TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM　IN CÔTE D´IVOIRE

This paper analyzes Cote d’Ivoire’s experience with telecommunications liberalization　and privatization. Cote d'Ivoire privatized its incumbent operator in 1997, and granted the　newly privatized firm seven years of fixed-line exclusivity while introducing "managed　competition" in the cellular market and free competition in value-added services (VAS). By　March 2001, three cellular operators and a number of VAS providers had entered the market.Reform has thus significantly changed the landscape of Cote d’Ivoire’s telecommunications　sector and has brought with it tremendous improvement in sector performance. Between　1997 and 2001 fixed-line telephone penetration grew from 1.03 to 1.80 per hundr ed people,　while mobile penetration skyrocketed from 0.26 to 4.46. However, it is still too early to　assess the validity of granting exclusivity to the incumbent operator; while penetrationin　creased, the operator did not meet objectives regarding rural telephony and service quality.Moreover, fixed-line penetration increased in areas where the operator faced competition