摘要

Five years into peace, following more than a decade of civil war which destroyed much of its infrastructure, Liberia became a prime example of an almost entirely wireless telecommunications market. Four mobile operators are competing for customers while the virtually non-operational fixed-line incumbent is rolling out a wireless CDMA system with a view to possibly also entering the mobile market as a fifth player. Internet services are available from a number of wireless ISPs and the mobile networks using GPRS, EDGE and WiMAX technology. Despite the expensive operating environment due to the lack of basic infrastructure in the country, competition has led to some of the lowest call prices in Africa. However, penetration rates are still well below African averages in all market segments. The planned arrival of an international submarine cable in 2009 promises to bring fibre-based bandwidth to Liberia for the first time which should help to lower prices in the Internet sector and stimulate the market further.

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