FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT
The Consortium Algérien des Télécommunications (CAT) launched fixed-line services late last month. The company, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Orascom Telecom Holding of Egypt and the partly state-owned Telecom Egypt, is the second fixed-line operator in Algeria. CAT won a 15-year renewable licence for these operations in 2005. It paid US$65m for the licence, which allows it to compete in the supply of local, national and international services. The services are being marketed under the name Lacom, and are currently on offer in the capital, Algiers. Plans call for the eventual expansion of Lacom to cover the entire country, with CAT suggesting that coverage in Oran and Constantine will be priorities. In total, the company expects to invest around US$1bn in the fixed-line services.
Fixed-line coverage in Algeria is, at present, very low. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) suggests that in 2004 only about 7% of the population had fixed-line services, putting the country on par with Eritrea. Unsurprisingly in these circumstances, internet usage is even lower—the ITU estimated that in 2004 only about 2.6% of the population used the web. CAT has said that it intends to provide a range of both voice and high-speed data services to the local market, which should help to address the lack of fixed-line services and encourage residential internet usage.
