Information and communication technologies (ICT) can be used as a strategic lever for socioeconomic development and as a competitive tool in an increasingly global and deregulated market.
Tunisia has been among the first African countries to implement an ICT-based national strategy. This is aimed at:
- Modernizing the telecommunications infrastructure throughout the country;
- Formulating a regulatory framework for the digital economy that supports the private sector and fosters corporate competitiveness;
- Developing human resources through the restructuring of education, training, and research institutions; and
- Enhancing international cooperation and partnerships in the ICT field.
Since 2002, the telecommunications sector in the country has been deregulated, a national telecommunications agency created, and an electronic signature and electronic document exchange adopted.
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), started by the United Nations in 1998 on Tunisia’s proposal and hosted by the country in its second phase in 2005, boosted the role of ICT in the country’s economic and social development.
In this context, specific actions included creating across the country, technology parks aimed at strengthening the synergy among education, research, and the private sector; and fostering the national programme for enterprise upgrading, which promoted corporate use of ICT and made it economically affordable for companies.
Tunisia’s ICT strategy makes a contribution to building a knowledge-based economy. ICT is boosting Tunisia’s growth and competitiveness now that the government has created a nationwide digital culture, provided ICT access for all, and established a trustworthy environment for ICT development.
The importance of education and technology parks in building a knowledge-based economy should be mentioned.
The importance of ICT in fostering a knowledge-based economy is confirmed year after year. Measurements of the degree of companies’ knowledge appropriation have seen a net increase of ICT contribution to such economy over the last few years. For the 1997–2005 period, the Knowledge Economy Index registered an average growth rate of 4.3 percent per year, essentially due to companies’ use of ICT (for which the average annual growth rate was approximately 9 percent).
Thus a better ICT utilization enables companies to achieve a better integration of their business processes and stronger market competitiveness.
The ICT sector’s share of Tunisia’s GDP rose from 2.6 percent in 1997 to 10 percent in 2008, and is expected to reach 13.5 percent in 2011.
This encouraging trend is mirrored in Tunisia’s performance in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2009–2010, in which it ranked 1st in North Africa and 39th worldwide.
Between 2001 and 2008, investment in Tunisia’s ICT sector has increased by 8.1 percent annually. For the last three years, the increase has been 15 percent sectorwide and 26.6 percent in ICT-related activities.
Government incentives to set up ICT ventures and the increasing spread of a digital culture have led to the annual creation of, on average, 400 private enterprises.
In 2007, Tunisia was the fourth largest African exporter of ICT and ICT-enabled services, with exports valued at US$572 million and imports amounting to US$496 million. On a related note, to enhance their internal efficiency and overall effectiveness and in order to benefit from online services offered by the government and other institutions, companies are increasingly integrating ICT into their business activities.
To this end, 90 percent of Tunisia’s companies were connected to the Internet in 2009, up from 88 percent in 2008 and 80 percent in 2007. Moreover, 47 percent of the companies surveyed have their own website, up from 37 percent in 2008 and 32 percent in 2007.
The ICT sector analysis carried out in 2009 by the Tunisian Institute of Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies revealed that 54 percent of service companies— especially in banking, insurance, and tourism—have their own websites, compared with 42 percent of industrial enterprises.
This higher number can be explained by the attitude of top management toward ICT and its commitment to using these technologies for business competitiveness, especially since online services have become a more crucial market imperative than ever.
Tunisia has taken various measures to create a national digital culture. More specifically, the government has provided ICT access for all, built a state-of-the art ICT infrastructure, and established a trustworthy environment for ICT development.
Aware of the essential role that ICT plays in building the information society, Tunisia has implemented a strategy that guarantees, over time, universal digital access, regardless of gender, region, or any other possible criteria of exclusion. Indeed, in order to secure digital opportunity for all, several initiatives have been undertaken:
- The creation of a national IT centre for children (known as the Centre Régional d’Informatique Pour Enfants, or CRIPE), as well as regional centres, throughout the country aimed at training 5- to 15-year-olds. Moreover, in order to cater to children who have specific needs, specialized areas within each CRIPE and an IT centre for disabled children (Centre d’Informatique Pour Enfants Handicapés, or CIPEH) were established.
- The use of IT as a teaching aid for pre-school activities. This resulted in setting up microenterprises, especially in big cities, focused on this market niche.
- The connection of elementary and secondary schools and colleges, as well as of all other higher education institutions, to the Internet.
