Click Icon for Communication Overview

The Internet in Sierra Leone

Internet use in Sierra Leone can be described as nascent at best. In 2008, there were only about 14,000 internet users in a population of 5.7 million people, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). [1] Only 4 percent of our 2008 survey respondents reported ever using the internet.

In a reflection of the high cost of internet access and a telecommunications infrastructure heavily damaged by the country’s civil war, the number of respondents saying they have home access failed to even reach one percent of the survey. Of those that had used the internet in the past, about two-thirds reported doing so at an internet café.

Chart 1

A profile of respondents who have used the internet is similar to many other countries that have a limited telecommunications infrastructure and lack a significant amount of international bandwidth. A little over 60 percent of users are either high-income and/or have completed secondary school or more and reside in urban areas. Poverty, along with a lack of universal education, is a major constraint to ICT human resource development and many lack the necessary resources to be computer literate, particularly in rural areas. The fact that a vast majority of the small number of internet users in Sierra Leone reside in either Freetown, the country’s capital, or in provincial capitals such as Kenema, also speaks to the country’s large urban-rural divide.

SierraTel, the state-owned telecommunications provider, controls the country’s internet backbone and is also an ISP. Independent ISPs that utilize the backbone pay fees in order to offer services. In 2006, SierraTel was granted a monopoly on the international gateway, further cementing its control on land-based telecommunications. In fact, in October 2008 its monopoly over the gateway was extended an additional five years.

Critics have cried foul over the extension, claiming that SierraTel lacks the administrative capacity to properly operate as a monopoly, which is subcontracted to a private company.  [2] VSAT, a two-way broadband satellite transfer system, is a relatively popular option for larger businesses and government that are located in areas where the proper infrastructure is either inadequate or nonexistent. However, it is also an expensive means of connecting to the web. Licensing for VSAT is controlled by the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM), the national telecommunications regulator. [3]

There is some reason for optimism about the future of the internet in Sierra Leone. In December 2009, SierraTel and the newly founded telecommunications company Globalink joined the ACE consortium to support the landing of the ACE fiber-optic submarine cable system off the coast of Sierra Leone. [4] The landing of the ACE cable system, scheduled for early 2012, will increase Sierra Leone’s access to international bandwidth. This will, in principle, lower the price of internet access for ISPs and their customers.  [5] However, the country’s lack of a modern telecommunications infrastructure is still a glaring problem that will not be solved until there is substantial investment from either government and/or private entities.

It was not until July 2009 that NATCOM announced the creation of a Universal Access Fund (UAF) as part of the 2009 Telecommunications Act Amendment. UAF’s are often used in developing countries to fund the expansion of telecommunications access to areas that are underserved such as rural or impoverished areas. Sierra Leone’s UAF receives its primary funding from a 2 percent industry levy on the annual gross revenue of all telecommunication providers including mobile, satellite and internet service providers. [6] This is comparable to UAF levies enforced in countries like Rwanda and Cote d’Ivoire. How and to whom NATCOM disperses revenue from the UAF will largely determine the future of telecommunications in Sierra Leone.

[1] “ICT Statistics Database: Internet Indicators”. International Telecommunications Union. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed January 2010. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportName=/WTI/InformationTechnologyPublic&RP_intYear=2008&RP_intLanguageID=1.

[2] “Sierra Leone: ICT and Innovation”. African Economic Outlook. Updated 20 January 2010. Accessed January 2010. http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/countries/west-africa/sierra-leone/#/annual_theme

[3] National Telecommunications Commission. Freetown, Sierra Leone. Accessed January 2010. http://www.natcomsl.com/natcom/natcom6.htm.

[4] “ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine cable welcomes new Members”. Orange. 1 December 2009. Paris, France. Accessed January 2010. http://www.orange.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/att00014018/PR_ACE_en_011209.pdf

[5] “PROJECT CLEAR (Cable Link to Electronically Accessible Resources)”. Globalink. Freetown, Sierra Leone. Accessed January 2010. http://globalink-sl.net/project.html

[6] “Universal Service Profile: Sierra Leone”. International Telecommunication Union. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed January 2010. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/Reports.aspx#. “Universal Access and Service Funds”. Intelecon. Updated October 2009. Vancouver, BC, Canada. http://www.inteleconresearch.com/pages/documents/UASFFunds2009update-Oct2009.pdf.