Telecommunication
Infrastructure | Informatics | ICT Training and Development | Broadcasting/Media
Telecommunication Infrastructure
The Office des Postes et Télécommunications (OPT) is the
public operator for the telecommunications sector, under the Ministère de la
Culture et Communication. The OPT was created in 1959, and following a
parliamentary bill in August 1992 which stipulated the strategic role of the
telecommunications sector in the overall economy of the country, the OPT was further
entrusted with monopoly power to run the sector. There is no independent regulatory body;
the Ministry takes care of the regulation for the telecommunications sector.
Teledensity:
- Total: 0.66
(2000)
- Largest cities:
2.08 (2000)
- Rest of the country:
0.48 (2000)
Digital main lines: 87.5%
(2000)
Waiting list for a telephone
line: 23,000 (2000)
- Average waiting time:
4.5 years (2000)
- Total demand (k):
74.6 (2000)
- Satisfied demand:
69.2 % (2000)
Telephone Tariff
(2000):
| PSTN
connection charge - Residential |
US$ 136 |
| Monthly
subscription - Residential |
US$ 3.5 |
| PSTN
connection charge - Business |
US$ 248 |
| Monthly
subscription - Business |
US$ 3.5 |
| Local
call |
US$ 0.09 |
Source:
African Telecommunication Indicators 2001
Public telephones: 510
(2000)
Public telephones per 1000
inhabitants: 0.08 (2000)
Mobile cellular subscribers:
55,500 (2000)
The Office des Postes et
Télécommunications set-up a AMPS-based cellular network in 1995. The network
covers an area of 150 km, extending from Porto-Novo to Ouidah through Cotonou. A WILL or
express telephone system was established during the same year, and it covers an area of 50
km starting at the headquarters of OPT in Cotonou.
Cellular subscribers as a % of
total telephone subscribers: 51.8 (2000)
Mobile cellular tariffs
(2000):
Monthly Subscription - USD 14.0
Local call (three minutes) - USD 1.01
Telecommunications revenue
(M US$): 54.4 (2000)
Telecommunications
investment (M US$): 29.5 (2000)
Telecommunications
investment as a % of revenue: 54.2 (2000)
Telecom equipment exports
(M US$): na
Telecom equipment imports
(M US$): 15.0 (1999)
Telecentres: na
Facsimiles (k):
1.1 (1998)
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Informatics
The Ministère de la
Culture et de la Communication is the national institution responsible for ICT
policy.
The Service de
Documentation Technique (SDT) is the national documentation centre and it is the
main agency responsible of national scientific and technical information policy. IDRC and
the World Bank have assisted SDT with the implementation of an MIS system.
An agreement was signed in August
1997 between the Government of Benin and the UNDP Sustainable Development
Networking Programme (SDNP) to set-up a national intranet for the collection and
dissemination of multi-sectoral information generated within the country. This information
exchange network will have 10 servers for each of the following sectors:
- Research and education
- Central administration, presidency
and primature
- Environment and rural development
- Private sector and chamber of
commerce
- UN and international organisations
- NGOs and development associations
- Media, culture, arts and tourism
- Civil service
- Health and social promotion
- Coordination unit
The Réseau Africain de
Formation à Distance (RESAFAD) is an initiative of the French cooperation on
distance learning. The initiative, which is currently at an experimental stage, involves
five countries: Guinea, Togo, Mali, Burkina Faso and Benin. The project scheduled to be
launched in September 1998 will provide training to school directors in Benin. The
distance learning is expected to involve 800 persons, and the distance learning will be
based at the Centre de Documentation et d'Information Pédagogique (CDIP) in Porto-Novo.
The centre is equipped with six multimedia computers and a server will be installed at the
Institut National pour la Formation et la Recherche en Education (INFRE).
The Système d'Information
et de Suivi de l'Environnement sur l'Internet (SISEI) is a project of the Agence
Béninoise pour l'Environnement (ABE) with support from UNITAR. SISEI will be a
large environment related database in Benin, and it will be made accessible on the
Internet. A server has been installed at ABE, and the collaborating institutions will be
provided with a modem, a subscription to Internet and a set of software packages.
The Direction du Patrimoine
Cultural du Benin received an Internet connection following a project entitled
"Programme des Musées Afro-Suédois (SAMP)" led by a Swedish NGO. A web site on
cultural heritage will be designed, and the historical museum of Abomey will be connected
at the same time.
The Republic of Benin connected
itself to the Internet in November 1995 following the sixth summit of French-speaking
countries. The connection was made available to the general public in February 1996. Since
then, a number of private Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) have been operating in the country, and the US Leland
Initiative and other similar projects have been instrumental in promoting the use of
Internet for development.
Computer per 100
inhabitants: 0.16 (2000)
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ICT Training and Development
L'Institut
National d'Economie (INE) used to be the only public institution offering courses
on computer and information sciences at a university level. INE has a
programme leading a diploma in information sciences and computer management: Diplôme de
technicien supérieur (DTS) en informatique de gestion donnée (baccalauréat + 3 years).
However, the transition from a social to a liberal regime in the 90s has given birth to a
number of private educational and training centres specializing in computer and
information sciences.
In private
institutions, the degree is limited to BTS (baccalauréat + 2 years). Over 20 private
training centres have a programme leading to BTS. These are GASA Formation, EPIE, CPJS,
Master Soft, Intercom, Cépib Formation, CPIH, Prama Informatique (specializing in
computer maintenance), Galaxy, Groupe PIGIER, Ecole de Hautes Technologies, Institut
Supérieur de Technologies, Ecole de Commerce d'Administration Informatique et de gestion,
etc. One of the institutions, Master Soft, a US-based institution with its African
headquarters in Cotonou, assembles computers suited for the African tropical hot weather.
The Complexe
Polytechnique Universitaire (CPU) is public university with programmes in
electrical engineering, computer science and programming. The university also plans to
launch a diploma programme in multi-media.
The Centre de
Formation aux Carrières de l'Information (CEFOCI), which is part of the Ecole de
Nationale d'Administration of Benin, has a programme leading to a DTS (Diplôme de
technicien supérieur) in documentation and archiving.
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Broadcasting/Media
Radio Broadcasting:
The Office de Radiodiffusion et Télévision du Bénin (ORTB) owned by the state, is the
main broadcaster in the country. Two FM channels offer 100% national coverage, and there
are five rural radio stations installed in various parts of the country.
Television Broadcasting:
The main broadcaster is ORTB with 10 hours of transmission daily reaching 85% of the
population. ORTB has a joint venture with Canal France International.
Following the 1997 bill on the
liberalisation of the sector, a private television company (LC2) was established, and
8 private radio stations are transmitting in Cotonou, Allada, Porto-Novo and Djougou
through FM channels.
Radios per
100 inhabitants: 9.2 (1995)
Television
receivers per 100 inhabitants: 4.5 (2000)
Cable TV
subscribers: na
Home
satellite dishes: na
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