Responsible
ministry: Ministère des
Technologies de la Communication
Telecommunication
operator: Office National des Télécommunications (also known as Tunisie
Télécom) is the sole supplier of telecommunication services in the country.
It is also the main share owner of Tunicell, the mobile wireless/cellular operator
in Tunisia.
Telecommunication
regulator: Currently there is no independent regulator in Tunisia; however, the
process of separation of operational and regulatory activities has begun with the
government’s 1997-2001 telecommunication plan. The process involves structural
adjustment and separation of responsibilities into Tunisia Telecom as the public network
operator and CERT (Telecommunication Study and Research Centre) as the regulator.
Teledensity:
- Total: 7.92 (1998)
- Largest cities: 9.02 (1998)
- Rest of the country: 7.82 (1998)
Digital main
lines: 100.00% (1998)
Waiting list for
a telephone line:
- Total: 80,700 (1998)
- Average waiting time: 1.1 years
(1998)
- Total demand (k): 832.9 (1998)
- Satisfied demand (%): 90.3 (1998)
Telephone tariffs:
| PSTN connection charge -
residential |
US$ 70 |
| PSTN connection charge -
business |
US$ 70 |
| PSTN monthly subscription
- residential |
US$ 2.3 |
| PSTN monthly susbcription
- business |
US$ 2.3 |
| PSTN 3 minutes local call |
US$ 0.06 |
Source:
World Telecommunication Development Report, 1999
Public
telephones: 13,690 (1998)
Public telephone
per 1,000 inhabitants: 1.47 (1998)
Mobile cellular
subscribers: 39,000 (1998)
Cellular
susbcribers as a % of total telephone susbcribers: 5.20 (1998)
Mobile cellular
tariffs (1999):
| Connection charge |
US$ 105 |
| Monthly subscription |
US$ 13.17 |
| One minute local call -
peak |
US$ 0.18 |
| One minute local call -
off-peak |
US$ 0.12 |
Source:
World Telecommunication Development Report, 1999
Telecommunications
revenue (M US$): 351.1 (1998)
Telecommunications
investment (M US$): 156.6 (1998)
Telecommunications
investment as a % of revenue: 40.60 (1998)
Telecom
equipment exports (M US$): na
Telecom
equipment imports (M US$): 43.0 (1998)
Community access
centres: In 1998, the Tunisian government launched an ambitious program with the
twofold objectives of generalizing Internet access and services throughout Tunisia -
especially in the rural areas - and to create new jobs for recent university graduates.
The program, called PUBLINET, consist of setting up public Internet centres
in different regions of Tunisia. The program goal is to establish 100 PUBLINET centres by
the middle of 1999. Thus far, 14 PUBLINET centres have been established via seven POP
sites throughout the country. For more information on the project, please consult the
following Web site: http://www.telecentres.tn/En/Telecentre/presentation.htm
Facsimiles:
31,000 (1998)
According to
Tunisia Online
News, Tunisia produces 500 graduates in computer
engineering or business computing each year, and that the figure will increase to 700 per
year by year 2000. Currently, there are approximately 5,000 computer experts within the
country.
ICT training
institutions:
L’Université Libre de Tunis is
the leading institution that produces information and communication technology graduates,
particularly through its Ecole Supérieure d’Informatique.
Two new institutions have recently
been established: l'Institut National des Sciences Appliquées et de la Technologie
(INSAT), and l'Ecole Polytechnique et l'Ecole Normale Supérieur. Both schools
focus on ICT technical training.
For Internet training, almost all
the ISPs (including the two commercial ISPs) provide Internet training courses. Training
fees apply for all the courses.
