(19-Feb-2011) – SGS published a ground-breaking report which analyses the current state of the Somaliland Telecom Industry. This comprehensive report which is in the form ‘whitepaper’ talks about the evolutionary stages that the industry has been undergoing over the last decade and the challenges lie ahead in the new decade.
For the first time of its history, this report measures the teledensity and the internet-density of the current Telecommunication Industry in Somaliland by analysing the data collected from reliable sources in Somaliland. The fgures show that the total number of lines are 357,000, of which 290,000 are mobile subscribers. This means that the teledensity is approximately 10% and the internet-density is around 3%, which is much lower than expected.
The report also talked about the service types and the technologies used by the various Telecom Operators (aka Network Operators). It points out that Telesom is by far the biggest player in the market and can safely be referred to as the only one with SMP (Significant Market Power) privilege. SomTel is also the second largest operator, with a growing number of Internet users.
Finally, the report delves into the major challenges that lie ahead and points out the difference between ‘Fragmented and Lawless Market’ and a ‘Regulated Market’ is the implementation of 6 classes of policies. In a simple language, it talks about the benefits of each policy and the options that can be considered through the process of Regulatory Framework formation.
This report from SGS is the first of its kind to offer both investigative and consultational report to the policy makers, in the hope that they will act on the advices given by experts in the field.