Societe Nationale des Telecommunications du Senegal (Orange Sonatel)

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Societe Nationale des Telecommunications du Senegal (Sonatel) was the state-owned incumbent responsible for providing local, national, and international phone services in the country. The company was partially divested in July 1997 when the government sold, through a private sale, a 33.33% stake for US$107.4 million (FFr650 million) to France Telecom. In addition, the government sold a 10% stake to Sonatel's employees as part of the privatization process. In a second phase, an additional 17.76% stake in Sonatel was sold for US$55 million (CFAFr 33 billion) through a public offering in November 1997. By 2004, the shares of the company, which were held by France Telecom (42.33%), the State of Senegal (27.67%), workers (10%), corporate bodies and individuals (20%). Sonatel was divested with the commitment to install 300,000 new lines over a 10 year period. An investment of CFAFr 82 billion (US$118 million) had gone into fixed phone infrastructure and another CFAFr 16 billion (US$23 million) was to be invested during 2001-2006 to connect rural areas to the network. A 1999 EIB grant assisted Sonatel's investment program for the 1998-2006 period (expansion of the access network and the supply of additional switching equipment to provide for connection of 91,000 new subscribers; completion of an optical fibre transmission ring; access to submarine cables; development of rural telephony; and development of the mobile telecommunication network). In May of 2004, Sonatel selected SR Telecom to provide a SR500 fixed wireless access system for a rural communications development project aimed at meeting the Senegalese government's universal-access objectives. The contract was valued at approximately US$13 million. Alizé, the mobile subsidiary of Sonatel, reached 1.05 million subscribers by end 2005, representing a 61% share of the total Senegalese market of 1.73 million. The company also had about 267,000 fixed line subscribers as of end 2004. http://www.sonatel.sn/documents/RapportSonatel2007.pdf Capex 2011 -- Wireless Intelligence 2012 Ibid. 2013 ibid.

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