Challenges

In order to realize the ambition shown by National Policy Statement of the postal and ICT sector which is to Benin's "digital neighborhood of Africa by 2025"; the Beninese authorities at various levels must meet several challenges: 
-Accelerate the gradual opening of the fixed telephony to competition
-Ensure universal telephone service
-Ensure the free flow of emergency calls
-Provide free services
-Establish tariff obligations under government control
-Establish quality criteria
-Ensure better interconnection of different networks.

Uses of ICT services in Benin

In recent years, changes in household equipment goods and services of telecommunications and ICT has been strongly marked by the arrival of the mobile phone.
Nationally, household equipment phone is only 4.6%. The household equipment, however, is closely linked to place of residence: 15.5% of households living in large cities (Cotonou, Porto Novo and Parakou) have a fixed telephone line against only 0.6% in rural areas . The equipment rate of households in secondary cities (Abomey Calavi, Ouidah, Lokossa, etc..) Is also higher than the national average.
The household computer equipment in Benin is very low. According to results of the survey conducted in 2008 by the CEFRED and the network RIA, only 1.93% of households in Benin have a home computer (desktop or laptop) running. This is quite disturbing in a country that wants to become the "digital neighborhood of Africa" ​​by the year 2025.The low household access to phone, added to the low level of household computer equipment is certainly a raison of the low rate of access to the Internet.
Access home household to the Internet is very marginal. Less than 1% of households have Internet access at home.

 Figure: Households with an Internet connection
The situation in Benin is one of the worst in Africa for connectivity of households. Côte d'Ivoire has a percentage, eight times more households connected to the Internet than Benin; about 0.48% of households with Internet connections against only 0.06% of households in Benin. Moreover, almost all of those with an Internet connection at home are found in large urban centers.

Network coverage of the operator MTN in Benin

URL:http://www.mtn.bj/images/couverture.jpg

Communication costs in Benin

The costs vary according to the communication services (telephone, mobile phone, Internet, etc.).
Pricing in the fixed network is in increments of one minute. It is 20 francs CFA per minute (0,03 Euros/minute) locally and 60 francs CFA per minute (0,09 Euros/minute) intercity. For many public services such as telecommunications, the demand structure is such that there are times of high demand (peak hours) and times of low demand (low hours). In order to move a little peak-demand to off-peak differentiated tariffs are applied for the provision of services. In the case of telecommunications, it is known that the volume of phone calls the day is greater than the volume of calls at night. The opening hours of administration and commerce are those of peaks and the night is supposed to include off-peak hours. The practice of discriminatory prices can move a part of the volume of telephone calls of the day, by households, to night, in order to benefit from tariff reductions. This practice also reduces network congestion often observed during peak hours and disrupting business operations and administration.
 Despite the relatively large number of operators, their prices are very competitive and prices seem to be very close to each other with very small differences. The pricing options are only intended to attract customers to the network or for special types of communication (communication on the same network, communication to the international). The five operators offer virtually the same rates as they do not have the same market share (source: GSM Operators, December 2008).
The analysis of the perception of households shows that they are not satisfied with the call rates despite recent price declines. Indeed, the vast majority of households believe that the cost of calls on mobile phones are high and too high (41.9% and 29.4%) (source : Enquête RIA et CEFRED, 2008).

Benin and cybercrime

Cybercrime is the set of criminal offenses committed by using electronic communication networks and information systems or against these networks and systems*. These are all forms of criminal behavior from a computer within a LAN or a business, as well as a larger network like the Internet. There are several forms of cybercrime:
- Cyberconflit
- Cyberpedopornography
- Steganography
- Social Engineering
- Attacks against various systems and bank fraud
- Spamming
- Cyberterrorism .
In Benin, cybercrime is characterized by:
- Consignments of spam on the transfer of money,
invitations to conferences, trade performances
- Identity and IP address theft ,
- Proposals for the sale or purchase of raw materials,
- Promises of fictitious marriages for pornography.
Despite its ravages and the negative image it gives of Benin on the outside, cybercrime is not yet integrated into the legislation of Benin. It is urgent to fill this legal vacuum that benefits cybercriminals.
 *European Commission Communication No. 267 of 22 May 2007:"Towards a general policy in the fight against cyber crime".

