Sierra Leone to get CDMA phone system

Government-owned telecom operator Sierra Leone Telecommunications (Sierratel) will boast a CDMA fixed-mobile telephone system by September, according to the country's deputy minister of information and communication, Mohamed Koroma.

Rather than relying on landlines, the system will offer telecom connectivity by using CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) towers to transmit signals wirelessly to base stations in the home. Handsets are then used with the home base stations.

Koroma disclosed the plan while outlining his ministry's efforts since the government assumed power about seven months ago.

"We are also trying to introduce the new digital system," he said.

Koroma maintained that the administration is working on a feasibility study to upgrade the standard of land phones in Sierra Leone to be like those in the developed world.

Koroma responded to critics who say that mobile phone companies are exploiting Sierra Leoneans. "I don't see it as exploitation but something that has to do with high tariffs. We are negotiating with mobile company operators to reduce their tariffs," he said.

With four mobile-phone companies operating in the country, and two more on the way, there are fewer than a million phone users in Sierra Leone.

Koroma acknowledged that rates are high compared to other countries in the region. "I see no reason why we should not break the ice and be in line with other communication systems in the subregion," he said.

He noted that his ministry has made telecommunication commission and other systems functional in the country, and it is also trying to make communication affordable to the majority of people in the country.