AYV News, August 15, 2024
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Communications, Technology and Innovation, Salima Monorma Bah has said internet and mobile services in any country are basic human rights and not luxuries.
She said government, alongside private sector partners, has made significant investments in network infrastructure to improve connectivity. This se said includes the erection of numerous telecom towers and the landing of the Subsea Ace Cable, all aimed at boosting network reliability.
Giving statistics on connectivity, Minister Salima Bah 96.7% of the population has potential access to mobile connectivity; 4 million people possess a mobile SIM card; coverage rates stand at 96% for 2G, 95.9% for 3G, and 87.7% for 4G and mobile data penetration has increased to 2.1 million people, a 15% rise from last year.
She recalled that recently, she led a delegation to Guinea to establish an interconnection between the two countries, designed as a contingency measure to ensure network stability in case of outages. The Agreement, she stated, is expected to be signed within three weeks, pending the finalisation of technical details.
Speaking on mobile data pricing formula, the minister revealed that work is underway to develop a pricing formula for mobile data, similar to the approach used in the fuel industry, adding that this initiative aims to ensure fair and transparent pricing for consumers.
Minister Salima Monorma Bah reviewed the ministry’s achievements over the past year. Key among them was the successful Tech Summit, which gathered local and international ICT experts to explore solutions for service delivery.
During the Summit, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio launched the $50 million Digital Transformation Project, the Felei Tech City Project, and the Star Link initiative.
On the National Fiber Backbone 2 Project, the minister highlighted the expansion of the National Fiber Backbone 2 Project, extending fiber optic coverage to 14 out of the 16 districts in the country, noting that efforts are ongoing to close the gap, reaching all 16 districts.
Additionally, she went on, through the Universal Access Development Fund (UADF), nine rural telephony sites were launched in farming communities to support the Feed Salone Project.
She concluded by informing about a Cybersecurity and Digital Marketing training which she said successfully trained over 3,200 pupils and 500 entrepreneurs in cybersecurity and digital marketing skills.