Submarine cables

A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean.
The first submarine communications cables carried telegraphy traffic. Subsequent generations of cables carried first telephony traffic, then data communications traffic. All modern cables use optical fiber technology to carry digital payloads, which are then used to carry telephone traffic as well as Internet and private data traffic.

http://www.safe-sat3.co.za/homepage/Pirate_Map.gif

Benin shares with some others Africans, European  and Asian countries 2 submarine cables: Africa Coast to Europe or ACE (17 000 km of length) and SAT-3/WASC (14 350 km of length).

Internet

The Internet is the worldwide computer network that gives public access to services such as email and World Wide Web (www).
Benin was connected to the Internet in December 1995 at the Sixth Summit of the Francophonie with a bandwidth of 1 megabit / second. This has enabled the country to start with basic services (e-mail, web). In January 2002 the bandwidth was increased to 2 megabits / second. On May 06, 2003, at the opening of SAT-3 cable, a new international connection of 45 megabits / second was added to the 2 megabits / second current, bringing the national bandwidth, managed by Benin Telecoms SAto 47 megabits / second. This bandwidth has been completed at 155 megabits / second in May 2007.
The provision of Internet access is provided by Benin Telecoms SA and several other private providers such as Firstnet, Space Computer and Telecommunications (EIT), Unitec-Benin, AFRIPA telecom, Global Trading Agency, SECN, DEKA-NET Telecom Isocel.
Access to the Internet, at home is very low. The total number of subscribers switched telephone network (PSTN) is about 6089 subscribers (Benin Telecoms SA, 2007). About subscribers to an ADSL link, they are of the order of 2000 in December 2007. However, with many offering Internet Cybercafes (there are over a thousand in Cotonou), the global online population far exceeds 100,000.
Among the problems encountered in using the Internet, there is the cost of communications, connection difficulties, low computer literacy, illiteracy, especially in French and English.

Benin Telecom SA

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GSM operators

Among the five operators, only four are present in the mobile telecommunications market before 2008. The last in the race, Glo Mobile has recently launched the business on its network. The first four GSM operators offer consumers in addition to voice services and voice messaging written and service roaming. This last service allows to be reachable and to communicate around the world from the same local number.

 Table: Evolution of mobile telephony park in Benin

	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Libercom	68 500	68 407	73 870	75 000	84 279	196 163	194 888
MOOV	59 746	108 766	135 993	175 000	272 106	654 680	950 584
MTN	76 000	139 216	155 000	225 000	450 000	753 491	1 138 437
Bell Benin	0	7000	25 000	45 000	172 000	300 000	443 550
GLO MOBILE	0	0	0	0	0	0	560 090
Telecom Park	204 246	323 389	389 863	520 000	978 385	1 904 334	3 287 549
Annual trend (%)	---------	58.33	20.55	33.38	88.15	94.64	72.64

Source: GSM operators

 At 30 November 2008, the number of mobile cellular subscribers in Benin has reached 3,277,549 customers (see table above). The boom of mobile phones has led to record a telephone penetration (fixed + mobile) of 39.42%.
The analysis of the market share held by each operator that is based on the number of subscribers shows that the operator MTN is the first operator with 1,138,437 subscribers, representing 35% market share (see the figure below). The operator MOOV holds 29% market share with 950,584 subscribers. The third operator Glo Mobile is the latest entrant in the GSM market in Benin. BBCOM ranked fourth with 443,550 subscribers on its network. The smallest operator is Libercom for only 6% of market share with 194,888 subscribers.
Let us note that Libercom is a subsidiary of Benin Telecoms SA which is responsible for managing the GSM mobile phone.


 

Source : GSM operators (2008)

 Geographical coverage by mobile telephony has experienced a significant breakthrough between 2000 and 2008. Most common are covered. Only rural areas are still very little affected by the mobile.