These networks also account for most voice calls and data traffic.
MTN Benin and Moovhave operated a duopoly in the mobile sector since 2018, when other players in the market failed. Following the end of one of these, Libercom (once a subsidiary of Bénin Télécoms), the government transferred the former assets of Bénin Télécoms Infrastructures to the state-owned infrastructure company SBIN.
In early 2020, the government directed that SBIN should enter the mobile sector, partly making up for the loss of Libercom. The move redefined the role of BIN within a restructured telecom market. A process to offer fourth new licence was started in mid-2021. The new network operator must have experience in telecoms and must also be independent of MTN Group and Etisalat/Maroc Telecom, the owners of the current active MNOs.
Key developments:
Sonatel granted five-year contract to manage the infrastructure provider SBIN and develop mobile services;
Government levies 5% tax on m-money services;
Government initiates process to licence a new MNO, secures $40 million loan to begin a fibre network project covering four departments;
Government launches a national interoperability platform for its smart government (Smart Gouv) program;
MTN Benin extends managed services partnership with Ericsson;
Orange commissions new connection from the ACE submarine cable, connecting Benin with Tenerife;
Report update includes the regulator's market data to December 2021, telcos' operating data to Q1 2022, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.
