Algeria: Mobile 4G slated for September 2016…

The Minister of Post and Information and Communication Technologies, Ms Imane Feraoune-Houda, said the mobile phone operators, the winners of the tender for the exploitation of 4G Internet service in Algeria, will be known on 23rd May 2016, stressing that the latter wouldn’t be bound to any cap in terms of coverage.

The winners of the tender, launched in January, will have three months to market this service including its proper exploitation which is scheduled for no later than the last quarter of the current year, the Minister added.

“Unlike 3G, no cap is to be applied in terms of 4G coverage,” she told the APS News Agency, adding that operators “will have the flexibility to choose the rate that suits them within the proportion of technical and financial means available, with the threshold of 10% coverage in the provinces selected for the first four years.”

“This formula was adopted to allow operators to ensure, at the same time, GSM communications, 3G and 4G”, the Minister further explained.

Moreover, commenting on rumors that her ministry would consider to block certain free applications for Internet communication, listed under “Voice Over IP” just like Viber and WhatsApp, the Minister assured that “things cannot continue in this direction, especially as the owners of these applications provide no added value, neither in Algeria, nor in other countries, because they don’t pay taxes and don’t contribute to technology transfer while they are reaping colossal gains. “

“Although the freedom of Internet information exchange is enshrined in Algerian law, the preservation of state sovereignty gives us the right to block certain sites harmful to the society like those involved in drug trafficking, child pornography or electronic recruitment by terrorist groups”, stressed Ms. Houda Feraoun, adding “today there is no question of blocking this type of applications because we simply don’t have another alternative”, while calling for the development of similar software applications that are purely Algerian.

In another development, the minister announced the putting into service in February 2017 of the new Oran/Valencia under-sea cable, stressing that this additional technical support will promote increased Internet speed in Algeria.

The cable in question, endowed with a second additional cable, will greatly contribute to achieving the commitment of the relevant authorities who intend to make 2016, the year of phased reductions on the Internet offers and increased internet flows, while avoiding any cut in the Internet connection  like the one recorded last year due to the deterioration of the submarine cable linking Annaba to Marseilles.

Moreover, the minister evoked the network coverage problems in border areas where citizens are forced to resort to a foreign operator to make calls, saying to this effect that Algeria “has started negotiations with Tunisia, which led to a joint coordination on the matter that enabled the use of a new technique that will be put into operation in April 2016.”