Access, affordability hindering effective regional communication, says ECOWAS

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commissioner for Energy and Mines, Douka Sediko, has said access and affordability remain an issue in some parts of West Africa, as far effective mobile communication is concerned.

Sediko spoke on ‘Regional Telecommunications Roaming Issues: Its Guidelines and Recommendations’ during an ongoing Delocalised Meeting of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications and Information Technology/Education, Science and Culture/Trade Customs and Free Movement in Niamey, Republic of Niger.

Giving an overview of the telecommunications market and challenges in the ECOWAS sub-region, Sediko, who spoke through a Programme Officer, Telecommunications and Networks of the ECOWAS Commission, Mawuli Amoa, said about half of the population of West Africa is still without access to broadband, due to issues of reach and affordability.

He disclosed that The Gamblia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra-Leone are connected to only one submarine cable, making their international connectivity vulnerable and limiting competition in the broadband market.

He further said lack of national backbone networks in Liberia and Guinea-Bissau were impacting uptake of Internet. Sediko listed the challenges to include relatively higher cost of deploying and maintaining digital infrastructure in rural and remote areas, coupled with lower Average Revenue per User (ARPU). He also listed security issues in some parts of West Africa, which dis-incentivise the rollout of digital infrastructure in affected areas.

The issues, he added, further worsen the urban and rural digital divide. He said: “Some challenges also exist related to trust in and security of the cyberspace, limited cyber awareness and cyber education among the general population and high number of cybercrime originating in the region.”

Speaking on roaming within the sub-region, Sediko said re-imposition of SIIT in Guinea, following the lack of reciprocity in application of the regulation by other member states and insufficient cooperation between the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) and lack of cooperation between some operators in the implementation of the regulation, were some of ECOWAS roaming challenges.