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MALI

• "Mali Special - Competition Begins to have an Impact on SOTELMA," Balancing Act News Update, number 170 (2003): "Wireless networks look set to take off if the licensing problems can be resolved... There are still discussions over licensing for them as the regulator wants to charge a high fee..."
• But according to Isabel Neto's May 2004 thesis, Wireless Networks for the Developing World: The Regulation and Use of Licence-Exempt Radio Bands in Africa, "There is currently no regulatory policy on the use of this band [2.4 GHz in Mali]... Created in 2001, [le Comité de Régulation des Télécommunications, CRT] still has not become operational. USAID is prepared to provide technical and legal support, and training. It's the 'wild west' in Mali, in that anyone can use either of these bands [2.4 or 5 GHz] with no control, monitoring, or other oversight..."
• "The regulator CRT (Comité de Régulation des Télécommunications) oversees spectrum management, and derives 49% of its income from spectrum fees. Broadcasting spectrum is regulated by the ORTM (Office de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision du Mali)..." --- from West African Common Market Project: Harmonization of Policies Governing the ICT Market [in] the UEMOA-ECOWAS Space - Radio Spectrum Management, by Michel Schaar and Dr. Chris Doyle, International Telecommunication Union/the European Union, September 2005, page 10
• List of Cybercafés in Mali, MediaMali.org
• Geekcorps Mali - digital radio volunteers enhance Internet access and community broadcasting (website in French and English).
• "In 1991, after the Malian revolution, legal and regulatory reform led to any Malian citizen being able to apply for and obtain a licence to operate a local radio or television service. Today there are over a hundred rural community radio services throughout Mali..." ---"Briefing Paper: The enabling environment for community radio" by Steve Buckley, for an online discussion at id21 (23 January - 17 February 2006).
• "The Malian Experience in the Field of Rural Radio" by Moussa Keita (Secretary General, Union of Radio and Television Broadcasting, Mali), presented at the FAO's First International Workshop on Farm Radio Broadcasting, Rome, Italy, 19-22 February 2001.
• "Video-over-WiFi for village broadcasting in rural Mali," openspectrum.info, 23 November 2006, quoting the Geekcorps Mali blog.

Africa - Regional Overview