Communications in Somaliland
Encyclopedia
Telecommunications in Somaliland
, a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Somalia
, is characterized by a very low ICT usage. However, there is clear potential for development, especially with the regard to the presence of telecommunication
companies from neighboring countries, expatriates engaged in universities and other sectors, and the presence of six telecommunications operators and several VSAT operators.
There is no telecommunication regulatory institution in the Somaliland region. There is consensus among actors that it would be desirable, but Somaliland is at the beginning of the institutional creation process.
Telesom was established in the year 2001. It later become the leading provider of telecommunication services in the region and holds 90% of mobile subscribers and the other 10% switch between other operators. Telesom provides a variety of mobile communication products and services. They offer prepaid call plans, monthly subscription plans, International Roaming, MMS, WAP (over both GSM and GPRS), Residential Fixed Line services,Broadband Internet plans, and 3rd of July,2011, 3G services started to both prepaid and postpaid subscription customers.
The competition in the telecommunication market is “a negotiated competition”. All operators cooperate in the Somaliland Telecommunication Operators Association, where they agree on prices and give information on this to the Ministry. Prices are uniform and adjusted according to inflation and the exchange rate to the US-dollar.
Fierce competition has driven consumer costs down; international calls on mobile phones cost $0.30 U.S. per minute or less, five or six times lower than in most African countries. The low prices for international
calls may be seen as a combined result of real “competition
”; low economic level/development and no public intervention.
Telecommunication companies are shareholder entities and are the most important source of income generation and employment opportunities for Youth. There are about 6 main Telecom operators in Somaliland: Telesom
, Telcom, Africa Online
, Nation Link, Somtel and Soltelco. Telesom is the biggest ISP and telecom provider in Somaliland.
Satellite
technology is playing an instrumental role in Somaliland. Based on 2002 prices, it has been shown that a VSAT-based asymmetrical 128/64 connection in any given location in Somaliland costs $0.058 per minute, assuming the connection is used 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Further, the connection may be shared by several PCs and the “per minute charge” can then be lowered accordingly. A tele-centre scenario in Somaliland showed the rate per PC to be $0.005 per minute.
In 2010, a Somaliland company, Somaliland Cable (SomCable) Ltd announced it was contracted to deploy the submarine cable from Djibouti to Somaliland would pull the submarine cable from Djibouti
port to Berbera
by sea (submarine cable) and on land, it would run cost effective land based long haul fiber-optic communications networks from Djibouti to Somaliland. SomCable declared it would invest $35 million USD on the project and would employ more than 10,000 locals where funding will come from the current President Silanyo.
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
, a de facto independent republic which is recognized as a part of Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, is characterized by a very low ICT usage. However, there is clear potential for development, especially with the regard to the presence of telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
companies from neighboring countries, expatriates engaged in universities and other sectors, and the presence of six telecommunications operators and several VSAT operators.
There is no telecommunication regulatory institution in the Somaliland region. There is consensus among actors that it would be desirable, but Somaliland is at the beginning of the institutional creation process.
Telesom was established in the year 2001. It later become the leading provider of telecommunication services in the region and holds 90% of mobile subscribers and the other 10% switch between other operators. Telesom provides a variety of mobile communication products and services. They offer prepaid call plans, monthly subscription plans, International Roaming, MMS, WAP (over both GSM and GPRS), Residential Fixed Line services,Broadband Internet plans, and 3rd of July,2011, 3G services started to both prepaid and postpaid subscription customers.
The competition in the telecommunication market is “a negotiated competition”. All operators cooperate in the Somaliland Telecommunication Operators Association, where they agree on prices and give information on this to the Ministry. Prices are uniform and adjusted according to inflation and the exchange rate to the US-dollar.
Fierce competition has driven consumer costs down; international calls on mobile phones cost $0.30 U.S. per minute or less, five or six times lower than in most African countries. The low prices for international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
calls may be seen as a combined result of real “competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
”; low economic level/development and no public intervention.
Telecommunication companies are shareholder entities and are the most important source of income generation and employment opportunities for Youth. There are about 6 main Telecom operators in Somaliland: Telesom
Telesom
Telesom is a privately held telecommunications company. It is headquartered in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.-Overview:...
, Telcom, Africa Online
Africa Online
Africa Online Holding Ltd., sometimes abbreviated to AFOL, is the largest Internet Service Provider in Africa. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, it offers Internet access and operates in ten Africa countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Namibia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe...
, Nation Link, Somtel and Soltelco. Telesom is the biggest ISP and telecom provider in Somaliland.
Satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
technology is playing an instrumental role in Somaliland. Based on 2002 prices, it has been shown that a VSAT-based asymmetrical 128/64 connection in any given location in Somaliland costs $0.058 per minute, assuming the connection is used 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Further, the connection may be shared by several PCs and the “per minute charge” can then be lowered accordingly. A tele-centre scenario in Somaliland showed the rate per PC to be $0.005 per minute.
In 2010, a Somaliland company, Somaliland Cable (SomCable) Ltd announced it was contracted to deploy the submarine cable from Djibouti to Somaliland would pull the submarine cable from Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
port to Berbera
Berbera
Berbera is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia...
by sea (submarine cable) and on land, it would run cost effective land based long haul fiber-optic communications networks from Djibouti to Somaliland. SomCable declared it would invest $35 million USD on the project and would employ more than 10,000 locals where funding will come from the current President Silanyo.