Telecommunications
Structure and Policy
In 1992, the Sudanese Government
launched an Economic Salvation Programme to open the economy to private investors.
This paved the way for the privatisation of the telecommunications sector in 1993. The Sudan
Telecommunications Public Corporation (STPC) which was established in 1942, was
divided into a private telecom company, Sudan Telecommunications Company (Sudatel),
and a regulatory body, National Telecommunications Council (NTC) with
effect from September 1994. NTC is responsible to the Ministry of Roads
and Communications, and it is updating and redrafting provisions of the law on telecom
services.
Sudatel is a
private company where the government has the majority of shares but only 20% of the voting
power and control. Sudatel is in charge with the provision of a national backbone,
including national and international telecommunications services, and it has a 15-year
lease with effect from 1994.
Sudan is currently traversed by
communication lines consisting of:
- over 2,500 kilometers of optical
fibre where 2 Mb is reserved for data;
- SUDOSAT (Sudan Domestic Satellite)
which has 36 ground stations in remote towns;
- Intelsat, Arabsat satellites; and
- over 60 VSAT stations.
Sudatel has put in place the
following technical plan 1999:
- Increase the total number of
connected telephone lines to 300,000;
- Increase the total number of
public telephones to 1,000;
- Increase the total number of
wireless telephone subscribers to 20,000;
- Complete the optical fiber path
ring in the eastern and northern regions to increase reliability;
- Connectivity to the Oxygen
International Optical Fiber Superhighway;
- Implement VSAT and IMARSAT
satellite systems in southern and western regions;
- Extension and rehabilitation of
the INTELSAT, ARABSAT, SUDOSAT and EWSD systems;
- Establish a national data
transmission network over the entire country using Frame Relay Technology to provide
services such as telemedicine, distance learning, video conferencing, electronic
commerce and WAN interconnection for the public and business sectors;
- Implement ISDN network to provide
fast access to the Internet and multimedia transmission;
- Establish Frame Relay Gateway for
international carriers;
- Increase international link to the
Internet to 2 Mbps; and
- Establish points of presence
(POPs) in big cities for Internet access.
Sources:
Department of Planning and Department of Data Communication and Networking, Sudatel.
Mobile cellular network:
The GSM cellular network operator
is Mobitel (1997) whose shareholders are Sudatel (40%) and local
investors (60%). Mobitel main switch is co-sited at Sudatel central exchange, using
optical fiber links to base transceiver stations (BTS), with a 2 Mbps Sudatel line for
international traffic. Its current coverage is Greater Khartoum, approximately 40 square
kilometers, and there are plans to expand Mobitel services to Medani (180 km away) and
Port Sudan (800 km away). Mobitel is working toward establishing international roaming
with neighbouring Arab countries.
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ICT
Networking Development
The coordinating ministry for local
governments has established a national network consisting of a LAN in each of the 19
states. The network provides management and statistical information on health,
agriculture, food, and other matters related to local governments to the centre.
A modern network using frame relay
technology now covers Greater Khartoum and the major cities. It links banks, universities
and other organisations, and it has a speed of 2 Mbps and supports remote logins, FTP,
e-mail and teleconferencing.
The establishment of a Higher
Education Network is underway. Currently, it is an administrative network
connecting 26 government universities.
Information and
Communication Hardware: The tax levied on imported computers and communication
equipment has been reduced from 20% down to 6%. Computers are being assembled in Sudan. A
local private factory, Saria, produces annually 10,000 PC monitors, 1,000 HF communication
equipment and 2,500 VHF.
On June 15, 1999, preparations have
started for the elaboration of national information and communication plans for Sudan.
Focus has been made on five major areas:
- Technology (infrastructure);
- Human Resources Development;
- Software industry;
- Content (infostructure) in Arabic;
and
- Geo-information.
A study is currently underway to
document the status of ICT in the country. A workshop is planned for mid-September 1999 to
discuss the outcome of the study and to elaborate work plans and projects for integration
in the overall national plan. The end results of the workshop will be presented at the
African Development Forum (ADF) meeting, 24-28 October 1999, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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ICT Partners and Projects
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