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South Sudanâs Lack of Infrastructure a Challenge for Cell Phone Industry

   Peter Clottey 13 April 2010
   Salva Kiir (L) VP and President of South-Sudan in Nairobi (File)

Photo: AFP

   Salva Kiir (L) VP and President of South-Sudan in Nairobi (File)

   Telephone communications in southern Sudan are often difficult because
   of  a lack of infrastructure, says Michael Lissa, an engineer with the
   independent cell phone network Mobitel.

   âWe have really a very big problem,â says Lissa.  âWe donât have very
   good roads down here, so that makes it very difficult for us to expand
   the telecommunication networks.â

   Customers  sometimes complain of delays in placing calls, a problem he
   attributes  to  Mobitelâs  use  of  satellites for transmitting calls,
   rather  than land lines or fiber optic networks that require roads for
   installation.

   Complicated  logistics  and  dated  technologies also lead to delays.Â
   For  example,  Lissa  says  international  calls to southern Sudan are
   routed  from  Khartoum to various switching stations before being sent
   on to their final destinations.

   But  things  are  improving,  says  Lissa, especially when compared to
   early efforts at developing a telecommunications system for the south.

   âAt  that  time  we were limited to the towns not under the control of
   the SPLM (Sudanâs People Liberation Movement).  So, [during the civil
   war]  we  [focused] only in the central regionsâ¦that is, in the Upper
   Nile region and Equatoria,â Lissa said.

   In 2006, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded
   the  U.S.-based  Louis  Berger  Group  a five-year contract to improve
   infrastructure.   The   $700   million   contract   will  help  expand
   transportation,   social  services,  and  economic  infrastructure  in
   Southern  Sudan  and three areas straddling the line between the north
   and  south  --  the oil-producing area of Abyei and the states of Blue
   Nile and Southern Kordofan.

   Despite the difficulties, says Lissa, there are signs of growth in the
   telecommunications network.

   âWe  have  [expanded greatly], and this was done with the construction
   of  some  roads.  Wherever there are good roads, we go and put in the
   telephone network.â

   The  U.S.  Agency  for  International  Development (USAID) says it has
   spent  $84.2  million  in the region since fiscal year 2004. The funds
   were  used for a number of purposes, including clearing land, building
   new roads and the planning, mapping and electrification of towns.

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