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From Aidoghie Paulinus, Niamey
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commissioner for Energy and Mines, Douka Sediko, has said that access and affordability remains an issue in parts of West Africa as far effective mobile communication is concerned.
Sediko spoke on ‘Regional Telecommunications Roaming Issues, its Guidelines and Recommendations on the way forward’ during the delocalised meeting of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications and Information Technology/Education, Science and Culture/Trade Customs and Free Movement in Niamey, Republic of Niger.
Giving an overview of the telecommunications market and challenges in the ECOWAS sub-region, Sediko who spoke through a Program Officer, Telecommunications and Networks of the ECOWAS Commission, Mawuli Amoa, said nearlyhalf of the population of West Africa is still without access to broadband due to issues of reach and affordability.
Sediko disclosed that The Gamblia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, are connected to only one submarine cable, making their international connectivity vulnerable and limiting competition in the broadband market.
Sediko further said lack of national backbone networks in Liberia and Guinea-Bissau were impacting the uptake of internet.
Sediko listed the challenges to include relatively higher cost of deploying and maintaining digital infrastructure in the rural and remote areas, coupled with lower Average Revenue per User (ARPU).
He also listed security issues in some parts of West Africa which disincentivise the rollout of digital infrastructure in the affected areas.
The issues, he added, further worsened the urban and rural digital divide.
“Some challenges also exist related to trust in, and security of the cyberspace.
“Limited cyber awareness and cyber educations among the general population.
“High number of cybercrime originating in the region, and growth of cyber-terrorism.
“Few measures and inadequate resources to protect critical information infrastructure. Weakness in regional and international cooperation in cybersecurity.
“Insufficient capacity to handle cybercrimes and related e-evidence,” Sediko said.
Speaking on roaming within the sub-region, Sediko said re-imposition of SIIT in Guinea, following the lack of reciprocity in the application of the regulation by other member states and insufficient cooperation between the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and lack of cooperation between some operators in the implementation of the regulation, were some of ECOWAS roaming challenges.
He also listed multiple tariffs to be applied by operators in the framework of implementation of the regulation due to the existence of different tariff ceilings for calls from one member state to each destination member state and the persistent risk of fraud and abuse of free roaming benefit discouraging implementation by operators.
Earlier, Sediko said the telecommunications sector within the region has seen development over the past years, characterized by ten submarine cable systems with 33 landing points connect ECOWAS to the rest of the world in terms of communications including the internet.
He disclosed that 44 mobile telephone operators operate in the region, with a combined 410 million mobile telephone subscribers (active SIM cards) representing an average of 103 percent mobile telephone ownership.
He added that there is unique mobile subscribers penetration rate of 50 percent and smartphone adoption and utilisation rate of 44 percent, including an average internet penetration rate of 54.3 percent across the region.
“4G mobile network deployment in all countries in the region, 5G live in Nigeria.
“$52 billion of economic value (8.7 percent of GDP) generated in West Africa from mobile technology and services in 2018, with an estimation to reach almost $70 billion (9.5 percent of GDP) in 2025,” Sediko stated.
On the way forward, Sediko asked the stakeholders to ensure support from highest authorities at national level, particularly presidents and prime ministers for effective implementation of the regulation for the benefits of ECOWAS citizens.
He also said NRAs should utilize their powers within the limits of applicable laws and regulations to compel the mobile operators to comply with all provisions of the regulation.
Amongst other recommendations, Sediko said penalties should also be envisaged for operators that refuse to comply.
