JEDDAH, 12 December 2002 — The Somali telecommunication sector has remained strong despite the US government’s ban of Al-Barakaat Telecommunication Company for its suspected support to terrorism. Last November, the US government effectively removed Al-Barakaat, one of Somalia’s telecommunication companies, from service. Washington in fact cut the company’s links to the outside world.
Abdirisak Issak Ido, President of Nationlink Telecom Company (NTC), told Arab News during an Umrah visit to the Kingdom that telecommunications in Somalia are operating without problems. He said the country’s nine privately-owned companies have bought telecom equipment from the United States. American instructors have given refresher courses to former Somali telephone technicians.
“With the help of the advanced technology, the firms provide competitive rates and efficient services. International call rates are cheaper than in most African nations. It costs about half a US dollar per minute to call any country in the world which is very cheap. In addition, local calls are free while landline and mobile phone customers pay US$ 10 per month” he said. “Somalis can now easily make phone calls and also access the Internet. The companies provide one of most effective telecommunication services in Africa.” Since the collapse of the military regime in 1991, all government-owned telecommunication facilities have been looted or destroyed. The private companies have stepped into the void and offered people communication services. The firms facilitate calls from overseas Somalis to their families and also in sending money home. The money transfers are vital for ordinary people’s livelihoods. The UN estimates Somali remittances total between $200 million and $500 million annually.
“At the present, telecom firms have 60,000 telephone lines throughout the country compared with the government ministry 11 years ago which had only 8,000 lines,” Ido added.
When asked how the telecom firms operate in a country without an effective government, he answered, “NTC operates in 27 major cities in central and southern Somalia, regardless of the clan or faction in control.
NTC is a private shareholding company and it is 100 percent Somali-owned. It has no official link with any clan or political faction. We have hired armed guards to protect our facilities. This is the way we manage our telecom service.”
