The Republic of Congo has planned to invest the sum of 2 243 900 807 FCFA in the development of telecom services in rural areas. The amount represents 75% of the budget of 2 991 867 743 FCFA adopted, on March 25, 2020, by the committee of the Fund for Access and Universal Service in Electronic Communications, meeting in Brazzaville.
During the administrative and budgetary meeting, chaired by the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, Léon Juste Ibombo, the document of strategic orientations for the development of universal access and service of electronic communications for the period 2020-2025 has also been validated.
Three areas have been agreed upon: promoting access by rural and poor communities to basic electronic communications services (voice and data) and to services requiring broadband; encourage the development of new services; the creation of local content and specific applications promoting digital inclusion.
At the end of the meeting, Yves Castanou, the Director General of the Agency for the Regulation of Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE), declared that through the Fund for Access and Universal Service in Electronic Communications, the Congolese government wants “to promote an inclusive policy for the benefit of rural, isolated communities and other disadvantaged sections of the population so that they benefit from the economic and social opportunities offered by electronic communications”.He added that “the operationalization of the Fund is a firm instruction from the Head of State with the aim of reducing the digital divide in the territories”.
