The cable has been landed received and commissioned by no less a person but President Ernest Bia Koroma. Since the landing of the cable many Sierra Leoneans both home and abroad are still asking why the landing of the cable is unable to improve the country’s ICT sector soonest.
It is important for our readers to know that the Africa Coast to Europe Submarine Cable which Sierra Leone has joined runs from Penmarch, France, Lisbon, Portugal, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Nouakchoot, Mauritania, Dakar Senegal, Bangul, the Gambia, Conakey, Guinea, Freetown Sierra Leone, Monrovia,Liberia Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire, Accra, Ghana, Lagos, Nigeria, Kribi, Cameroon and hosts of other countries.
In Sierra Leone, the institution that is responsible to champion the arrangement of the cable is Ministry of Information and Communications. Within the Ministry, there is a project called the West African Regional Communications Programme (WARCIP-SL). WARCIP-Sierra Leone is being headed by a project consult identified by the World Bank Julius A. Kamara who is serving as the Project Coordinator.
According to the Project Coordinator of WARCIP-SL in one of his engagement with the press he said the WARCIP-SL project development objectives are:
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Provide high capacity international connectivity to mitigate the existing marginalization of Sierra Leone bride the digital divide.
Increase the geographical reach of Broadband network
Reduce communications costs in Sierra Leone by way of expedite broadband rollout, eGovernance, eServices, new Media
Expedite ICT development in Urban and Rural Siera Leone
Enhances 3G Applicaions and Competitive Pricing to release demand
Mr Kamara further explained WARCIP-SL Project components which includes:
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Supporting Connectivity. Under this component, WARCIP-SL would provide funding for the Sierra Leone Cable Limited SALCAB’s participation to ACE submarine cable. Broadband internet connection to government ministries department and agencies. Sierra Leone Internet Exchange. Emergency National Communications Network and landing site related issues.
The second component is Supporting Access: Public Private Partnership (PPP) Designed/Divestiture (SALCAB). Revised the Telecoms Law, Related Regulatory Instruments. Liberalization of the International Gateway, provide technical assistance to National ICT Policy etc.
How does this fiber will benefit Sierra Leoneans and the country?
The Project Coordinator explained that the entire population of Sierra Leone will benefit from affordable and dependable ICT that will enable us to join the Global ICT Revolution; access and share information 24/7. Improve productivity and service. Fine better prices for their produce, Bridge the geographical divide to increase their market potential, in all these Telecoms network operators, individual mobile and fixed line subscribers businesses: Banks, industry, insurances schools, hospitals, security agencies and the government of Sierra Leone will benefits from the cable.
In the other hand, after all these benefits highlighted by the Project Coordinator, since February 20th 2013, when President Koroma finally commissioned the Fibre-Optic Cable at Lumley Beach; majority of Sierra Leoneans felt that the next day their phones, modems will have quality internet and voice call services.
In a recent interview with Mr. Kamara, about the delay in process, he told this medium that the WARCIP Project is a success as far as he is concern. WARCIP-SL has created the necessary infrastructure by landing the cable in Sierra Leone. They have built the site which is visible. WARCIP-SL in collaboration with the government has established SALCAB a body set up by government to be in charge of the cable.
Mr. Kamara said WARCIP-SL is currently reviewing the Tele-Communications Act of 2004 as amended in 2006. In the area of providing broadband to MDA’s Mr. Kamara disclosed that they have received proposals from companies which have sent in their proposal to provide assistant to government ICT Networks.
He added that the divestiture signed between the government and internet and GSM services providers under SALCAB’s has created the opens space for Public Private Partnerships into the process. “Government has 51% shareholder while the private sector have 49%. Each of the internet services provides has 6% share in the cable.”
The Project Coordinator underscored that the WARCIP project have done all of these, it left with the SALCAB to make use of its percentage and that of internet service providers so that the people of Sierra Leone can benefits from the cable.
He finally noted that one of the greatest achievements WARCIP-SL has recorded recently they have able to convince the World Bank to support the e-Transformation Post Landing Activities. This is the present activities his team and World Bank are currently working visa-vie the activities left to be completed in fiber project as the project will end in a years’ time.
Francis Lionel Davis, former Chairman of the Board of SALCAB’s in an interview with this press said that SALCAB’s is a less than four months old government institution set up to provide security on the cable an also serves an interface between the Internet Service Providers and end users of network. He said the government has 3 representatives in the board. A total of 9 Internet and GSM Services operators have signed Divestiture with government through SALCAB and they all have representatives in the board. They includes: Sierratel, Airtel, Africell, Commium, Afcom, limeline, Iptel, Nextgen, Teltak and Salcab.
During the officially launching of the cable, the former Minister of Information and Communications Alhaji Ibrahim Bem Kargbo has this to say “ Today was another landmark day in Sierra Leone as the country hooked up to the Africa to Europe (ACE ) cable ,which will increase Internet speeds and enhance Internet usage in Africa. The ACE cable will provide the nation unlimited access to the World Wide Web and facilitate the downloading of videos, while also enhancing radio and television transmission in the country . It is the final step to the launching of the Fibre Optic Cable project, which started with the landing of the cables in Sierra Leone almost two years ago.”
