Cote D'Ivoire Telecom

active

Cote D'Ivoire Telecom (CI Telecom) was the national local and long distance carrier in the country. The government started to divest the company in January 1997 when it sold, through competitive bidding, a 51% stake for US$210 million (FF 1.05 billion) to a consortium led by France Telecom that included the Sifcom group and several Côte d'Ivoire investment companies. France Telecom directly held a 45.9% stake in the operator. CI Telecom was divested with a seven-year exclusive period in the provision of fixed-line local and long distance service. In turn, the company committed to invest US$456 million (FF2.5 billion) in order to build some 300,000 new lines and modernize the local network during the first five years of operation (1997-2001). However, according to the regulator, the Agence des Télécommunications de Côte d'Ivoire (ATCI), its roll-out targets were to be adjusted proportionately downward if economic growth dropped below 7% per annum. The political and economic crises in the country caused GDP growth to contract by -2.4% in 2000, grow by just 0.19% in 2001 and contract again by -1.2% in 2002. The result was that new lines grew from 115,214 in 1997 to only 358,252 by 2002. Under the original timetable, CI-Telecom's seven-year monopoly was due to expire on February 2, 2004. However, the coup d'état in 1999 and successive political crises since then had pushed the issue onto the back burner, and a policy decision that was expected in 2003 never materialised. The company awarded Alcatel a US$5 million contract to extend network coverage using wireless technology in 1998. Investments of FF 2.5 billion (US$335 million) were scheduled over 5 years to cover a town of over 3,000 inhabitants, open 300,000 new lines (going from the current 139,000 lines to 410,000 in 2001) and install additional phone booths. As of end 2004, Cote D'Ivoire Telecom had 226,000 active subscribers. http://www.citelecom.ci/ In January 2005, the Council of Ministers enacted measures to liberalize the telecommunications sector, which had been postponed since February 2004. Based on the Ministerial decree issued in January 2005, the Ivoirian Congress is currently preparing new legislation to amend the 1995 telecommunications code. The new rules will end France Telecom's fixed-line monopoly through its subsidiary, Cote d'Ivoire Telecom. Additional changes are the creation of a new regulatory agency to manage the fully competitive market. 2007 Capex: estimate based on FT annual report: (Capex "Rest of the World"/Revenue "Rest of the World")*Revenue of the local company