Benin Telecommunications Sector Performance Review 2007

Benin
(3.0). It is not too restrictive to set up a company to provide Internet services,
evidenced by the number of Internet service providers and Cybercafe
operators that carry out their business without authorisation.
ACCESS TO SCARCE RESOURCES
In their answers, the people who participated in the investigation
remained neutral on the question of accessibility to scarce resources of
the Internet sector. They allotted an average mark equivalent to (2.5),
reflecting their access to and use of the monopolies’ facilities but that is
reflected in the high costs seen below which are transferred to end users.
TARIFFS
The costs of Internet services are high. The average score of the respondents
indicates that the tariff regulation is unsatisfactory (2.1). This is
more a reflection of the high costs than the tariffs which are not regulated.
The cost, however, is a significant parameter that impedes the
development of the sector. The average price of an hour’s Internet connection
is CFAF300. At such a rate it is difficult to make Cybercafe activities
profitable in the rural areas. While government subsidies are likely
to be necessary for some time to bring Internet services to rural areas,
the introduction of competition in the infrastructure market is likely to
drive down the input costs in the Internet market and make it more
affordable to both urban and rural users.
THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION
The universal service obligation objective is still a challenge in the Internet
sector in Benin and it is for this reason that the respondents showed
dissatisfaction with an average score of (2.1). The digital divide between
the urban centres and the rural zones is growing daily.
GENERAL COMMENT
The summary of the TRE results in the Internet sector reflected in the
table below calls for the following conclusions:
Business development in the Internet sector takes place outside clearly
defined regulations;
The rates charged by Internet service providers and owners of Cybercafes
are high and do not foster the development of this technology in the
rural areas.
TABLE 14: SYNTHESIS OF THE ANSWERS FOR THE VALUE-ADDED SERVICES
SECTOR
Dimensions
Results
Market entry Fairly satisfied (3.0)
Access to scarce resources
Neutral
Tariff regulations
Dissatisfied
Universal Service Obligation
Dissatisfied
Source: Survey Results on TRE
42 2007 Telecommunications Sector Performance Review