He added that this is another major achievement by the Government of President Ernest Bai Koroma. Sierra Leone joins other West African countries Senegal, The Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia who switched on their system last month. With today’s launching program, people in Sierra Leone can now subscribe with the companies licensed to operate in the country – Sierratel, Airtel, Africell, Commium, Afcom, limeline, Iptel, Nextgen, Teltak and Salcab. Internet and mobile phone services are now expected to be relatively cheaper.
Siray Timbo is Chairman of the National Telecommunications Commission NATCOM has this say at the launching of the cable, “ It is an honor for me to be given this opportunity to make a statement at this event – celebrating the formal activation of the ACE fibre optic cable in Sierra Leone.
As the regulator, NATCOM prides itself in being a key player in promoting the growth and development of ICT’s in this country. However, of what good would the efforts of the Commission have been if this nation was not guided by the vision of His Excellency the President, for Sierra Leone to develop into a knowledge based information society with a vibrant ICT sector? About one and half years ago, on the 30th October 2011, a symbolic scene was witnessed when His Excellency pulled the fiber cable from the Atlantic Ocean.
As Chairman of NATCOM and a citizen, I am particularly pleased that all here present whether directly or indirectly are party to the amalgamation of the ideas for technological advancement to set the stage to improve the lives of every Sierra Leonean in this country. The era of broadband communication is born today wiring Sierra Leone for the 21st Century.”
He added that “As regulators of this sector, NATCOM is here to license telecommunication operators and service providers to ensure expansion of investment and to oversee expansion in the telecommunications and ICT sector. It is also our duty to ensure fair competition, promote efficiency and protect the consumers.
NATCOM is a beneficiary of support for institutional development and capacity building under the WARCIP project.
We have worked with consultants in the open access regulations and are now working with specialist law firm for the review of the Telecommunications Act 2006 (as amended). A framework supporting open access to national and international infrastructure and services would soon be in place. Over eleven regulations ranging from computer misuse and cybercrime to spectrum management would be drafted. Clearly at the mention of cybercrime, the public would be reminded of the Commission’s sensitization on illegal set up and use of sim boxes.
The increase in the number of sim box gateways has caused and still causes this country tremendous loss in revenue. Illegal Operators, route voice traffic into and out of Sierra Leone without paying their regulatory dues and taxes. Sim box fraud has immensely contributed to the decline in quality of voice traffic.
Since the inception of this project to land the first ever fibre optic system in this country, NATCOM co-operated with the Ministry of Information and Communications so far as to the extent of seconding our staff to the Ministry. The commission has ensured that a proper license is put in place for the operations of SALCAB to ensure protection of investors, protection of consumer rights and healthy competition in the sector. A lot has been done, is being done and would continue to be done.
Siray Timbo finally maintained that, NATCOM is committed to continue to work with all stakeholders in ensuring the fibre optic system and other ICT projects are recorded as successful. We look forward to seeing a rapid increase in internet use and what was once recorded as 0.8% internet penetration to go beyond expectations, at least 20% within the first year.
Foday Sankoh Lime Line Managing Director, one of the internet service providers that signed the divestiture with SALCAB in an interview with Mysierraleoneonline.com disclosed that the landing of the cable is a laudable venture made by the government to improve the telecommunications sector. "To maintain investors’ confidence in the cable, so that the people can benefit from its services, the government has to provide reliable power supply and liberalization of the gateway."
The Lime Line Boss continued to say even though the cable has been landed the problem of electricity is making the costs of internet usage still very expensive. As a private company, they spent urge amount of monies to fuel their machines to provide services to their subscribers.
He noted that as a company they registered to provide more services like voice calls, video communications but they were given license to provide data service. He expressed optimism that with the provision of reliable electricity supply from the government and liberalization of the gateway will help to achieve one of the project objectives which is to reduce communications and internet costs.
This press sounded the views of some members of the public through a random interview. Their responses sound very frustrating. Most of them said they are not enjoying quality internet and mobile services since the landing of the cable. The costs of communication recharge card since the landing of the cable are still expensive.
Mysierraleoneonline.com visited some government institutions you may surprise to know that some government ministry eg Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Tourism etc do not have quality internet services. Workers of these institutions expressed frustration over the poor internet services in their respective offices.
SIERRATEL as the government Telecommunications Company responsible for the domestic connection of the cable according to the deputy Minister of Information and Communications Theo Nicol, said SIERRATEL is currently running the metropolitan connection of the cable. The engineers are working round the clock to install the underground cable from SIERRATEL to the landing site for the distribution of the fiber cable to the rest of the country.
He expressed optimism that once the metropolitan cable connection is done, the people of Sierra Leone will enjoy the worth of the cable. He noted however that, the 51% government has in the cable will be used to connect government ministries and agencies, the heath sector, educational sector etc. Some of the government shares will be sold to companys that nay want to invest in the ICT Sector.
