Sierra Leone’s foreign-owned mobile phone network operators - Celtel and Buzz - are looking to get people talking again as quickly as possible. Both firms are working flat out to ensure that people throughout the country have access to at least some basic communications services. The uptake of mobile phones since the launch of the networks underlines the desire to see real progress on the ground. Intensive efforts to roll out the wireless networks and create a national communications infrastructure have been well received by the local population, especially in rural areas.

Celtel – owned by Dutch-based pan-African telecoms specialists MSI Cellular – has recorded strong growth since it launched its service in Freetown back in 2000, reaching over 50,000 subscribers. Catering initially for the UN peacekeeping force, as well as the growing business community, the service now carries a broader appeal, offering reliable communications in a country where much of the existing infrastructure was damaged. The company has nearly completed its GSM network, investing some £11.9 million in the process.

The other foreign operator, Millicom of Luxembourg, another African mobile telecoms specialist, is behind the popular Buzz brand, was launched a year after Celtel in mid-2001. It too has made an impressive debut notching up more than 13,000 subscribers.

There is still a lot of work to be done for both operators, however. Celtel’s network presently extends from Freetown to Lungi, Bo and Kenema. Only this year was it given permission to extend the network to Kono and Makeni. Several delays have put the company behind schedule. “Our goals are indeed no secret,” says David Hunter, Celtel’s Managing Director. “We want to cover the whole of Sierra Leone, but because of various issues we are actually one year behind where we should be standing today, purely because of red tape.”

The reform of the Sierra Leone telecoms sector is crucial. The arrival of a new telecoms act that will establish an independent regulator and prepare the state operator Sierratel for privatisation is expected to help support the growth and development of the mobile phone networks. Mr Hunter is keen to see more of a level playing field in the telecoms sector, instead of one dominated by the state operator. “We are playing a business game where the opposition is also the referee, because until now Sierratel has been acting as the regulatory institution. That is what has delayed us a year in expanding.”

There are other sound financial reasons for the transformation of the telecoms sector, to shift the burden of cost away from the government towards the private sector. It will lead to a more competitive and efficient telecoms industry, and improve Sierra Leone’s business infrastructure.
With a head start over chief rival Buzz, Celtel has prospered as the country has emerged from the shadow of war. Mr Hunter believes that MSI’s commitment to stick with it, even during the hard times, has put the company on a stronger footing as it prepares for the future. “I think Celtel’s first move was to make a commitment to a country that was at war – we had to leave the country twice,” he says.

“I think the first step was showing confidence in Sierra Leone, that we actually stayed with these investments. When everyone else was taking their money out of the country, we were putting money in. I think that goes a long way with the public.”