Gambia Telecommunications
For information on Gambia telecommunications contact details, please see the following link:
4.8 Gambia Additional Service Provision Contact List
4.1 Gambia Government Contact List
Formulation of policy on telecoms services (telephone, GSM and Internet services) is the responsibility of the Department of State for Communication, Information and Information Technology (DoSCIIT). DoSCIIT is responsible for the approval and issue of licenses, issue of frequencies and the collection of the appropriate license and spectrum fees. A government agency PURA (Public Utilities Regulatory Agency) was created by an act of the National Assembly to regulate the sector (in addition to other public utility sectors).
Although telephone/GSM services are available nationwide, there are some areas where low or no coverage are experienced for all the providers. The three operating GSM companies provide normal mobile telephone services (Calling, SMS). COMIUM provides GPRS services. QCELL plans to have Internet and video services as well when they launch.
Telephone Services |
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Is there an existing landline telephone network? (Yes / No) |
Yes. Only one land line operator
|
|
Does it allow international calls? (Yes / No) |
Yes |
|
On average, number and length of downtime periods |
n/a |
|
Mobile phone providers (List) |
Yes. GAMTEL (Gambia Telecommunications Co. Limited) |
|
Estimated availability and coverage (Approximate percentage of national coverage) |
Nationwide |
Telecommunication Regulation
Regulations |
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Regulations on usage or import of: |
Yes / No |
Regulating Authority |
Satellite |
No |
There are no regulations regarding what Satellites to connect to. Once a VSAT license is obtained, one can connect to any satellite service provider. |
HF Radio |
Yes |
An authorisation is required which is obtainable from DoSCIIT upon application in writing giving general information such as the reason why it is required, number of repeaters, number of hand held equipment and number of vehicle mounted equipment, simplex or duplex. |
UHF/VHF/HF radio: handheld, base and mobile |
Yes |
An authorisation is required which is obtainable from DoSCIIT upon application in writing giving general information such as the reason why it is required, number of repeaters, number of hand held equipment and number of vehicle mounted equipment, simplex or duplex. |
UHF/VHF repeaters |
Yes |
An authorisation is required which is obtainable from DoSCIIT upon application in writing giving general information such as the reason why it is required, number of repeaters, number of hand held equipment and number of vehicle mounted equipment, simplex or duplex. |
GPS |
Yes |
An authorisation is required which is obtainable from DoSCIIT upon application in writing giving general information such as the reason why it is required, number of repeaters, number of hand held equipment and number of vehicle mounted equipment, simplex or duplex. |
VSAT |
Yes |
A license is required. There are 3 categories of license: 1. Commercial/corporate (Banks) 2. Private non-commercial (diplomatic missions, UN System) 3. Educational (NGOs) |
Individual Network Operator Licenses Required n/a Frequency Licenses Required
|
Existing Humanitarian Telecoms Systems
All the UN agencies are connected to one single VHF and HF system housed in UN House, where WFP, UNDP and UNICEF have offices. UNDP, WFP, UNICEF and WHO each have their independent VSATs.
It will be technically feasible for WFP, UNDP and UNICEF to share each others VSAT connection, but some expert configuration has to be made since each of these VSATs has different routing configurations.
Existing UN Telecommunication Systems |
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Organisations |
UNDP |
UNICEF |
UNAIDS |
UNFPA |
FAO |
UNHCR |
WHO |
VHF frequencies |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
HF frequencies |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Repeaters (Locations) |
Yes |
Yes |
n/a |
n/a |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
VSAT |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
For information on Gambia telecommunications contact details, please see the following link:
4.8 Gambia Additional Service Provision Contact List
4.1 Gambia Government Contact List
For information on Gambia telecommunications additional details, please see the following document:
Gambia Telecommunications Additional Details
Note: The information provided in the attached documents, which has been taken from the old DLCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.