Sierra Leone - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Sierra Leone’s Sierratel planning major investments in 2019

Sierra Leone has enjoyed sustained political stability in recent years, following a decade of civil war. The departure of the UN’s local mission in March 2014 marked the end of more than 15 years of international peacekeeping operations in the country. The exceptional economic growth seen in 2012 and 2013 has slowed but remains strong, and this has encouraged international companies to invest in the country. Nevertheless, the telecommunications infrastructure is only gradually recovering from the destruction caused during the war years, and the theft of equipment and cabling. These difficult operating conditions have been compounded by neglect, mismanagement and underinvestment, factors which have seen the demise of some telcos, including Comium and Smart Mobile. The telecom regulator continues with its efforts to improve the market, including the liberalisation of the international gateway and regulator checks on quality of services. It has not shied from fining miscreant operators for providing poor services, or for promoting packages deemed to be disadvantageous to consumers.

Given the poor state of the fixed-line infrastructure, the mobile sector has been the main driver of overall telecom revenue. There continues to be movement in the market, with Orange Group in mid-2016 having completed its acquisition of Bharti Airtel’s local unit and the Gambian telco QCell being awarded a licence to operate mobile services.

The state-owned fixed-line incumbent Sierratel has entered the mobile market, which it uses to provide fixed-wireless access and broadband services. It briefly had a monopoly on 3G mobile services before other operators launched their own services based on HSPA technology in 2011 and 2012. More recently network operators have invested in LTE upgrades: Africell was the first network operator to launch LTE services in Sierra Leone, followed by Sierratel in January 2018.

Key developments:

Sierratel launches LTE services, planning major investment program during 2019;
Regulator approves 27% price increase for mobile voice calls;
MNOs increase investment to provide national mobile coverage;
Regulator selects Subah Infosolutions Ghana to manage the international gateway;
Construction of 600km ECOWAS Wide Area Network completed;
Airtel completes rebranding as Orange Sierra Leone;
Sierratel relaunches a fixed-telephony network following $30 million investment;
Report update includes operator data to September 2018, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Sierra Leone Telecommunications Company (Sierratel), Bharti Airtel (Zain, Celtel), Comium, Africell (Lintel), Millicom (Tigo), Cellcom, LapGreen (Ambitel, GreenN), Access Point Africa, Afcom, African Information Technology Holdings (AITH), Onlime (LimeLine).

Table of Contents

Key statistics
Country overview
Telecommunications market

Market analysis

Regional Africa Market Comparison

TMI vs GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband
Fixed and mobile broadband

Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authority
Quality of Service (QoS)
Telecom sector liberalisation

Fixed network operators

Sierratel

Network infrastructure
Wireless Local Loop (WLL), CDMA2000 1x EV-DO
Privatisation, management contract

Other operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure

Satellite
Submarine fibre
International gateways

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Broadband statistics
Fixed-wireless
ISPs and converged service providers

Mobile market

Market analysis

Mobile licensing
Mobile statistics

Mobile data
Mobile broadband
Mobile infrastructure

4G (LTE)
3G
Other infrastructure developments

Major mobile operators

Orange Sierra Leone (formerly Zain, Celtel)
Comium
Africell (Lintel)
Sierratel
Cellcom
Ambitel/GreenN
Smart Mobile
QCell

Mobile content and applications

M-payments

Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Sierra Leone – 2018 (e)
Table 2 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1999 – 2009
Table 3 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2010 - 2018
Table 4 – International bandwidth – 2010 – 2016
Table 5 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 1999 – 2009
Table 6 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2010 – 2018
Table 7 – GSM licence awards and operations in Sierra Leone
Table 8 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2000 – 2009
Table 9 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010 – 2018
Table 10 – Active mobile broadband subscribers – 2014 – 2018
Table 11 – Historic - Celtel/Zain SL subscribers and market share – 2003 – 2009
Table 12 – Orange Sierra Leone mobile subscribers – 2016 – 2018

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Overall Africa view - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita – 2018
Chart 2 – West Africa - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita – 2018
Chart 3 – Africa – Middle-tier Telecoms Maturity Index (Market Challengers) – 2018
Chart 4 – West Africa –Telecoms Maturity Index by country – 2018
Chart 5 – West Africa mobile subscriber penetration versus mobile broadband penetration – 2018
Chart 6 – West Africa fixed and mobile penetration rates – 2018
Chart 7 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2005 – 2018
Chart 8 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2005 – 2018
Chart 9 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 – 2018

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Sierra Leone
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – West Africa - Key Characteristics of Telecoms Markets by Country
Exhibit 4 – West African common regulatory framework

Related Reports

Purchase this Report

US$750.00

Licence Information

Focus Report Profile

Technologies

Broadband Fixed
Companies (Major Players)
Internet
Mobile & Wireless Broadband and Media
Mobile Communications (voice and infrastructure)
Regulations & Government Policies
Strategies & Analyses (Industry & Markets)
Telecoms Infrastructure

Number of pages 62

Status Current

Last updated 1 Apr 2019
Update History

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

Share this Report

Purchase with Confidence

As usual, you’ve done a splendid job of bringing an industry well and truly into the spotlight.

I think that without your input and passion, Australia would have barely scratched the surface of the benefits that can and will be achieved with the wholesale adoption of Smart Grid and Smart City concepts.

Glenn Latch, SKYZER TECHNOLOGIES