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Senegal Profile
Senegal in the
Wikipedia
Senegal history, politics, map, geography, economy,
demography, full information and links.
Senegal in the CIA
Factbook
Senegal information about the economy, geography, government,
population, communications, military and transnational
issues.
BBC Senegal
Profile
Up to date resume about country leaders,
history, main events,
map, flag, geography, news, politics and media links.
Senegal e-Government
Page
Senegal official portal, with useful links.
Senegal Information
Page
The Government of Senegal portal, with useful information.
Senegal Globalis
Page
Senegal statistics for agriculture, climate, economy, education,
environment,
gender equality, health, human development, population,
technology, and water.
Senegal Telecommunications and
Broadband Reports
Senegal Telecoms Market
Overview and Statistics Report
Senegal has developed one of Africa’s most extensive and
modern telecommunications infrastructures. Real liberalisation
began in 1997 with the partial privatisation of the national
operator Sonatel. The incumbent’s monopoly officially
ended in 2004, and a second national operator (SNO) and third
mobile operator may be licensed before the end of 2006. Mobile
services were introduced in 1996 and competition in that sub-sector
in 1999. Since the introduction of competition, the number of mobile
subscribers has grown dramatically, with cellular lines now
representing more than 85% of all telephone lines. Internet
usage has doubled every year since 2003 when ADSL services
were introduced. Overall market penetration is still low,
resulting in attractive opportunities for new entrants.
See summary and table of
contents
Africa Broadband and
Internet Market Report
Africa’s data traffic is experiencing strong growth, particularly
in South Africa. VSAT has established itself as a viable option for
networking as well as Internet connectivity. While Internet uptake
is growing steadily, market penetration is still very low due to the
lack of reliable phone lines. Nevertheless, several African countries
have experienced triple-digit growth rates in Internet usage in recent
years. Various broadband initiatives have been launched and the number
of African countries offering commercial ADSL reached 21 in 2005.
Wireless access technologies are increasingly being used as a substitute
for poor or non-existing fixed-line infrastructures. Several trials of
WiMAX technology are going on which is expected to deliver a major boost
to connectivity in Africa. VoIP telephony is starting to take off after
a number of countries have introduced far-reaching liberalisation measures.
See report table of contents
and publication details
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Internet, ICT, Broadband and Consumer E-Commerce
in Senegal
October 2006 Review
In less than two years, the bandwidth of traffic on
Internet services provided by Senegal's telecom Sonatel has doubled. By today,
Internet services provided by Sonatel are the most extensive in sub-Saharan Africa,
second only to those in South Africa, a country of much bigger resources.
This is reported in a press release by the Senegalese telecom company, which
explains that "bandwidth of traffic on the submarine cables of Sonatel by 7
September 2006 has passed the mark of 1.24 gigabyte a second."
This bandwidth of traffic is both a key measure of quantity, but also of the
quality of Internet services provided to the public, "because it determines
the speed of downloading pages, notably from servers based in Europe or the
United States, and at bottom line, as this number is increased, the more
comfortable your use of the Internet gets," the Sonatel statement adds.
The company further explains that the current extensions were to offer users
in Senegal services that are of a superior quality, that come at a higher
speed and that will provide for more comfort on the Internet; including
improved flow in the downloading of pages and quicker downloads of information,
navigation, reception of e-mails, teleconferences and multi-media services.
Bandwidth of Internet traffic to and from Senegal, as operated by Sonatel,
has been increasing at a booming speed ever since 2002. It went from 42 to 53
megabytes a second in June 2002. By November 2004, it had already increased
tenfold, reaching the level of 512 megabytes a second. By now, it has again
doubled, reaching the benchmark of 1.24 gigabytes a second.
Internet use in Senegal has also been booming for the last years, especially
in Dakar, but also beyond the capital, where an impressing telecom infrastructure
has been created. As prices for broadband installation and services rapidly
are going down, a bigger segment of the population uses the Internet at work
and at home. Standard broadband subscriptions cost around euro 80 for installation
and euro 40 a month, while even cheaper deals can be found.
The real boom in Internet - reaching a large part of population - is however
attributed to Senegal's large and ever-growing number of telecentres or cybercafes,
which combine telephone and fax services with Internet renting at a low price.
Renting a computer connected to the web normally does not costs more than franc
CFA 300 (euro 0.45) an hour. Uses vary from e-mail communication to news reading,
chatting, games and multi-media usage, and costumers include almost all social layers.
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Visit the The Africa
Reports Page. More figures and updates
become available all the time.
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