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SÉNÉGAL

• "Loi No. 2001-15 du décembre 2001 portant Code des Telecommunications," in French. This law created the Agence de Régulation des Télécommunications (ART) and started the process of liberalisation. Article 35 authorised the "free establishment" of radioelectric installations exclusively composed of low power, limited range devices.
• "The regulator ART is funded wholly by spectrum fees and is responsible for spectrum management..." --- 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 13
• "Decision N° 2004-005 ART/DG/DRC/D.Rég - Determinant les Caracteristiques et les Conditions Techniques d'Utilisation des Reseaux et des Installations Radioelectriques Exclusivement Composes d'Appareils de Faible Puissance et de Faible Porteed" (Determining The Characteristics and the Technical Conditions of Use of Networks and Radioelectric Installations Exclusively Composed of Apparatuses of Low Power and Limited Range), ART. Adopted in April 2004, this covers all types of unlicensed devices, from wireless microphones, radio-controlled models and motion detectors, to radio LANs - but not Citizens Band transceivers. In the case of wireless LANs, the equipment retailer must record the buyer's name and where the equipment will be installed; the buyer must sign a pledge to notify the regulator if the equipment is modified so it no longer conforms to the rules, and promise in writing to stop transmitting to eliminate interference if requested by the regulator. Power output for RLANs in the 2400-2483.5 MHz band is limited to 10 mW for frequency-hopping designs, and 100 mW for direct-sequence designs. The power output limit is 100 mW in the 5150-5350 MHz band and 1 W in the 5470-5725 MHz band.
• "Decret Fixant les Redevances pour Assignation de Frequences Radioelectriques," ART, 2 July 2004: sets spectrum use fees. In the case of radio LANs, the cost of applying for authorization is 250,000 CFA francs (about 380 euros) and for the authorization itself, 500,000 CFA francs (about 760 euros).
• While the previous items suggest a very restrictive environment, on 20 July 2004, a new ICT policy took effect: SONATEL's monopoly ended and telecommunications were liberalized in Sénégal.
• "Internet sans fil au Sénégal : s'asseoir n'importe où et surfer," (Wireless Internet in Senegal: sit down anywhere and surf) par Malick Ndaw, Sud Quotidien (Dakar) in French, date unknown: Sonatel launched its WiFi service in Senegal on 15 July 2004.
• "Sonatel à l'ère du 'WiFi'," par Abibou Mbaye, Le Journal de l'Economie, 26 July 2004: "Le coût de lancement pour l'accès aux résidentiels est de 99.000 francs CFA. La Sonatel Multimédia propose en même temps aux clients qui s'étaient déjà procuré le modem ADSL vendu par Sentoo, une possibilité d'échange pour un modem Wifi. Au Sénégal, le système de connexion Internet sans fil 'wireless' existe depuis quatre ans, mais, selon le directeur général de Sonatel Multimédia, c'est l'ouvre de 'gens qui bricolent', précisant que sa société est détentrice' de la seule offre structuré'e de la place'..." (The cost of installing Sonatel's residential WiFi access service is 99,000 CFA [about US$150]. For customers who already have an ADSL modem, Sonatel Multimedia offers the possibility of exchanging it for a WiFi modem [which suggests that this is meant to be a "last mile" service]. In Senegal, wireless Internet access has existed for 4 years, but as work for do-it-yourselfers, according to the director general of Sonatel Multimedia, who says his company is the only one to make a "structured offer.")
• "Géant Hotspot et Wifi pour les 50.000 étudiants de l'Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar," L@bomobile, May 2007, in French: they built the largest hot-zone in French-speaking Africa, serving 50,000 students at UCAD Dakar.
• "Participation of Senegalese civil society in the formulation of ICT policies" by Marie-Hélène Mottin-Sylla, ENDA-SYNFEV/Association for Progressive Communications, June-September 2002 (13 pages in English).
• l'Observatoire sur les Systèmes d'Information, les Réseaux et les Inforoutes au Sénégal (OSIRIS).
• "Telecommunications Sector Reforms in Senegal, Volume 1" by Jean-Paul Azam, Magueye Dia and Tchetche N'Guessan, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2894 (September 2002).
• "Un vaste programme de contrôle des réseaux radioélectriques en cours," (A vast program of checking radioelectric networks is underway) by C.M.Coly, Le Soleil, 1 June 2006 in French (via OSIRIS). A new system for automated monitoring of the spectrum enables the telecom regulator to clean up the airwaves after years of worsening interference. Senegal's frequency plan was developed by the ITU in 1984, but major changes in the audio-visual sector and the passage of Law 2001-15, liberalizing telecommunications and creating new regulatory structures, mean the plan is now dysfunctional.

Africa - Regional Overview