Liberia Telecommunications Corporation
Encyclopedia
The Liberia Telecommunications Corporation (Libtelco) is a telecommunications company providing services in Liberia
. Headquartered in Monrovia
, the company provides telephone, Internet
, fax
and radio
services to the Greater Monrovia
area. Prior to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 2007, Libtelco possessed a legal monopoly
over the country's fixed line services, and today remains the sole company licensed by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority to provide fixed line telephone services.
setting and regulatory authority
over all telecommunications in the country, though these powers were transferred to the newly-created Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 1978.
The corporation ceased operations in 1990 following the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War and the subsequent collapse of the national government. The civil war resulted in much of the corporation's infrastructure being destroyed. Following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War
in 2003, the transitional government failed in its attempt to privatize Libtelco. In 2006, the newly-elected President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, reactivated Libtelco, appointing a temporary Board of Directors while also ordering the creation of a new telecommunications policy for Liberia.
The subsequent Liberia Telecommunications Act of 2007 placed regulatory authority over Libtelco and the Liberian telecommunications industry with the newly-created Liberia Telecommunications Authority, while also granting Libtelco the sole license for all fixed line telephone services in the country until 2011. Sirleaf appointed a new board and management team to operate the company in 2007. The government has also stated its intention to privatize the company at some point in the future.
systems. Beginning in 2009, the company began offering services through a new CDMA-2000 1x-EvDO network. Libtelco owns a 20% interest in the Cable Consortium of Liberia
, which owns and operates the cable landing point
of the ACE cable system
in Monrovia, due to be completed in 2012. The company is currently using its existing ownership over cable ducts in the Monrovia area to construct a fiber-optic communication
s network that will connect to the cable system.
Libtelco currently owns thirty communications towers around the country, which it both utilizes in its network and leases to Liberia's four GSM mobile providers.
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. Headquartered in Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, the company provides telephone, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
services to the Greater Monrovia
Greater Monrovia District
The Greater Monrovia District is one of four districts located in Montserrado County, Liberia. Though it shares its name with Monrovia, the nation's capital, it is politically independent of the city....
area. Prior to the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 2007, Libtelco possessed a legal monopoly
Legal monopoly
A legal monopoly, statutory monopoly, or de jure monopoly is a monopoly that is protected by law from competition. A statutory monopoly may take the form of a government monopoly where the state owns the particular means of production or government-granted monopoly where a private interest is...
over the country's fixed line services, and today remains the sole company licensed by the Liberia Telecommunications Authority to provide fixed line telephone services.
History
Libtelco was founded through the Liberian Telecommunications Corporation Act of 1973 to construct and operate the country's fixed line communications infrastructure and to provide services to residents and businesses. Originally, the corporation was also given exclusive policyPolicy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
setting and regulatory authority
Regulatory Authority
A regulatory agency is a public authority or government agency responsible for exercising autonomous authority over some area of human activity in a regulatory or supervisory capacity...
over all telecommunications in the country, though these powers were transferred to the newly-created Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in 1978.
The corporation ceased operations in 1990 following the outbreak of the First Liberian Civil War and the subsequent collapse of the national government. The civil war resulted in much of the corporation's infrastructure being destroyed. Following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War
Second Liberian Civil War
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy , emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south, and...
in 2003, the transitional government failed in its attempt to privatize Libtelco. In 2006, the newly-elected President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, reactivated Libtelco, appointing a temporary Board of Directors while also ordering the creation of a new telecommunications policy for Liberia.
The subsequent Liberia Telecommunications Act of 2007 placed regulatory authority over Libtelco and the Liberian telecommunications industry with the newly-created Liberia Telecommunications Authority, while also granting Libtelco the sole license for all fixed line telephone services in the country until 2011. Sirleaf appointed a new board and management team to operate the company in 2007. The government has also stated its intention to privatize the company at some point in the future.
Services
The civil war resulted in the complete destruction of Liberia's landline infrastructure. As a result, Libtelco has focused on expanding telephone, Internet and fax services through fixed wirelessFixed wireless
Fixed wireless is the operation of wireless devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless is part of a wireless LAN infrastructure. The purpose of a fixed wireless link is to enable data communications...
systems. Beginning in 2009, the company began offering services through a new CDMA-2000 1x-EvDO network. Libtelco owns a 20% interest in the Cable Consortium of Liberia
Cable Consortium of Liberia
The Cable Consortium of Liberia is a public-private partnership formed in 2010 to own and operate Liberia's cable landing point for the ACE cable system. Stakeholders in the project include the Government of Liberia , Libtelco , Lonestar Cell , and Cellcom .CCL signed the Construction and...
, which owns and operates the cable landing point
Cable landing point
A cable landing point is the location where a submarine or other underwater cable makes landfall. The term is most often used for the landfall points of submarine telecommunications cables and submarine power cables. The landing will either be direct or via a branch from a main cable using a...
of the ACE cable system
ACE (cable system)
The ACE submarine communications cable is a cable system undergoing construction along the west coast of Africa between France and South Africa, planned by the ACE consortium which was initiated on June 5, 2010....
in Monrovia, due to be completed in 2012. The company is currently using its existing ownership over cable ducts in the Monrovia area to construct a fiber-optic communication
Fiber-optic communication
Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber. The light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information...
s network that will connect to the cable system.
Libtelco currently owns thirty communications towers around the country, which it both utilizes in its network and leases to Liberia's four GSM mobile providers.