Benin has achieved outstanding growth in the mobile phone market over the last 3 years. Even though Benin’s fixed-line infrastructure is entirely digital, it only reaches 1% of the population and thus has impeded the use of the Internet. 110 300 fixed lines were in use in 2007, while 150 000 internet users were recorded in Benin in March 2008.
Benin had recently established an independent regulator. Aggressive restructuring of the Office des postes et télécommunication (OPT) by the government has caused a degree of uncertainty in the liberalisation of the sector. The mobile phone sector, already highly competitive with four networks, has not gone unaffected. It is estimated that the country will experience significant growth prospects when a clear and investor-friendly framework is implemented. Penetration rates in the country remain well below African averages, with 1.895 million mobile users in Benin in 2007.
