Connecting West Africa, the new event in the Com World Series looking specifically at the networks and infrastructure developments in West Africa, is underway in Dakar, Senegal.
Yesterday’s opening session featured debates on how to improve connectivity in the West African sub-region.
Speakers at the conference are drawn from various divisions within the digital ecosystem, and include representatives of telecoms operators such as Sonatel-Orange, MTN, Tigo, Expresso and Sierratel, as well as OTT players and satellite companies.
At yesterday’s session, representatives of IntelSat revealed it is committed to the region, with the announcement it would be opening an office in Senegal next month. Panelists also disclosed that customers in the West African region care more about services, costs and connectivity than about technology.
Discussions dwelt on key challenges to the provision of improved and more cost effective communication in West Africa, which include regulation, bandwidth cost and service quality.
The conference continues today with sessions on Partnerships and Connectivity Models, Cost-Efficient Networks and Infrastructure. Speakers at today’s sessions are representatives of notable international organisations, companies and outfits such as ECOWAS, IFC/World Bank, WIOCC, Orange, Helios Towers Africa, Azur Telecom, the Liberian regulator and several others.
