Introductory words
The Republic of Benin (situated in West Africa) has been connected to the internet since November 1995. Presently the connexion debit is at 128 Kbits/s, a very poor one, even in comparison to those of many countries in west Africa like Senegal, Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso etc. The national telecom operator, which holds a monopolistic position as far as telecommunication is concerned (however since 2000, there is no more monopoly on mobile communications), is responsible for the national node. Three international projects, the francophone SYFED-REFER, www.refer.org the american Leland Initiative www.usaid.gov and the Sustainable Development Networking Program of UNDP www.undp.org have been implemented to foster internet in the country.
The internet is present in the whole country, but it is only in Cotonou (economic capital city) which hosts almost 90% of the internauts (from a quick survey) that a Point of Presence exists.
ISP and Cybercentres
Internet Service Providers
There are six active commercial ISPs, among which, the Office des Postes et télécommunications (OPT www.opt.bj , national telecom operator) the main provider, having the monopoly on the offer of leased lines. In 1998, due to the Leland Initiative, eight companies signed an agreement with OPT, upon which four of them start offering dial up services. They have 64 Kbits/s for debit. Another ISP ( SECNI http://elodia.intnet.bj) that was operating before Leland, didn’t ask for the agreement but operate albeit with a poorer debit, 28 Kbits/s (PPP leased lines). The agreed providers are EIT www.eit.bj, Firstnet www.firstnet.bj, les Arts Bobo www.artsbobo.bj and SOBIEX Informatique www.sobiex.bj.
A part from the commercial ISP two others are dedicated for the national administration (the Ministry of Plan’s server www.planben.bj) and for the academic community (SYFED-REFER www.bj.refer.org/benin_ct).
Costs
For individual, the cost of a dial up connection is comprised between 75 FF and 300 FF, without added-value tax. For NGOs, it comprised between 100 FF without added-value tax and 300 FF without added-value tax and for companies, between 100 FF without added-value tax and 500 FF. Some ISPs do not distinguish between categories of customers (OPT, SECNI, SOBIEX, EIT), while FIRSTNET and Les Arts BOBO (see www.anais.org/oridev/ for details) do so.
SYFED-REFER’s services are dedicated particularly to students (15 FF per month) and lecturers of the national university (25 FF per month) but this costs covers only emails services. The access to the web is charged separately (5 FF per hour).
Private ISPs must pay to OPT 28 000 FF without added-value tax per month (!) for their operating a 64 Kbits leased line and the owner of a PPP connection must pay 4 000,026 FF without added-value tax per month. Those costs are too high and since 1998 OPT has been promising the reduction of its costs.
Cybercenters
Cybercenters spring up presently in Benin. Only four structures offers internet to those without a connected computer at home or at office in 1997, but today their number cannot be accurately estimated without a proper survey. In effect, many companies, owing just a computer and a telephone line proposed internet to the public, which is specific to business in Benin (once a business appears to be profitable, every one rushes in it). Their number may be 200 or even more. But actually, about 10 of them have gained recognition. All cybercenters, except three (Centre SYFED, les Arts BOBO and AIB DOPHIA) have a dial up connection.
Cybercenters can be divided in two categories: “email-first” services providers and web access providers.
Email-first service providers
Basing on the fact that email is the most used service in Benin, they offer mainly email services. Access to the web is optional. Most of them owe a server host abroad and implement their service on a store-and-forward basis. The frequency of their connection to the net varies but is at least 2 times a day. Subscribers have their own email addresses. Their costs are very affordable (20 FF per month and 3FF per mail sent or comprised between 20 FF per month and 60 FF per month with unlimited reception or sending of mails). Imedia Informatique www.beninweb.org , H2COM www.h2com.com, Cyber Songhai www.songhai.org, Les Arts Bobo www.artsbobo.bj offer theses services. The Benin African Virtual Universtiy chapter also offer those services. These centers owe many computers.
