Telecommunications
Structure and Policy
The Office Malgache des
Etudes et de Régulation des Télécommunications (OMERT) was established in 1997
as an autonomous regulatory authority. OMERT's responsibilities are to issue operating
licences and to allocate radio frequency spectrum. Tenders for any new operating licence
have to be approved by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications which is also in
charge of determining telecommunications sector policy.
The telecommunications sector has
been undergoing liberalisation since 1994 with the separation of postal and
telecommunications activities. In 1995, Société
Telecom Malagasy SA (Telma) was incorporated as the national
telecommunications operators and it was issued a monopoly over basic service for 10 years.
France Cable et Radio, a subsidiary of France Telecom, owns 34% of Telma. In 1996, a new
legislation was enacted to reflect increased market liberalisation of the
telecommunications sector. This includes the licensing of a second national operator.
Telma has a target plan to have
170,000 connected PSTN lines by the end of year 2002, and to install 240 cardphone units
per year from 1998.
Besides Telma, the other market
players in the telecommunications sector are:
Data Telecom Service (DTS), a subsidiary of Telma (51%)
and France Cables et Radio (49%), is the leading Internet Service Provider in Madagascar,
and the sole VSAT operator offering X.25 packet switching across the country. DTS also
offers the French Minitel videotex service, and plans to market ISDN and voice mail for
Telma.
Four operators are licensed to
provide cellular mobile services in Madagascar:
- The first cellular operator,
which was established in 1994, is Telecel Madagascar SA, a subsidiary of
Telecel Inc. of USA. Telecel operates an AMPS network and the coverage area is
Antananarivo, Tamatave and Antsirabe. Telecel has its own international gateway using a
satellite earth station in Madagascar.
- The second cellular operator
is Madacom. It operates a GSM network and it is a joint venture with the
Hong Kong multinational cellular operator, DISTACOM. By the end of 1997, Madacom was
covering Antananarivo and Tamatave.
- The third operator is Société
Réunionaise de RadioTéléphonie de Madagascar, an offspring of the cellular
operator in the island of Reunion.
- Samen Cellular
(SaCel) is a joint venture company of Telma (34%) and a Malaysian stakeholder
(66%) to offer GSM cellular services in Antananarivo.
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ICT
Networking Development
There is no formal ICT policy in
Madagascar, however many organisations have been active in networking and computerisation
activities.
The Centre
d'Information et de Documentation Scientifique et Technique (CIDST) is the
leading agency responsible for national research networking in Madagascar. CIDST has been
working closely with various government ministries, such as the Ministère de la
Production Agricole et du Patrimoine Foncier, the Ministère de la Production Animale et
des Eaux et Forêts, and the Ministère de l'Industrie, de l'Energie et des Mines, in
setting up sectoral networks which could facilitate information exchange.
The Université
d'Antananarivo is the largest university in the country with over 30 libraries and
documentation centres. The university hosts the Centre Syfed of AUPELF/UREF which is connected to the
major ISP, Data Telecom Services (DTS), Internet hub.
The JACARANDA
network comprises a number of institutions which share their bibliographic records,
exchange documents, conduct joint training courses and sensitise decision-makers on the
importance of information. The network is also involved in the publishing of catalogues on
specific subjects.
The Ministere
des Postes et Télecommunications hosts the Afrinet web server provided by ACCT.
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ICT Partners and
Projects
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