{"id":441532,"date":"2011-06-15T08:17:49","date_gmt":"2011-06-15T08:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/15\/speech-strategic-impact-on-fiber-optic-communications-infrastructure-on-ict-development-in-sierra-leone\/"},"modified":"2011-06-15T08:17:49","modified_gmt":"2011-06-15T08:17:49","slug":"speech-strategic-impact-on-fiber-optic-communications-infrastructure-on-ict-development-in-sierra-leone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/15\/speech-strategic-impact-on-fiber-optic-communications-infrastructure-on-ict-development-in-sierra-leone\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech – Strategic Impact On Fiber Optic Communications Infrastructure On Ict Development in Sierra Leone"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Concord Times (Freetown)<\/p>\n

Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo – Information Minister<\/p>\n

13 June 2011<\/p>\n

\n

Freetown \u2014 Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests, colleague stakeholders in the telecommunications industry, a very good morning. My role here this morning is<\/p>\n

to set the stage for a frank discussion on the impact of fiber optic<\/p>\n

communications infrastructure on ICT development in Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

Africa, like all developing regions in the world stands at the doorstep of a<\/p>\n

global information revolution that present a lot of opportunities. New<\/p>\n

technologies like the Internet, VoIP and IPv6 proliferate rapidly elsewhere and<\/p>\n

even in the developing world. Africa, and for that matter Sierra Leone can only<\/p>\n

take a fare share of this window of opportunities presented by this information<\/p>\n

revolution if it has adequate telecommunications infrastructure and a conducive<\/p>\n

environment.<\/p>\n

Mr. Chairman, the telecommunications sector in Sierra Leone experienced<\/p>\n

important developments in the recent past with a Government decision to embrace<\/p>\n

liberalization and open the market to competition. The market currently includes<\/p>\n

three active private Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)operators (<\/p>\n

namely; Zain -previously Celtel and recently acquired by Bharti, Comium, and<\/p>\n

Africel), two new GSM Operators are about to begin operations (Intergroup and<\/p>\n

Ambitel trading as Greenet) and one state-owned fixed line operator and Code<\/p>\n

Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator (SierraTel). There have been some<\/p>\n

consolidations in the sector, with Tigo being recently acquired by Africel,<\/p>\n

while Datatel’s License was acquired by CellCom. Cellcom is yet to start<\/p>\n

operating in Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n

Results from the early phases of competition show significant improvement in<\/p>\n

access in the mobile sector, lower prices and diversified products to end-users.<\/p>\n

Sierra Leone has made notable strides in terms of mobile penetration.<\/p>\n

Penetration stood at 0.28% in 2000 and 18% by 2008. Today it stands at 27% with<\/p>\n

approximately 2.2 million GSM subscribers.<\/p>\n

The Infrastructure for fixed-line network remains in poor condition, and<\/p>\n

international Internet nodes have low bandwidth. Unfortunately, the fixed-line<\/p>\n

network of the incumbent government-owned operator, SierraTel, has not<\/p>\n

experienced any significant growth within the last 10 years; the civil war<\/p>\n

resulted in an extensive destruction of the telecommunications infrastructure<\/p>\n

(terrestrial microwave systems, rural networks and exchanges). SierraTel’s<\/p>\n

network has grown marginally through its CDMA services. For the most part, it<\/p>\n

is functional only in Freetown, with limited services in Bo and Kenema, and<\/p>\n

linkage of all three urban centers is mostly sporadic. The poor state of the<\/p>\n

company’s network infrastructure has in turn impeded growth in the Internet<\/p>\n

sector. In addition, the connection of SierraTel’s IP-gateway to the<\/p>\n

international Internet nodes has a very low bandwidth, causing difficulties for<\/p>\n

Internet access. Despite these limitations, SierraTel continues to retain a<\/p>\n

monopoly over fixed-line communications.<\/p>\n

National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) has licensed ten ISP’s which<\/p>\n

include all the functional GSM operators. In the absence of a reliable<\/p>\n

international connectivity and national backbone infrastructure, Very Small<\/p>\n

Aperture Terminal (VSAT) based Internet connectivity has become the leading<\/p>\n

platform for Internet access. The number of internet subscribers does not<\/p>\n

exceed 0.3% of the total population, and the number of broadband subscribers is<\/p>\n

less than 1,000. This usage rate, coupled with high cost of access, is a<\/p>\n

formidable challenge for the telecoms industry in Sierra Leone. From all<\/p>\n

indications, the Internet sector in Sierra Leone is in its infancy, suffering<\/p>\n

from very high rates to end users, limited bandwidth, poor electricity supply,<\/p>\n

and frequent virus attacks. Recent efforts made by the Internet Society (SL<\/p>\n

Chapter) and MoIC to establish the Sierra Leone Internet Exchange Point (SLIX)<\/p>\n

is yet to make a marked difference in improving the flow and cost of data<\/p>\n

traffic locally.<\/p>\n

Mr. Chairman, the foregoing necessitated the formulation of a National ICT<\/p>\n

Policy. Sierra Leone’s ICT Policy places significant emphasis on government<\/p>\n

connectivity and the use of ICT to improve services. The GoSL, in partnership<\/p>\n

with the UNDP, has completed a comprehensive e-government readiness survey which<\/p>\n

is expected to lay the foundation for the country’s e-government framework and<\/p>\n

the deployment of innovative applications to improve public service delivery.<\/p>\n

Both policy and survey point to the need for robust national and international<\/p>\n

infrastructure to achieve the vision of ICT for Development. The MoIC has<\/p>\n

established a Dedicated ICT Directorate (Communications Directorate) to focus on<\/p>\n

implementing the ICT Policy and ensuring its effective use, in particular to<\/p>\n

improve Government Services.<\/p>\n

Sierra Leone is making credible attempts at improving the Policy and Regulatory<\/p>\n

Environment.New developments have occurred on the policy and regulatory front<\/p>\n

during the past few years to deepen sector reforms, beginning with the merger of<\/p>\n

the Ministries of Information and Communications into one Ministry, and the<\/p>\n

establishment of an independent regulator NATCOM. NATCOM has had ample success<\/p>\n

in licensing and regulating the sector to promote fair competition, universal<\/p>\n

service and improve the integration of Sierra Leone into the global digital<\/p>\n

economy. However, recent cabinet decisions to protect SierraTel make it<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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See the original article here:
\nSpeech – Strategic Impact On Fiber Optic Communications Infrastructure On Ict Development in Sierra Leone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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