3.4 Niger Telecommunications
The telecommunications market was liberated in 2001 and since then four licenses have been granted for mobile services and an additional licence for any ICT service. Further the state owned company SONITEL was partly privatised, but has now and merged with Sahelcom to become Niger Telecom, under government control. The level of competition is good, yet prices have not fallen as much as expected. To get a SIM-card you are required to provide proof of identity. Data plans are available.
For more information on telecoms contacts, please see the following link:
4.11 Additional Services Contact List
Telephone Services |
|
---|---|
Is there an existing landline telephone network? |
Yes |
Does it allow international calls? |
Yes |
Number and Length of Downtime Periods (on average) |
One by month for 2 hours |
Mobile Phone Providers |
Airtel, Orange, Moov, Niger Telecoms |
Approximate Percentage of National Coverage |
For Airtel 80%, orange 70%, Moov 50%, Niger telecom 40% |
Telecommunications Regulations
Regulation of telecommunication is under l’Authorité de Régulation des Télécommunications et de la Poste (ARTP). Satellite phones are imported to the country on a regular basis without restrictions. Importation of HF and VHF radios must be declared at the Ministry of Information and Communication. Frequencies are granted by ARTP and they have made available the national strategy for attributing frequencies online[1]. The process is long and requests are often denied.
Regulations on Usage and Import |
||
---|---|---|
Regulations in Place? |
Regulating Authority |
|
Satellite |
Yes |
ARTP |
HF Radio |
Yes |
ARTP |
UHF/VHF/HF Radio: Handheld, Base and Mobile |
Yes |
ARTP |
UHF/VHF Repeaters |
Yes |
ARTP |
GPS |
N/A |
|
VSAT |
Yes |
ARTP |
Individual Network Operator Licenses Required |
||
Yes. The organisation can obtain a network operator license from the Interior Ministry after having been certified by the Communication ministry. |
||
Frequency Licenses Required |
||
Yes. Justification of purpose and service is required to issue license. The process is not known to be rapid. |
Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems
HF and VHF frequencies are shared by the UN agencies.
Existing UN Telecommunication Systems |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UNDP |
WFP |
UNDSS |
UNICEF |
IMO |
UNHCR |
|
VHF Frequencies |
156.56875 161.16875 162.05625 157.45625 156.58125 161.18125 161.09375 161.10625
|
|||||
HF Frequencies |
4736 6896 7734 8094 10600 6522
|
|||||
Locations of Repeaters |
Niamey Zinder Diffa Sayam Maradi Tahoua Agadez Tillabery Ouallam
|
|||||
VSAT |
Niamey |
Niamey, Diffa, Maradi, Tahoua, zinder |
|
Niamey, Agadez, Maradi |
Niamey, Agadez |
Niamey, Tillabery, Diffa, Ouallam, |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
Niger Telecoms (Ex-Sonitel) have the biggest infrastructure for fibre optic broadband They have some competition from private companies such as Liptinfor for fibre optic broadband, and TS2 Space, Juch-Tech and SpaceX through satelites. Mobile Network Operators offers internet through the mobile net. Connection can be unreliable and can be down or slow for lengths of time when repairs are needed. Most large businesses will use either Niger Telecoms or Liptinfor. Smaller will make do without or with mobile data.
Internet Service Providers |
||
---|---|---|
Are there ISPs available? |
Yes |
|
If yes, are they privately or government owned? |
Both |
|
Dial-up only? |
No |
|
Approximate Rates (local currency and USD - $) |
Dial-up |
1.5 xof/second |
Broadband |
25xof/kilobytes |
|
Max Leasable ‘Dedicated’ Bandwidth |
More than 50 Megabyte per second |
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)
The coverage for the mobile networks are around 80% for Airtel, 70% for Orange 70%, 50% for Moov and 40% Niger telecom. MOOV have particularly applied a strategy of being strong in populous areas, and next cover areas that have low coverage by the others. Most networks fairly reliable. Mobile money services are allowed and the business models are being developed and experimented with.
For information on MNOs please visit the GSM Association website.
Company |
Number of Agent Outlets by Area |
Network Strength by Area |
Contracted for Humanitarian or Government Cash Transfer Programmes? |
Services Offered (i.e. Merchant Payment, Bulk Disbursement, Receive & Make Payment) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Airtel Niger |
Offices in the cities + roaming salesmen |
Reliable |
Yes |
Merchant Payment, Bulk Disbursement, Receive & Make Payment |
Orange Niger SA |
Offices in the cities + roaming salesmen |
Reliable |
Yes |
Merchant Payment, Bulk Disbursement, Receive & Make Payment |
MOOV Niger |
Offices in the cities + roaming salesmen |
Reliable |
Yes |
Merchant Payment, Bulk Disbursement, Receive & Make Payment |
Niger Telecom |
Offices in the cities + roaming salesmen |
Not Reliable |
Not yet |
Not yet |