The minister calls on members of the public through this medium to exercise patience as in a years’ time they will start to get the full benefit of the cable.
In another development, SIERATEL one of the Telecommunication companies in the country has the EVDO internet service described as a high level internet access SIERRATEL offers. "The launching of the Fiber Optic Cable has increase SIERRATEL speed double their former capacity." said Albert Will Director of Business SIERRATEL.
Mr. Albert Bangura Will told this press that when they were using satellite they often faced problems with weather and low speed but with the inception of the fiber optic cable has significantly increased their level of internet speed to their subscribers.
He continued to explain that, the EVDO internet product is quiet technical but is the highest level internet service SIERRATEL officers. With EVDO, a person can subscribe through ‘Pay as U Go’ i.e you pay Le 10,000 before use for 24 hours equivalent to $3 Dollars. The Upfront Payment is for a month cost Le 225,000 per month, equivalent slightly above $ 50 Dollars which is unlimited.
The Fiber which is a submarine cable have made SIERRATEL the most preferred internet service in the telecommunication industry. “We are the first to hook up with the fiber at the Fiber Lumley Site.” He noted.
However, SIERATEL is working on the Metropolitan Project to run the fiber cable from their stations to cities, homes and businesses across the country. The Last-Mile connection as described by engineers is synonymous to the telephone land line connection. The Last-Mile connection is for internet use which is in progress.
Mr. Will finally revealed that the people of Sierra Leone are very impressed with the EVDO Modem and recent Three in One Service they offer. SIERRATEL has taken the giant lead in providing reliable wholesale broadband internet services to the public and private institutions.
Moreover, the Deputy Coordinator of the Attitudinal and Behavioral Change (ABC) Secretariat, Nannette Thomas, has called on telecommunications authorities to consider liberalizing the country’s communications gateway as a step to clamp down on the spate of rampage SIM fraud against the country.
She made this clarion call at a Committee hearing when officials of the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) were summoned by Members of Parliament on the Committee on Information and Communications to account of their moves in streamlining the telecommunications industry.
Mrs. Thomas, who was given the exclusive opportunity to speak at the session exclusively for MP members of the Committee as a citizen started with this question to the NATCOM officials: “I received three international calls this morning with local Airtel numbers; one from London and two from the USA. What was responsible for that?
In response to her question, the Deputy Director-General of NATCOM, Senesie Kallon, said: “It is the work of SIM Box fraudsters, who intercept those calls and remove the international identification, for example 001 for calls from the USA, and by so doing, depriving the collection of taxes from international gateways causing an apparent loss to the state in terms of revenue mobilization from the telecommunications sector.
The Deputy Director further elucidated that when SIM Box fraudsters remove the international code using a sophisticated satellite system, they replace it with a local code so that Sierratel as the country’s only international gateway would not be able to bill for such calls, as they would be falsely considered local calls, while the fraudsters collect hard currencies on behalf of those calls.
He further explained that SIM Box fraudsters would come to the country, purchase several of local SIMs densely sold on the streets, and belonging to the respective GSM companies in the country, and would then establish the SIM Box system somewhere within the country, the USA or the UK, and start defrauding the system using complex telecommunications technology.
He acknowledged that by this act, “fraudsters have landed the state into considerable loss in much needed hard currency that should have been collected by Sierratel.”
Senesie Kallon disclosed that they had once arrested SIM Box fraudsters at the Bintumani Hotel and that they included an American who was aided and abetted by two Sierra Leoneans. He said that the American citizen jumped bail and the two Sierra Leoneans were fined a meagre sum of Le15, 000,000 (fifteen million Leones) each. He also disclosed that other SIM Box fraudsters were apprehended in Bo, in which light penalties were sanctioned.
Mrs. Nannette Thomas buttressed that when SIM Box fraudsters invaded the Ghanaian telecommunications industry, the government lost over USD6, 000,000 in just one month. She said knowing the enormity of revenue loss the Ghanaian government experienced, a swift measure was taken through the institution of four cyber crime courts that dealt with culprits, by levying stiffer fines, and through the recruitment of cybercrime task force across the country.
She revealed that Ghana further ensured the liberalization of their gateways by establishing more international telecommunications gateways in their bid to combat cyber crimes.
While Senesie Kallon revealed that NATCOM had facilitated the training of cyber task force team by sending officers of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to the U.S, Morocco, Senegal etc, they are also looking forward to authorities to review the telecoms act and introduce more laws that will further enhance their operation as an entity.
But the Chairman of the Committee on Information and Communications Hon. Binneh Bangura said that the onus rests on officials of NATCOM to bring forth the initiative to Parliament for a legislative action to be taken in a bid to put cybercrimes to terminus.
The medium can describe the fiber cable at this moment as a newly constructed house that has TV set, refrigerator, fan, bulb, water hitter etc without reliable electricity how can the family enjoy the benefit of these appliances. This scenario can best describe the fiber cable which has been commissioned but yet greater percentages of the population are yet to enjoy its full benefits.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sallieu Sesay
Quelle/Source: my sierra leone online, 07.07.2013
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