Benin has launched a project to develop telecom and ICT infrastructures (PDI2T) and improve internet quality, reports Ecofin. Minister of digital economy and communication Rafiatou Monrou initiated the project twelve months ago, with the aim of boosting telecom operator access to data capacities. The new data capacities which will benefit operators and ISPs by bringing in 974 km of optic fibre, added to the existing 1,060km network. The rollout will connect 67 communities, providing them with a capacity ranging from 40Go to 800Go.
There will also be 196 km worth of new optic fibre deployed to densify the 22 km rehabilitated along the Grand Nokoue metropolitan network, and the provision of 34 sharing points. Besides having access to services of better quality, Beninese will soon enjoy lower tariffs. During the launch ceremony for the PDI2T, Djalil Assouma, the managing director of Benin Telecoms Infrastructures SA, has also made official the 2017-2018 interconnectivity catalogue of the company. The new package offers presented by telecom operators have been reduced: from 75 percent to more than 90 percent on charges to access the national capacity grid; from 73 percent to 76 percent on IP transit operations on the BTI Cotonou backbone; of 90 percent on access fees; of about 90 percent on fees to access SAT3 and ACE submarine cables; from 25 percent to 30 percent on in-door and pylons co-location, and 15 percent on energy.