- The connection of university libraries, community arts centres (161 out of 209), municipal libraries (203 out of 318), and almost all youth clubs (294 out of 296) to the Internet.
- The creation of computer and multimedia clubs within community arts centres (79 out of 209) and of public Internet access centres throughout the country.
- The fostering of ICT access in rural areas through the use of special buses equipped to serve as mobile computer laboratories, with Internet connections and educational tools and games targeted at young users.
- The improvement of the rate of household personal computer (PC) ownership. The number of computers in Tunisia increased from 472,000 in 2004 to 997,000 units in 2008, and PC penetration in households increased from 7 percent in 2004 to 13.1 percent in 2008. This growth in computer usage was an outcome of the presidential initiative entitled The Family PC.
- The offer to citizens and corporations, through the national strategy for e-Administration, of an integrated set of e-services from different government organizations. This strategy aims to reduce costs, enhance citizens’ involvement, and improve public sector efficiency.
- The modernization of the national healthcare information system by establishing a broadband infrastructure to connect 280 healthcare centres and developing high value-added services such as telemedicine.
Secure environment
As early as 1999, Tunisia formulated a national cybersecurity strategy aimed at increasing information systems’ security in the country and fostering electronic commerce and online services, as well as protecting users against cyber-threats. A first measure was the adoption in 1999 of a law defining cybercrime and specifying sanctions against IT hackers.
Subsequent measures included the establishment of the National Agency for Computer Security (ANSI) and the Tunisian Computer Emergency Response Team (TunCERT).
ANSI’s mission is to raise awareness among governmental and business organizations and assist them to implement actions to ensure the security of their information systems.
Through its TunCERT, ANSI is the first operational centre in Africa recognized by the worldwide network Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams. It is a member of the Network of Centers of Excellence of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and also serves as Vice President of the Organization of the Islamic Conference- Computer Emergency Response Team.
The establishment in 2000 of the National Agency for Electronic Certification as Tunisia’s certification authority has provided a technical and legal framework for the recognition of electronic signatures.
Furthermore, the implementation of the local electronic payment system E-dinar by the Tunisian Post in 2001 and of secure online banking solutions “Secure Payment Server” in 2005 fostered the development of electronic commercial transactions.
These actions aimed at creating a trustworthy IT environment, a prerequisite for the successful implementation of e-commerce, e-banking, and other online services. As of November 2009, more than 80 percent of companies’ income taxes are paid online using electronic signatures, and all students in the country register online for their university classes.
A high-quality ICT infrastructure is a critical pillar for establishing a knowledge-based economy. Investments made since the 1990s have enabled Tunisia to set up a state-of-the-art infrastructure that includes a high performance network with more than 10,000 kilometers of optical fiber links.
With its countrywide multiplelink network of 10 gigabits per second (Gb/s), the national Internet protocol/multiprotocol label switching (IP/MPLS) backbone enables high-speed Internet transmission.
Industrial and business zones connected to the IP backbone allow data and Internet transfer at speeds of up to 1 Gb/s.
ICT networks for higher education, healthcare, and e-government were designed using virtual private networks and fiber optic links with the IP/MPLS backbone.
Access networks installed in Tunisia by telecommunications operators offer several technologies, such as worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX), very small aperture terminal, asymmetric digital subscriber line, symmetric digital subscriber line, and fiber optic links. All regions, including rural areas, have benefited from total convergence of fixed and mobile telephony, allowing a penetration rate of more than 98.8 percent.
The deployment of broadband networks has resulted in a significant expansion, mainly through the rapid deployment of digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber optic technologies. The number of Internet users has grown over the past few years to reach one-third of the population, stimulated by the reduction in DSL subscription costs that makes subscription affordable to most citizens.
More specifically, the cost of a 1 Mb connection was reduced by 25 percent in 2008 and by an additional 45 percent in 2009, to reach almost US$27 per month, compared with a cost of US$61.5 in 2007.16
For international connectivity and as part of the “Hannibal system,” Tunisia has just laid out its own submarine cable to Europe, with a capacity of 3.2 terabits per second (Tb/s). Added to this is the capacity provided by the Keltra cable (which links Tunisia to Italy) and by the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE4) submarine fiber-optic cable consortium.
International connectivity using several submarine cables, the national IP/MPLS, and multiple technology access networks has enabled operators to offer reliable national and international links at an affordable price. The international Internet reached 27.5 Gb/s in November 2009, up from only 11.25 Gb/s in 2008.
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Quelle/Source: Global Arab Network, 20.05.2010
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