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3.4 Niger Telecommunications
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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

 



[1] www.armniger.org /images/stories/frequencies/attributionfrequences.pdf

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