Telecoms Statistics 2007:
In
Gambia a higher proportion of
households have owned mobile telephones (65.1%) than fixed telephones
(20.6%). In the urban areas, 76.5% of households owned a mobile
as against 54.8% of households having owned a mobile
in the rural areas.
The provision of fixed telephone in
the different categories of the institutions is sufficient.
Generally, the penetration rate on the availability of telephone lines is at 42.0%. With regard to the
number of telephone lines in workplaces, the studies results shows
that on average only 4.0% of institutions do not have any fixed lineset in the workplace. On the other hand, on the average,
31.2% and 33.7% of institutions respectively reported to have
one and at least two lines in the workplaces.
Telecommunication
Links:
Reports show that the
Gambia Telecommunication Company (GAMTEL) has laid a fibre optic cable
on the south bank of the river that run across the country. The
country has a fixed line telephone penetration rate of 3.1%. The
penetration rate of 6% in urban areas and about 1% in the rural areas.
Combined with mobile phones there is a total penetration rate
increased from 18.35% in 2005 to 21.6% in 2006.
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GSM Operators:
There are
4 GSM operators Gamcel,
Africell,
Comium Mobile
and the latest entrant QCell providing
mobile telephone services via GSM 800-900 networks with countrywide coverage. There
was a rapid increase in the number of mobile subscribers in the Gambia
since 2001. The mobile telephone penetration rate has increased from
7.3% in 2003 to 16.9% in 2006.
Tele-Centres:
A number of Tele-Centres existed in both the urban and rural areas
making the phone services accessible to the general populace in
almost all parts of the country.
Fixed Telephony System:
There has been a significant increase in the number of telephone line
subscribers over the three years period despite the fact that rates
for fixed line local calls during non-busy and busy periods have
doubled, i.e. have increased from D0.30 per minute to D0.60 per
minute.
Source:
UNECA-SCAN (2007)
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