Benin Telecommunications Sector Performance Review 2007

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Benin GSM, television, radio, data transmission, maintenance, etc). In Benin, a number of business persons have taken many initiatives to boost their businesses through the use of ICTs. The Government supports most of these actions with regard to infrastructure and sectoral use. This support has been made effective with the setting up of a ministry in charge of promoting ICTs and a national agency for the management of ICTs. Even so, the conditions under which these public and private businesses operate do not allow for a harmonious and meaningful development of ICTs for the benefit of the nation as a whole. In this regard, there is a need to assess the performance of the ICT sector under current policy conditions. In doing so, this paper will seek to answer the following questions: What is the current situation of the ICT sector in Benin? Who are the main contenders in the ICT sector in Benin? In what way does government use ICTs to better organise and enhance the performance of public services? How are activities regulated in the sector? How do players in this sector assess the current regulatory system? What are the policies and strategies required to achieve the national objective of building an information society and knowledge? These are the questions that constitute the raison d’être of this study, where the objective is to make a progress report on the performance of the ICT sector in Benin. OBJECTIVES The overall objective of this paper is to assess the performance of the ICT sector in Benin against national policy objectives and to appraise the telecommunications regulatory environment through an analysis of the opinions of major participants in the sector on the regulatory system. More specifically, the study aims to: Collect data on the main indicators in the sector; Trace the development of the ICT sector in Benin; Identify various ways in which government uses ICTs and examine the impact of ICTs on the performance of public services; Evaluate the regulatory environment of activities in the ICT sector; Propose economic policies with a view to improving the appropriation of ICTs by Beninese. POLITICAL SETTING Formerly called Dahomey, Benin is located in West Africa in the tropical zone between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer between parallels 6°30’ and 12°30’ North and meridian lines 1° and 30°40’ East. Bordered in the South by the Atlantic Ocean, the Republic of Benin is bordered in the North by River Niger which separates it from the Republic of Niger; in the North-West by Burkina Faso, in the West by Togo, and in the East by Nigeria. The surface area of Benin is 114 763 km2. It stretches about 700 km from North to South; the width varies between 125 km (along the coast) and 325 km (Tanguiéta-ségbana latitude). 2007 Telecommunications Sector Performance Review 9
Benin MAP OF THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN The capital of Benin is Porto- Novo. Due to its geographical location, the city of Cotonou has remained the centre of economic activities and is the seat of most of the institutions in the Republic. With a total population of 6 769 914 inhabitants of which 3 485 795 are women (about 51.5%) and an average population density of 59 inhabitants per km 2 , Benin is divided into twelve departments headed by prefects appointed by the government during cabinet meetings. It also has 77 councils including three with special status (Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Parakou), headed by mayors elected for a five year term. In February 1990, Benin opted for democracy during a national conference that brought together the significant political players. A new constitution was voted on 11 December 1990 which created the executive, legislative and judicial institutions necessary to enable rule of law. Among these it established the Audiovisual and Communication High Authority whose role will be discussed later in this document. RECENT TRENDS IN THE ECONOMY OF BENIN For many years the primary sector has accounted for about 40% of the GDP, the secondary sector for 15% and the tertiary sector for 45%. In 2005, the GDP was estimated at CFAF2 309.1 billion (US$1 818 181,818), with a growth rate of 3.5%; public investment and gross savings respectively reached 9.4% and 12.9% of the GDP. Public investment as a percentage of GDP witnessed a peak during the 2001–2005 period, rising from 7.8% to 9.4% of the GDP. However, gross savings in relation to the GDP did not change significantly over the same period, moving from 12.5% in 2001 to only 12.9% in 2005. 10 2007 Telecommunications Sector Performance Review
Page 1 and 2: 2007 Benin Telecommunications Secto
Page 3 and 4: Benin SERIES EDITOR: Alison Gillwal
Page 5 and 6: Benin ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AD
Page 7 and 8: Benin 6 2007 Telecommunications Sec
Page 9: Benin big cities, especially in Cot
Page 13 and 14: Benin The table below presents the
Page 15 and 16: Benin Box 1: Five pillars of ICT po
Page 17 and 18: Benin Guarantee and ensure the fre
Page 19 and 20: Benin instrument once a regulatory
Page 21 and 22: Benin There is only one fixed-line
Page 23 and 24: Benin The improvement of teledensit
Page 25 and 26: Benin width managed by Bénin Tél
Page 27 and 28: Benin Although data transmission is
Page 29 and 30: Benin MOBILE Mobile telephony has h
Page 31 and 32: Benin Regulatory Agency), handled b
Page 33 and 34: Benin Current rates for a one-minut
Page 35 and 36: Benin of n transfer or interconnect
Page 37 and 38: Benin TABLE 10: NUMBER OF COMPUTERS
Page 39 and 40: Benin This PIPAP project enabled th
Page 41 and 42: Benin operator, the sole operator o
Page 43 and 44: Benin (3.0). It is not too restrict
Page 45 and 46: Benin and the use of fibre optics.
Page 47 and 48: Benin Appendix 1: List of state-own
Page 49 and 50: Benin Source: Based on information
Page 51 and 52: Benin Please CIRCLE the number whic
Page 53 and 54: Benin Please CIRCLE the number whic

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