Communications in Somalia include telecommunications, internet, radio, print, TV, and postal services, largely driven by the private sector. Some telecom companies have expanded internationally. The federal government runs two official radio and TV networks, alongside private and foreign outlets. As internet access grows, print media is being replaced by radio and online news. A National Communications Act was passed in 2012 and officially signed into law in 2017, establishing the National Communications Authority (NCA) to regulate the ICT sector. Somalia ranks first in Africa and seventh globally for the most affordable mobile data.
Telecommunications
General After the start of the long civil war, various new telecommunications companies began to spring up in the country and competed to provide missing infrastructure. Somalia now offers some of the most technologically advanced and competitively priced telecommunications and internet services in the world. Funded by Somali entrepreneurs and backed by expertise from China, Korea and Europe, these nascent telecommunications firms offer affordable mobile phone and internet services that are not available in many other parts of the continent. Customers can conduct money transfers (such as through the popular Dahabshiil) and other banking activities via mobile phones, as well as easily gain wireless Internet access.
After forming partnerships with multinational corporations such as Sprint, ITT and Telenor, these firms now offer the cheapest and clearest phone calls in Africa. These Somali telecommunication companies also provide services to every city, town and hamlet in Somalia. There are presently around 25 mainlines per 1,000 persons, and the local availability of telephone lines (tele-density) is higher than in neighboring countries; three times greater than in adjacent Ethiopia. Prominent Somali telecommunications companies include Somtel Network, Golis Telecom Group, Hormuud Telecom, Somafone, Nationlink, Netco, Telcom and Somali Telecom Group. Hormuud Telecom alone grosses about $40 million a year. Despite their rivalry, several of these companies signed an interconnectivity deal in 2005 that allows them to set prices, maintain and expand their networks, and ensure that competition does not get out of control. In 2008, Dahabshiil Group acquired a majority stake in Somtel Network, a Hargeisa-based telecommunications firm specialising in high speed broadband, mobile internet, LTE services, mobile money transfer and mobile phone services. The acquisition provided Dahabshiil with the necessary platform for a subsequent expansion into mobile banking, a growth industry in the regional banking sector. In 2014, Somalia's three largest telecommunication operators, Hormuud Telecom, NationLink and Somtel, also signed an interconnection agreement. The cooperative deal will see the firms establish the Somali Telecommunication Company (STC), which will allow their mobile clients to communicate across the three networks. Investment in the telecom industry is held to be one of the clearest signs that Somalia's economy has continued to develop. The sector provides key communication services, and in the process facilitates job creation and income generation.
Regulation Somalia's telecommunication sector is governed by the National Communications Law (also called the Telecoms Act) that was signed into law by president Abdullahi Farmajo on 2 October 2017, after passing the Cabinet and the two Houses of Parliament (Senate and House of the People). It entered into effect immediately. This Act had a very long way in coming, as its drafting had already started in 2005. It was already approved by the Somali Cabinet in 2012. The new law paves the way for the establishment of a National Communications Regulatory Commission in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. The bill was passed following consultations between government representatives and communications, academic and civil society stakeholders. According to the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication, the Act is expected to create an environment conducive to investment and the certainty it provides will encourage further infrastructural development, resulting in more efficient service delivery.
Firms Companies providing telecommunications services in Somalia include:
Mail The Somali Postal Service (Somali Post) is the national postal service of the Federal Government of Somalia. It is part of the Ministry of Information, Posts and Telecommunication. The national postal infrastructure was completely destroyed during the civil war. In order to fill the vacuum, Somali Post signed an agreement in 2003 with the United Arab Emirates' Emirates Post to process mail to and from Somalia. Emirates Post's mail transit hub at the Dubai International Airport was then used to forward mail from Somalia to the UAE and various Western destinations, including Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and Canada. Concurrently, the Somali Transitional Federal Government began preparations to revive the national postal service. The government's overall reconstruction plan for Somali Post is structured into three Phases spread out over a period of ten years. Phase I will see the reconstruction of the postal headquarters and General Post Office (GPO), as well as the establishment of 16 branch offices in the capital and 17 in regional bases. Somali authorities re-established Somalia's membership with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 2012 and began participating again in the Union's affairs. They have also rehabilitated the GPO in Mogadishu, and appointed an official Postal Consultant to provide professional advice on the renovations. Phase II of the rehabilitation project involved the construction of 718 postal outlets from 2014 to 2016. International postal services for Somalia officially resumed in late 2013, with the assistance of the UPU in developing capacity, providing technical assistance, and furnishing basic mail processing equipment.
Radio
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