The Gambia Government has issued a mobile GSM operational license to Gambian-owned Giraffe Telecom company.

The country now has five mobile GSM operators in the country.

Ebrima Sillah, minister of information and communication, said: “I can emphatically confirm that we issued a license for a fifth operator in this country, and it is about necessity. Of course, there is a space for a fifth operator, it’s all good for the Gambian customers.”

“If we have a new company, the others will start looking over their back and then see what this new player is doing to compete in the market and competition is good for the Gambian people,” he added.

According to Mr Sillah, the government had looked at a number of factors from the operational level to regulatory oversight before issuing the licence. 

He said “PURA some months ago did a consultancy on a usage of spectrum and it’s a fact that almost 75 percent or more of the entire spectrum of the country is in the hands of two operators and sometimes they are not being used.

“So, the spectrum alignment consultancy was meant to ensure that you keep what you pay for and what you use and the rest should return back to the state and ensure it’s reused for other purposes.”

Mr Sillah continued: “Looking at the market structures of GSM companies in this country, almost all of them with exception of Gamtel are majority foreign owned. 

“This one when it came before us: one important criteria, we asked who are the owners, what are the majority shareholders and we discovered through the documentation presented to us that between 60 and 70 percent are owned by ordinary Gambians who are doing business in this country.”

The minister added: “I see no reason why we should not empower our own people to set up businesses in this (GSM mobile) sector for money to remain here. 

“When you give a license as it is with all the others that are having their current licenses, you have a window to deploy your equipment, test them and then operate.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba

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