CHAPTER 3
Market Reform and Regulation
The rapid growth in Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure and access to telecommunications services, described in chapter 2, has been associated with the reform of telecommunications markets throughout the region. Since the late 1990s, almost all countries have liberalized their telecommunications sector, and competition has developed rapidly as a result. But liberalization has not proceeded at the same pace across all market segments. By 2009, competition among mobile operators had been introduced in 42 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. As many as five operators are now found in some countries, indicating that highly competitive market structures are possible even in low-income countries. However, fixed-line telecommunications remain uncompetitive in many countries, and in some, a state-owned operator retains the monopoly. Yet the few countries that have fully liberalized the fixed-line segment of their market, such as Nigeria, have experienced rapid growth, especially where wireless operators offer both voice and data services in competition with the incumbent fixed-line operator. Another area that has not undergone as much change as the mobile segment of the market is backbone infrastructure. Governments continue to constrain investment in this area either through the outright support or control of a monopolistic operator or through regulatory and licensing 71