Telecommunications in Sierra Leone

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Telecommunications in Sierra Leone include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Contents

Radio is the most-popular and most-trusted media source in Sierra Leone, with 72% of people in the country listening to the radio daily. Sierra Leone is home to one government-owned national radio station and roughly two dozen private radio stations, as well as one government-owned and one private TV station.

Telephone and telegraph services are marginal, but improving. Internet usage is low, reaching just 1.3% of the population in 2012, but improving with growth in 3G mobile cellular data services and the mid-2011 arrival of the ACE international fiber-optic cable system in Freetown.

Radio and television

Radio is the most-popular and most-trusted media in Sierra Leone, with 85% of people having access to a radio and 72% of people in the country listening to the radio daily. These levels vary between areas of the country, with the Western Area having the highest levels and Kailahun the lowest. Stations mainly consist of local commercial stations with a limited broadcast range, combined with a few stations with national coverage – Capital Radio Sierra Leone being the largest of the commercial stations. [2]

Outside the capital Freetown and other major cities, television is not watched by a great many people, although Bo, Kenema, and Makeni are served by their own relays of the main SLBC service. There are two national, free terrestrial television stations in Sierra Leone, one run by the government SLBC and the other a private station, AIT (Africa Independent Television) which is linked with the Nigerian station of the same name. [3]

In 2007, a new pay-per-view TV service was introduced by GTV as part of a pan-African television service in addition to the then nine-year-old sub-Saharan Digital Satellite Television service (DStv) from the South African company Multichoice. GTV subsequently went out of business, leaving DStv as the only provider of pay-per-view television in the country.

The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) was created by the colonial government in 1934 making it the earliest English language radio broadcaster service in West Africa. The service began broadcasting television in 1963, with coverage extended to all the districts in the country in 1978. [4]

The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) ran one of the most popular stations in the country, broadcasting programs in a range of languages. The UN mission was restructured in 2008 and it was decided that UN Radio would merge with SLBS to form the new Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). This merger took place in April 2010 after the necessary legislation was enacted. SLBC transmits radio on FM and has two television services, one of which is uplinked by satellite for international consumption. The SLBC is operated by an Independent Media Commission (IMC), under the supervision of the Sierra Leone Ministry of Information and Communications. [5] [6]

FM relays of the BBC World Service, Radio France Internationale and Voice of America are also broadcast. [3]

The All People’s Congress (APC) and opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) radio stations that were shut down in the wake of the 2009 riots remain closed. [7]

Challenges facing broadcasters include unreliable power supplies, poor funding and low advertising revenues. Media rights monitors say high-level corruption is a taboo topic, with officials using libel laws to target errant journalists. [3]

Telephones

Internet

Internet access in Sierra Leone has been sparse, but is on the increase, especially since the introduction of 3G cellular phone services across the country and the arrival of the ACE cable in Freetown in the second half of 2011. [15] Freetown has Internet cafes and other businesses offering Internet access. Problems experienced with access to the Internet include an intermittent electricity supply [3] and a slow connection speed in the country outside Freetown. [16] Outside of Freetown enterprises generally have to rely on VSAT satellite services.

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. [7]

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights. An independent press, a generally effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and press. The law criminalizes defamatory and seditious libel, but is rarely applied. Its threatened application may stifle expression and journalists do engage in self-censorship. The constitution and laws prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions. [7]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo, Sierra Leone</span> Place in Southern Province, Sierra Leone

Bo, also commonly referred to as Bo Town, is the second largest city in Sierra Leone by landscape/geographical location and the largest city in the Southern Province. Bo is the capital and administrative centre of Bo District. The city of Bo had a population of 149,957 in the 2004 census and had a population of about 233,684 based on 2017 estimate. Bo is an urban centre, and lies approximately 160 miles (250 km) eastsoutheast of Freetown, and about 40 miles (71 km) to Kenema. Bo is the leading financial, educational and economic centre of southern Sierra Leone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenema</span> Place in Eastern Province, Sierra Leone

Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone, and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of the Eastern Province. At the 2015 national census, Kenema had a population of 200,354. Kenema is located approximately 200 miles from Freetown, and 60 kilometres (40 mi) south of Bo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koidu</span> Place in Eastern Province, Sierra Leone

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kailahun</span> Place in Eastern Province, Sierra Leone

Kailahun is the capital of Kailahun District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. Kailahun is a major business and commercial center of Kailahun District. The population was 13,108 in the 2004 census, a 2006 estimate of 18,411 and a current estimate of about 30,411. Kailahun lies in the far east of Sierra Leone, approximately 200 miles east of Freetown, about 51 miles north east of Kenema, and near the border of Liberia.

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Water supply in Sierra Leone is characterized by limited access to safe drinking water. Despite efforts by the government and numerous non-governmental organizations, access has not much improved since the end of the Sierra Leone Civil War in 2002, stagnating at about 50% and even declining in rural areas. In the capital Freetown, taps often run dry. It is hoped that a new dam in Orugu, for which China committed financing in 2009, will alleviate water scarcity.

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The Leicester Peak transmitting station is a broadcast transmitting station and communications relay station located near Freetown, Sierra Leone. The site is owned by the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation the country's state broadcaster. It is now the primary transmitting station providing broadcast services for the Western Area of Sierra Leone. Previously the SLBC operated a shortwave transmitting station in Waterloo and a shortwave/mediumwave station in Goderich.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Communications: Sierra Leone", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Media use, and attitudes towards media in Sierra Leone: A comprehensive baseline study" (PDF). BBC World Service Trust and Search for Common Ground. June 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sierra Leone profile", BBC News, 23 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Wells, Alan (1997), World Broadcasting: a comparative view, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 173, ISBN   1-56750-245-8 .
  5. ↑ "About Us", Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "At Long Last, Recruitment Begins at Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation", Stephen Douglas, International Center for Journalists, 18 April 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "Sierra Leone", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 25 March 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010)), Annex to ITU Operational Bulletin No. 994-15.XII.2011, International Telecommunication Union (ITU, Geneva), 15 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "ACE cable system lands in Sierra Leone", Telecompaper, 11 October 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "ACE: Africa Coast to Europe", web site. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012" Archived 2017-03-29 at the Wayback Machine , Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  12. ↑ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  13. ↑ Select Formats Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine , Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
  14. ↑ Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Sierra Leone’s costly step into the brave new world of faster internet access", The Sierra Leone Telegraph, 5 March 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Broadband coming to Sierra Leone at a dial-up modem’s pace", Kimberly S. Johnson, Global Post, 7 April 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
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