President Julius Maada Bio, through the Ministry of Information and Communications, has on Friday, April 24th, fully kick started his agenda of digitalizing the entire Sierra Leone as promised in the last elections campaign of 2017.
The government of Sierra Leone, via the country’s telecommunications industry regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM), has introduced a new floor price for telecommunications services – a move that has not gone down well with subscribers. According to NATCOM, the floor price for all voice calls (including promotions, bonuses and bundles) will be Le590 per...
Since March 6, 2020, the floor price of 590 leones ($ 0.061) has been applicable on the minute of calls to all mobile operators. The National Telecommunication Commission (Natcom) of Sierra Leone calls on Orange, Africell, Qcell and Sierratel to respect it. To this end, it sent a letter to the Chairman and CEO of each...
More Africa NewsSierra Leone: Telecoms regulator calls for stronger legislation from the Central Bank to secure Mobile Money
October 29, 2019by myles
Sierra Leone’s National Telecommunication Commission (NATCOM) has called on the country’s Central Bank to develop a stronger regulatory framework to secure mobile payment, which is not under its jurisdiction but which affects the telecom companies which it guarantees. Faced with the progressive dynamism of Mobile Money, the telecom regulator also wanted to draw the Central Bank’s...
Nanotechnology, blockchain, cloud computing: Sierra Leone’s President Bio is banking on the most advanced technology to leapfrog the country out of poverty. In a recent Facebook photo, President Julius Maada Bio proudly holds a small but high-tech piece of equipment. The device, called MinION, is a portable and relatively cheap DNA and RNA sequencer which...
More Africa NewsSierra Leone secures US$30-million to advance fibre optic project
September 3, 2019by myles
Sierra Leone has confirmed a US$30-million loan agreement to finance its contract with Huawei for the second phase of its National Fibre Optic Backbone Project. During this phase of the project, fibre cables will be installed in unconnected regions and enable MNOs and ISPs to expand their capacity and offer 3G and 4G services. The...
More Africa NewsSierra Leone signs free roaming MoU with Guinea, Liberia and Cote d’Ivoire
May 2, 2019by myles
The Director General of Sierra Leone’s National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM), Maxwell Massaquoi, signed on 26 April 2019 an MoU with telecommunications regulatory heads from Liberia, Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire that aims to implement the One Area Network initiative. Once this plan has been put into effect, mobile phone users visiting the signatory countries would be able to...
More Africa NewsPolicy & RegulationSierra Leone’s telco regulator under fire for alleged mismanagement
April 11, 2019by myles
Following a technical audit, it is alleged that Sierra Leone’s telecom regulator NATCOM promoted favouritism and unfair competition within the telecommunications industry between January 2015 and July 2018. This is understood to have cost the country approximately US$68-million. The full audit report was prepared by members of the African Organisation of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions...
Ericsson and Orange launch 4G network in Sierra Leone in the nation’s capital, Freetown, on 27 March 2019, which will be providing its residents with fast and reliable 4G access. Orange will use Ericsson Radio System products and solutions to offer 4G in 60 sites, which is designed for low latency and fast mobile broadband...
More Africa NewsNetworksSierra Leone: Orange announces 50 telecom sites this year to strengthen its network
February 13, 2019by myles
For the year 2019, the mobile operator Orange announces the construction of fifty new telecom sites to strengthen its network in Sierra Leone. These infrastructures will be added to the 235 that the telecom company already holds across the country. This is Aminata Ndiaye Kane (photo) s was CEO of the company that i revealed, indicating in passing that only...