Telecommunications
Structure and Policy
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,
and the Ministry takes care of the regulation for the telecommunication sector. Recently,
a reorganisation plan is underway and the liberalisation of the sector has been envisaged.
A rehabilitation
programme was launched in 1993 to modernise the telecommunications sector, primarily by:
- moving from an analog system to a
digital network;
- improving the quality of the
services rendered; and
- increasing the total number of
connected lines in the country.
This resulted in a
major increase in telephone lines from 15,000 lines in July 1993 to over 38,400 lines by
the end of 1998 and a digitalisation of the switched and transmission
networks, 78% and 23% respectively.
Following the
saturation of the networks and the unmet demand for telephone lines, a set of
projects were launched in February 1997 involving the modernisation and extension of the
urban telecommunications networks, and the establishment of a rural telephony network.
These projects are to be financed by First National Bank of South Africa, Banque Ouest
Africaine de Développement (BOAD), African Development Bank (ADB), Islamic
Development Bank, local bank in Benin, and OPT itself. By the end of the projects in
the year 2000, the following major activities are expected to be realised:
- the network of connected lines is
expected to show an annual increase of 10,000 new lines;
- the digitalisation of the
transmission network between Cotonou and Lome (the capital city of Togo) will be
completed;
- new central switches will be
established mainly in Porto-Novo, Pobe, Adjarra, Akpakpa and Kouhounou; and
- new public telephones will be
installed.
The "Centre
Beninpac" was created in June 1994 to manage the X.25 network of the
country. Its main services include access to data bases, electronic mail, file transfer
and French videotex services.
Cellular (Mobile) phone
network
The Office des postes et
télécommunications has 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. As
of 1998, a total of 6,300 people subscribed to the cellular network. A WILL or
express telephone system has also been established during the same year, and it covers an
area of 50 km starting at the headquarters of OPT in Cotonou.
International
Forum on Rural Telecommunications: Ruralcom99
The West African
Telecommunications Conference (CTOA), the Multinational Higher School of
Telecommunication in Senegal, and the Benin Posts and Telecommunications
Office (OPT) have organised an International Forum on Rural
Telecommunications. Ruralcom 99 will be held in Cotonou, Benin, from 2-6 September 1999.
The forum, which is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, is expected to draw
together national operator and regulators, international telecommunications institutions,
Internet services providers, and private organisations.
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ICT
Networking Development
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 MIS system.
Atelier
national sur les usages de l'Internet et promotion des activités des ONG will be held in Lokossa, Benin in September 1999. The objectives of the
workshop are to introduce NGOs to the use of Internet for development, and to devise a
strategy plan for the installation of Internet at NGOs.
ORIDEV is an NGO whicvh
aims to promote development through the use of information and communication technologies
(ICTs). ORIDEV has been established as a result of the formation of ANAIS, and it is
currently the Benin node of the ANAIS network.
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.
Benin Internet Society
(BIS) was established following the
regional workshop on the development of Internet Services in Africa organised by UNDP in
Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, 11-13 November 1996. The Society aims to create favorable
conditions for the efficient use of Internet as a development tool in Benin.
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ICT Partners and Projects
Multipurpose
Community Telecentre Pilot Projects
Project site:
Malanville. Duration: 3 years. Starting date: End 1998 (to be confirmed)
International
partners: ITU, UNESCO/DANIDA, IDRC and possibly CIDA. UNDP/SDNP has developed a
complementary proposal for a project in Benin and expressed the intention to participate
in the pilot project (not yet defined).
National
partners: OPT plus concerned Ministries and local authorities.
Status: Project
Document not yet finalized. Draft proposal, including preliminary business plan, received
in 1997, following ITU missions (preparatory assistance). A joint ITU/UNESCO/IDRC/UNDP
(SDNP) mission together with representatives of potential local partners visited
Malanville in April 1998 and reported that local authorities and user groups are very
enthusiastic. A local project committee was established and local authorities have offered
to contribute to the project by providing land and building.
A joint IDRC/UNESCO
mission was also undertaken to Cotonou and Malanville in August 1998 to assist in
finalizing the project document (report not yet available).
An ITU consultant
carried out a mission to Benin in September/October 98 with the task of assisting in the
planning and specification of the VSAT system for the MCT in Malanville (preparatory
assistance funded by BAAP P9).
US Leland Initiative -
Africa Global Information Infrastructure Project:
The project has upgraded the national Internet gateway operated by the national telecom,
OPT, from 64 Kbps capacity to 128 Kbps by establishing a international link to MCI, USA.
The national telecom OPT is now allowing new private sector Internet Service
Providers to be connected to the gateway.
An agreement was signed in August
1997 between the Government of Benin and the UNDP Sustainable Development
Networking Programme (SNDP) to set-up a national intranet for the collection and
dissemination of multi-sectoral information generated within the country. The project will
establish an Internet hub at the UNDP/SNDP coordination unit by creating an information
exchange network connecting 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 to be launched by
September 1998 in Benin and it will be located at the Centre de Documentation et
d'Information Pédagogique (CDIP) in Porto-Novo. At an initial stage, plans are underway
to train 800 school directors through distance learning. 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.
A project entitled "Programme
des Musées Afro-Suédois (SAMP)" led by a Swedish NGO is working with the Direction
du Patrimoine Cultural du Benin to design a web site on Benin's cultural
heritage, and to connect the historical museum of Abomey to the Internet.
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