stands at 27% with

approximately 2.2 million GSM subscribers.

The Infrastructure for fixed-line network remains in poor condition, and

international Internet nodes have low bandwidth. Unfortunately, the fixed-line

network of the incumbent government-owned operator, SierraTel, has not

experienced any significant growth within the last 10 years; the civil war

resulted in an extensive destruction of the telecommunications infrastructure

(terrestrial microwave systems, rural networks and exchanges). SierraTel’s

network has grown marginally through its CDMA services. For the most part, it

is functional only in Freetown, with limited services in Bo and Kenema, and

linkage of all three urban centers is mostly sporadic. The poor state of the

company’s network infrastructure has in turn impeded growth in the Internet

sector. In addition, the connection of SierraTel’s IP-gateway to the

international Internet nodes has a very low bandwidth, causing difficulties for

Internet access. Despite these limitations, SierraTel continues to retain a

monopoly over fixed-line communications.

National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) has licensed ten ISP’s which

include all the functional GSM operators. In the absence of a reliable

international connectivity and national backbone infrastructure, Very Small

Aperture Terminal (VSAT) based Internet connectivity has become the leading

platform for Internet access. The number of internet subscribers does not

exceed 0.3% of the total population, and the number of broadband subscribers is

less than 1,000. This usage rate, coupled with high cost of access, is a

formidable challenge for the telecoms industry in Sierra Leone. From all

indications, the Internet sector in Sierra Leone is in its infancy, suffering

from very high rates to end users, limited bandwidth, poor electricity supply,

and frequent virus attacks. Recent efforts made by the Internet Society (SL

Chapter) and MoIC to establish the Sierra Leone Internet Exchange Point (SLIX)

is yet to make a marked difference in improving the flow and cost of data

traffic locally.

Mr. Chairman, the foregoing necessitated the formulation of a National ICT

Policy. Sierra Leone’s ICT Policy places significant emphasis on government

connectivity and the use of ICT to improve services. The GoSL, in partnership

with the UNDP, has completed a comprehensive e-government readiness survey which

is expected to lay the foundation for the country’s e-government framework and

the deployment of innovative applications to improve public service delivery.

Both policy and survey point to the need for robust national and international

infrastructure to achieve the vision of ICT for Development. The MoIC has

established a Dedicated ICT Directorate (Communications Directorate) to focus on

implementing the ICT Policy and ensuring its effective use, in particular to

improve Government Services.

Sierra Leone is making credible attempts at improving the Policy and Regulatory

Environment.New developments have occurred on the policy and regulatory front

during the past few years to deepen sector reforms, beginning with the merger of

the Ministries of Information and Communications into one Ministry, and the

establishment of an independent regulator NATCOM. NATCOM has had ample success

in licensing and regulating the sector to promote fair competition, universal

service and improve the integration of Sierra Leone into the global digital

economy. However, recent cabinet decisions to protect SierraTel make it

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