The state-owned telecommunication network has requested for Sixteen Million United State Dollars (USD16m) to transform their network from Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) to the Global System for Mobile Communications.
The Director-General of Sierra Leone Telecommunications (SIERRATEL), Mr. Foday Sankoh, made this disclosure on Tuesday 6th October 2020 during the ongoing Fiscal Year 2021 Budget process at the Ministry of Finance in Freetown.
According to him, the current system they are using is obsolete and is no more competitive in the telecommunication business, noting that this system is not any more encouraging in the technology world and they want to move from this old method to an advanced one.
“Telecommunication business is a lucrative business that will give billions of Leones in turn as profit. SIERRATEL has the competence to maximize profit as equally as any other mobile network in the country. SIERRATEL can be a major source of financing government projects if given the maximum support needed,” assured Sankoh.
He said SIERRATEL is the first Mobile Company to launch a 4G network but because of the limited coverage with only 57 Sites, it was difficult to compete with other Mobile Companies that have over 300 Sites.
Despite the challenges they face, Sankoh said the company has expanded transmission to areas such as Magburaka and Koidu, and has multiplied data service portfolios and provide solution and fiber connectivity.
Sankoh emphasized that SIERRATEL has a huge potential to turn around the market and assured the government that if the needed resources are provided, the moribund company will give the government One Hundred and Twenty Million Dollars annually (USD120m).
Mr. Sankoh said they are in discussion with a company in Rwanda to produce phones with a brand ‘Made in Sierra Leone’, noting that with support from the government this will increase revenue mobilization and will also create jobs for the citizens.
“SIERRATEL has heavy debt burden (over Le600 Billion) to local and international service providers, which include National Revenue Authority (NRA), Sierra Leone Cable Network (SALCAB), Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA), Huawei, etc,” he said.
