Sierra Leone Rural telephony needs revealed

Sierra Leone Rural telephony needs revealed

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has presented the results of a Rural Telephony Access Gap Study to the management of the Sierra Leone ICT regulator, NATCOM and a number of key stakeholders, including the mobile and fixed line operators. 

The Rural ICT needs  was initiated in October, 2011, when NATCOM contracted the CTO and its partner David Townsend Associates, to develop an Access Gap Model to enable it to understand the ICT Access Gaps that exist in Sierra Leone and the level of investment required to fill them.

The findings are meant to catalyse the necessary investment, achieve Universal Access and identify those gaps which require public-private partnerships interventions, using funds from the Universal Donor Access Fund.

Gaining affordable ICT access

Speaking after the final consultation between two ICT operators, NATCOM and the CTO, the Head of Legal and Licensing at NATCOM, and co-ordinator for conduct of the study, Ms Michala Mackay, said she was extremely pleased with the results of the project.

According to her, “the use of the model will contribute towards NATCOM’s continuing development of an enabled environment that will help all Sierra Leoneans gain the benefits of affordable ICT access”.

Michala said the project would also stimulate the private sector’s investment, as well as the development of public private partnerships between Sierra Leone’s Universal Access Development Fund and those operators who want to invest in those areas within the country’s Access Gap. 

The model

According to the report, the model was developed using data from a range of sources including NATCOM, other government agencies, and Sierra Leone’s ICT operators

Throughout the project, the CTO focused on ensuring that NATCOM develops the Human Capacity that will enable it to update and use the model in future. 

The Mission gave the team the opportunity to train key NATCOM staff so that the Commission can use the model to monitor and identify the country’s Market and Access Gaps in the years and months ahead.

The model “will also provide the new Universal Access Development Fund (UDAF) with the necessary information to make effective, decisions about where best to disburse its resources in order to close  country’s Access Gaps”, Michala submitted.

CTO goal

The CTO was described as an inter-governmental organization which provides technical assistance services to its member countries through research and studies, consultancies and advisory services, capacity building and training workshops, and through knowledge-sharing events.

With a history dating back to 1901, the CTO is a partnership between the Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth governments, regulators, businesses, civil society organizations and other ICT stakeholders.

The CTO’s mission is to reduce global poverty through the more efficient utilization of ICTs, and its development agenda reflects the priorities set in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

PR/Qasim