« Defending the right of free access to information and communication technologies is also about defending the right to development. »
The government has carried out a strategic analysis and actively pursued an ambitious policy, the assets and benefits of which are today undeniable.
Enabling everyone to access, appropriate and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) stands as the factor for common progress and a source of sustainable development. This analysis has made all sections of Gabonese society aware of the sheer scale of the stakes involved and the opportunities to be seized in terms of ICTs.
Recognising our assets
A carefully constructed institutional architecture
Over the years, Gabon has gone to great lengths to introduce a high level of consistency into the organisation of its first operational institutional bodies, such as the:
Directorate General of Information Systems (DGSI), in charge of managing state IT resources and computerising the local government
Coordination of the Regional Environmental Information Management Programme (PRGIE), which contributes to the sustainable use of resources in the Congo Basin area.
Reorganising and liberalising the telecommunications sector
The aim is to completely liberalise this sector in 2006.
The reforms implemented have led to the:
Opening up of the mobile telephony market to competition with the emergence of three operators: Celtel-Gabon, Télécel-Gabon and Libertis.
Creation of Télécom S.A., the leading telecommunications operator resulting from the demerger of the National Post Office and Telecommunications Service, in anticipation of the privatisation of the telecommunications sector.
Establishment of a Telecommunications Regulatory Body.
A wide range of technological infrastructures
In order to bolster the "sustainable development of telecommunications", Gabon possesses various cutting-edge infrastructures, in addition to the SAT-3 submarine cable, based on:
Satellite technologies (the RASCOM satellite placed in orbit)
Extremely high-speed optical fibre technologies
The rural technology programme
Recognising our advantages
Legendary political stability, providing the ideal conditions for setting up partnership-oriented initiatives between states, openly available to the many sectors affected by ICTs and essential for forging rewarding and long-lasting synergies based on international cooperation.
A geostrategic position where the Continent's political, economic, social and cultural preoccupations all converge.
A visionary policy that bears testament to the highly proactive stance adopted by Gabon's leaders in terms of information and communication technologies, and which has enabled several projects to get off the ground, such as:
Africa n°1 : the only African radio station with a continental and international audience.
The Franceville International Medical Research Centre.
The ECOFAC programme and the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP)
Cybertracker
The Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa (COPAX)
A wealth of natural resources (oil, timber, manganese, gold, diamonds, and so on), some of which are and will be essential for the ICT industries, such as niobium.
Telecommunications infrastructures boasting some of the highest performance levels in Africa. Connection to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable symbolically makes Gabon one of the technological gateways to the Continent and offers local and regional populations considerable possibilities in terms of communication and access to the outside world.
One of the most solvent telecommunications markets
More than 300,000 telephone lines for 1.3 million inhabitants.
Highly skilled human resource
50% of the population has been educated to at least secondary level and the literacy rate among youngsters exceeds 72%.
An active civil society rich in innovative projects in the field of information and communication technologies.
Transforming Gabon into a Major Digital Hub (MDH)
At the local level
Identifying and organising strategic capabilities.
Reinforcing Gabon's Digital Presence.
Paving the way for the emergence of digital economic zones.
Determining a legal strategy for ICT-related stakes.
At the regional level
Accelerating the exchange of knowledge.
Providing access to technological infrastructures.
Defining regional models and tools for acquiring, processing and broadcasting information.
At the international level
Restoring the balance of information flows and broadcasting African culture.
Setting up public/private partnerships.
Promoting an African market of information and knowledge.
Helping to structure and set up technological projects with international sponsors.
To serve an African cyberstrategy
Responding to the common stakes
Creating and broadcasting African content.
Protecting intellectual property.
Bridging the digital divide.
An African digital model
Spearheading Gabon's cyberstrategy, the Major Digital Hub provides the Continent with the necessary means for setting out an African cyberstrategy well suited to market monitoring, positioning, coordination, evaluation and action, and conducive to defining an African model for digital integration.
A source of riches and new skills
Enabling Africa to kick-start its own technological boom
Encouraging its sustainable development in the information age
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Omar Bongo Ondimba
President of Gabonese Republique,
Head of State
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