Gamtel was established as a state-owned limited company in 1984 to
regulate and operate the telecommunications sector in the Gambia. Prior to its
establishment, the sector had been operated by the then "Telecommunications
Department and Cables and Wireless PLC (Gambia)" and the network had approximately
2,400 lines. Gamtel introduced major expansion projects to increase
the telephone capacity
to over 40,000 lines. In 1999, there were 29,200 connected lines, and the telephone
density was at a level of 2.30 per hundred people nation-wide and over 8.13 per hundred
people for the Greater Banjul Area.
Gamtel operates
11 urban branches and 12 provincial stations and has set up 233 privately running
telecentres. As part of its mission to develop and expand the telecommunications sector,
the company introduced the following major value-added services:
Cellular network:
Gamcel was set up as a subsidiary of Gamtel to operate
the cellular telephony network using ETACS system. In order to cope with the soaring
demand and to improve the quality of the service, Gamtel is planning to introduce GSM
network with roaming facilities. This is expected to become operational in 1998/99.
Paging: Gamtel has
made available pagers and voice-mail boxes to interested subscribers.
Internet gateway:
As part of a joint project with the UNDP's
Internet Initiative Project for Africa, Gamtel's Data Communications Services Unit
participated in 1996 in the design of an Internet backbone for The Gambia. The project was
awarded to Cable and Wireless OMNES, and completed in August 1998. The gateway is a complete satellite system from GAMTEL's Satellite
station in Abuko, The Gambia, to Teleglobe in Canada. Internet Service Providers are making use of this
gateway to provide services to their users.
Public pay-phones:
The public acceptance of card phones has led Gamtel to increase their number. At present,
265 public pay-phones are in operation, of which 77 are card phones.
Radio and television
services: National Radio and National Television which used to be two separate
entities were recently merged to form Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS)
responsible to Gamtel.
Gambia Telecommunications
Training Centre (GTC), established in 1992 through support from UNDP, ITU and
other like organizations, was transformed into Gambia Telecommunications &
Multimedia Institute (GTMI) in 1996. GTMI, a
subsidiary of Gamtel, offers training courses on basic accounting, office management,
electrical engineering, and telecommunications services and systems. The Institute has
recently introduced training programs on new technologies.
In 1999, the Department of State
for Public works, Communication and Information initiated the formulation of a National
Communications and Information Policy. The policy aims at ensuring the coherent and
orderly development of broadcasting, telecommunication, print media, and post and courier
services through effective partnership between the public sector and the private sector,
and through the establishment of a transparent regulatory framework. The policy objectives
include:
- provision of universal services in
broadcasting and telecommunication;
- creation of opportunities for
private sector participation;
- creation of wider consumer choice
in services;
- guarantees on the freedom and
independence of the press; and
- development of a national
information infrastructure and its connectivity to the Global Information Infrastructure.
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HealthNet Gambia: This network was the first operational network in The Gambia and
was set up in November 1993 by Satelife, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United
States. At first communication was by satellite, but now it is done by telephone polling
twice a day. SatelLife pays all phone bills and even subsidizes the cost of modems.
The node is managed by volunteers. There are now about 30 points connected to the
node and about 100 users.
GEISnet:
This network, Fidonet link via London, was set
up in mid-1995 for the Gambia Environmental Agency. Six points were connected to the node.
GamNet:
This is the only commercial network in The Gambia operated by the national telecom,
Gamtel. It is linked to CompuServe facility using its X.25 network. It has currently over
160 subscribers.
As part of a
joint project between the UNDP's Internet Initiative Project for Africa and Gamtel's Data
Communications Services Unit, the design of an Internet backbone for The Gambia was
launched in 1996 and completed in August 1998. The
gateway links via Teleglobe in Canada, and a total of three Internet Service Providers are currently making use of
the gateway to provide services to their users.
