Increasing Broadband Internet Penetration
In the OIC Member Countries
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Finally, Cote d’Ivoire has limited capability to produce local Internet content and applications,
which explains part of the demand gap. However, the lack of country specific information
precludes us from assessing the importance of limited cultural and linguistic relevance as a
barrier to broadband adoption. Nevertheless, an assessment of the 100 most popular Internet
sites measured by number of visitors and time spent on the site by region of the world
indicates that only 32% of the most popular Internet sites have been developed in Sub-Saharan
Africa (see Katz and Callorda, 2014). The lack of linguistic and cultural relevance would appear
to be a barrier to broadband Internet adoption. In response to this hurdle, the government is
targeting the development of e-government functions as a way to create an incentive for the
population to access the Internet.
To sum up, all three broadband Internet adoption barriers – affordability, digital literacy, and
local content – appear to be present in Cote d’Ivoire. The government has put in place several
initiatives to deal with at least the first two constraints, along with the development of e-
government applications.
V.1.2. Supply of broadband services
Availability of fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure
The development of broadband infrastructure in Cote d’Ivoire has undergone four phases. In
phase 1, between 1996 and 2002, both last mile distribution and long haul connectivity were
fulfilled via satellite. The second phase started in 2002, when ADSL started to be installed. In
addition, the deployment of a submarine cable in 2008 improved the quality of fixed
connectivity. The third phase started in 2012 with the deployment of mobile broadband via 3G
technology. When this phase was completed in 2016 (when 4G started to be deployed), 3G
current coverage reached 50% of the population and 40% of the territory for Orange,
meanwhile the MTN network is reported as covering 70% of the population
42
. The fourth
phase begun in 2016 with the launch of 4G and will continue with the deployment of FTTH.
Currently 4G coverage reaches between 20% and 30% of the population
43
, while it is expected
to achieve full coverage by 2020 for MTN and Orange. On the other hand, the target of
deployment of FTTH is to cover the large cities that concentrate upscale residential segments
and most economic activity centers (Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Bouake, San Pedro, etc.).
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Source: Field trip interviews.
43
MTN is deployed only in Abidjan.