Telecommunications Sector Reforms in Senegal
This paper analyzes Senegal's experience with telecommunications liberalization and privatization. Senegal privatized its incumbent operator in 1997, and granted the newly privatized firm seven years of fixed-line exclusivity while introducing...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/09/2028950/telecommunications-sector-reforms-senegal http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19334 |
| Summary: | This paper analyzes Senegal's
experience with telecommunications liberalization and
privatization. Senegal privatized its incumbent operator in
1997, and granted the newly privatized firm seven years of
fixed-line exclusivity while introducing "managed
competition" in the cellular market and free
competition in value-added services (VAS). By May 2001, two
cellular operators, a number of VAS providers, and thousands
of retailers operating telecenters had entered the market.
Reform has thus significantly changed the landscape of
Senegal's telecommunications sector and has brought
with it tremendous improvement in sector performance.
Between 1997 and 2001, fixed-line telephone penetration grew
from 1.32 to 2.45 per hundred people, while mobile
penetration skyrocketed from 0.08 to 4.04. But it is still
too early to assess the validity of granting fixed-line
exclusivity to the incumbent operator. While penetration
increased, the operator did not meet objectives regarding
rural telephony. Moreover, fixed-line penetration increased
in areas where the operator faced competition from a mobile provider. |
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