The telecommunication systems in
the Democratic Republic of Congo is the least developed in the region. The Office
Congolais des Postes et des Télécommunications (OCPT) is the public
telecommunications operator which was converted from a government department to a
corporation in 1968. It inherited the cable network from the Belgian colonial
administration together with some microwave links and an earth station Standard A which is
out of order now. OCPT is responsible to the Ministère des
Postes et Télécommunications.
Established in 1978, Renatelsat
(Réseau National de Télécommunications par Satellite) has 16 earth stations Standard B
implemented in most big cities to provide transmission support for radio, television and
telephones. The network is not now fully functional and it only serves as a support
for television transmission. Recent estimates put the rehabilitation cost at US$ 6
million.
Gecamines which
is the biggest mining company in the country has its own private telephone network with
6,000 lines and a Standard B earth station. The network covers the Katanga province and it
has now come open to the public and it operates few public coin boxes.
The Ministère des Postes
et Télécommunications is currently responsible for regulating the
telecommunications sector as an independent regulatory authority has not yet been
established.
A plan for privatisation of the
national telecom was expected by end 1997 to attract the necessary capital investment, but
this has never been realised. OCPT has effective monopoly on basic services; it can,
however, grant a license valid for 20 years for a third party to operate any other
services.
Cellular network
There are currently three AMPS
(Advanced Mobile Phone System) network operators in the country:
Telecel is the
first private cellular company established in 1989. It has now about 10,000 subscribers in
the capital city, Kinshasa, and four other main cities. The network has two Standard B
earth stations and VSAT stations for intercity communications.
Comcell started
operation in 1993 and it is currently covering 10 main cities with VSAT stations and
a Standard F-3 earth station for international and intercity communications.
Tatem, unlike the
above two cellular networks, is restricted to the port city of Matadi.
TAT got a license
to operate a TABS-based cellular system in 1993 but it is not yet operational.
OCPT has recently
established connections with Telecel and Comcell,
however the latter two are still not interconnected.
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The Archives
Nationales is operating the Réseau Documentaire Informatisé (REDI)
with assitance from the Agence de la Francophonie.
The Réseau
de Gestion par l'Informatique et la Télématique ZedNet is collaborating with
UNDP toward the development of Internet in the Country. It assists also students in the
use of the network.
There is currently
one Internet Service Provider (ISP),
InterConnect, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ISP is run by a
Belgian group and it operates two points of presence (POPs), one in Kinshasa and the other
in Lumbumbashi.
