Monrovia – In 18 months, the company has successfully emerged as a competitor to the two GSM companies providing internet services in the country. Having made some inroads, LIBTELCO is now aiming to lead in the sale of affordable data evident by its growing number of customers which include diplomatic missions and big corporations.
The United States Embassy, the Chinese Embassy, UN Agencies, World Bank, and several commercial banks have subscribed to the company’s internet services while ministries and agencies are also some of its major consumers.
“We are also pushing – everyday that comes by, to ensure we revitalize this institution that was once considered dead and we will try to do everything possible to be able to achieve that goal,” said Anderson Slober Chea, Deputy Managing Director for operations.
Chea disclosed that LIBTELCO also provides exclusive internet services to institutions like diplomatic missions and UN agencies for more than a year while also servicing universities and other customers.
“Also, we have connected all University of Liberia’s campuses as part of our ‘School Connect’ program. We’re trying to also connect high schools and community colleges to our system,” he said.
“As we see ourselves, we don’t just want to be the national operator, but our success and reputation should be based on our functions and actions by helping the government, because internet access is important to economic growth”.
The total number of customers from 2013 to 2017, total 170 with 10 (ten) of them being fiber to the home customers (FTTH – Fiber To The Home/ Home Customers).
From 2018 to present, the company has a total of 646 customers with 434 being fiber to the home customers.
This is a huge jump in the customer base from 170 up to 2017 to 646 in July of 2020. Of that number, we have quadruple the customer for FTTH from 10 home customers to 434.
Chea say the state-owned company has adopted a five-year plan and it is “fiercely and forcefully” implementing the agenda to bringing the SOE to its pre-war status.
Founded in 1973 by an Act of the Legislature, LIBTELCO is a State-owned enterprise that operates Liberia’s fixed line communications infrastructure and provides internet services to residents and businesses. The company says it is committed to exercising good corporate governance practices, being a socially responsible company, and a role model for other businesses in the country.
LIBETLCO is the government own Internet Service Provider (ISP) and National Operator which suggests that company has a task of taking the lead in the telecommunications industry.
Right To Internet?
As global debate and advocacy for access to internet as a human right gains traction across the world, Chea says LIBTELCO “will do our possible best to reach to the length and berth of Liberia”.
Chea refuted public perceptions that the company is only keen on servicing big customers like companies and diplomatic missions instead of targeting ordinary Liberian customers and small businesses.
He disclosed that “there has been a surge” in home customers, adding that there is also a “huge increment” in the number of home customers the company has had in recent months as demands continue to grow.
“Based on these demands, we are strategizing to see how we can manage to connect and sustain all of the home customers because it is our duty to make sure that everybody who wants internet gets internet,” he said, while detailing some of the services the company provides for small businesses.
“We launched something called ‘City Wi-Fi’ to ensure that customers of entertainment centers and restaurants have access to internet – you can buy a token as cheap as anything in Liberian dollars [at the entertainment center or restaurant] and it allows you browse for an hour – you will be able to check your emails and go on social media.”
He said the city Wi-Fi service has been slowed because of the pandemic but will continue after the outbreak but said the company is still open to providing services to new customers, adding that the company’s bandwidth capacity is massive and can serve the entire country.
Despite the progress, there have been some challenges, says the Deputy Managing Director for Operations, who added that the company has the capacity to service the entire country.
“The only thing that is our little Achille heel is the issue of getting the right resources to be able to expand across the country – but no matter how many people come on our internet, we are not going to have any issue,” he said.
Commenting on decentralizing the company’s services to other booming commercials cities like Ganta in Nimba County and Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, Chea said there are plans to resuscitate all of the company’s existing infrastructure across the country to begin providing services in these major cities.
“What we are about to do is just to build on those existing infrastructures and then with the needed resources, we will launch there. For example, we are building a tower in Marshall – that tower is going to launch us to Buchanan…”
He, however, stressed that availability of capital expenditure (CAPEX) is key to expanding across the country.
Responding to the coronavirus pandemic
LIBTELCO has set up a call center for the COVID-19 National Response Team to enhance their performance against the pandemic. At the beginning of the outbreak when a lockdown was put in place, all top government officials’ homes were equipped with “high speed fiber” network to ensure they work from home and hold important meetings with the President.
“That alone help to minimize the movement and gathering of people because these officials were able to meet the president via the internet so they could hold meeting and respond to the outbreak,” Chea said, adding that LIBTELCO is keen on providing efficient services to the government during the pandemic as working via the internet has become very essential due to travel restrictions and the social distancing protocol.