2013 will be ‘internet year’ for Gabon

GOVERNMENT

Gabon’s National Agency for Digital Infrastructure and frequencies (ANINF) has proclaimed 2013 “the year of the Internet in Gabon”.

At a recent meeting between ANINF, Internet Service Providers and members of civil society, the ANINF said it wishes to significantly develop Internet coverage, thereby reducing the digital divide. To do so, it has sought out companies specialising in supporting internet development, such as the Dutch company OPEN LTD, which was also present at the session.

The Deputy Director-general of ANINF, Cyriaque Didier Kouma, said Gabon’s this digital revolution is being encouraged by the arrival of the second ACE cable at the end of 2012 and by the redeployment of the domain name “.ga”, defended by the project called DIG (Gabon Internet Domain).

Improving connectivity in Gabon remains one of the government's main preoccupations. In 2010, the authorities undertook to achieve a significant reduction in the costs of Internet access, within the scope of their aim of achieving the emergence of the digital economy by 2016.

Gabon is currently connected to the Internet via satellite and via the submarine cable SAT-3. The arrival of the ACE cable should make it possible to triple the country's connectivity, from 1.2 to 4.9 Gbit/s.