PUBLISHER: BuddeComm | PRODUCT CODE: 1044713
PUBLISHER: BuddeComm | PRODUCT CODE: 1044713
Benin starts process to end the duopoly in the mobile market
The limited fixed-line telecom infrastructure in Benin has meant that the vast majority of internet connections are made via the mobile networks of MTN Benin and Moov. These networks also account for most voice calls and data traffic.
MTN Benin and Moov have operated a duopoly in the mobile sector since 2018, when other players in the market failed. Following the end of one of these, Libercom (once a subsidiary of Bénin Télécoms), the government transferred the former assets of Bénin Télécoms Infrastructures to the state-owned infrastructure company SBIN.
In early 2020, the government directed that SBIN should enter the mobile sector, partly making up for the loss of Libercom. The move redefined the role of SBIN within a restructured telecom market. A process to offer fourth new licence was started in mid-2021. The new network operator must have experience in telecoms and must also be independent of MTN Group and Etisalat/Maroc Telecom, the owners of the current active MNOs.