Web service providers
First category : They offered directly access to the web and costumers used free web-based mails. They paid between 75 FF and 10 FF per hour, depending on the cybercentres. The availability a web access at 10 FF per hour (on sundays or in the night) corresponds to the reduction of cost that appears nowadays due to the concurrence that is established between cybercenters. The foremost structures are AID DOPHIA (dial up and PPP connection) www.dophia.net, EIT www.eit.bj , SOBIEX www.sobiex.bj (the last two are ISPs). Many computers are available.
Second category : Only one computer is available and people send email through the sole address of the center. In that case messages are charged per unit and often per page of text! Most cybercenters in Benin fall within that category.
INTERNAUTS
As for cybercenters, the number of internauts can no more be stated without a proper survey. However, we may say that there are around 4000 subscribers to Benineses ISPs and cybercenters (many people have web-based free mail accounts). The number of internauts using “beninese” servers is however three or four time the number of subscribers.
Internet Awareness
Although the word “internet” has been heard by most youth and adult literate (less than 30% of the population) its applications and potentials are recognized and mastered by only few people. Internet uses are traditional (email and surfing) and there is no governmental strategy to harness the technology to the development of the country. Content production is not developed and promoted. However, in the framework of the activities of a certain number of international projects (Leland, SDNP, SYFED-REFER), NGOs (ORIDEV www.anais.org/oridev/, ISOC-Bénin www.isoc.bj) and the services offered by ISPs and cybercenters, the awareness of the internet is growing, from day to day. The Leland initiative, apart from having helped the country’s debit to rise from 64 kbits/s to 128 kbits/s, helped some NGOs and journalists to discover internet. The SDNP initiated and sensitise, in the framework of the intranet it intended to set up, the administrative body, some state institutions and some private institutions; it also supported the organization of events like internet fiesta. SYFED-REFER apart from delivering internet to the academic body, organised awareness sessions, for example for librarians. Created in 1998, ORIDEV (www.anais.org/oridev/) train youth and NGOs employees, hold a documentary space specialised in ICTs, edit documents on internet and a bulletin on the evolution of ICTs in Benin and organized conferences, audio-visual debates and awareness events such as internet fiesta (editions of 1999 and 2000). Created in 1999, ISOC-Benin (www.isoc.bj) organized a workshop on the governance of internet and supported the organization of internet fiesta in Benin. Other NGOs like Vinotic, Jeune Chambre, are trying to help develop the sector. But the job to be done is so enormous and the problems facing internet’s development so numerous that all those actions appears to be insignificant and insufficient.
Problems facing internet’s development
The major problems are: computer illiteracy, poor telecommunication system and the current unavailability of telephone lines in many areas especially in major town, monopoly of the national operator, costs of computers and telecommunications and therefore of the internet, lack of awareness of the government and inexistence of a national strategy for the whole sector.
As far as computer literacy is concerned, as for an example, there is no training program implemented in public schools. Even in private school that began to be established in 1990, computer-mediated communications is hardly taught. Therefore, most students finish their studies ignorant of how to use the keyboard. Let’s recall that data processing began to be taught only about 10 years ago. As for computers costs, a new one (a clone in Benin cost around 7000 FF) is 28 times the minimum wage (250 FF). In France for example, with the minimum wage (5500FF) you can by the same computer. Even though taxations on imported computer materials have been reduced since 2000 for a year (almost annulled), computer costs are still high to bear. Moreover, whereas the US citizen, many times richer that the average Beninese, doesn’t pay for the internet (inter-urban telephone communications are free), benineses that possess a connected computer at home pay at least 13,2 FF per hour for telephone communications in using the internet (0,66 FF each three minutes). In addition, the problem of the telephone is really a very crucial one, because, it takes years to get a line. And we know till now, without a telephone line, no internet.
All those difficulties have to be progressively solved to help ICTs be developed and used as a real tool for national development. Among urgent actions to be taken, advocacy holds a large part.
Ken LOHENTO