Deregulation and Universal Service for Telecommunications in Central Africa: an Empirical Analysis

Abstract

While studies on comparative analyses between developed and developing countries (DCs) reveal that the availability of telecommunication service has increased in DCs due to the introduction of findings of work on the effects of telecommunication affordability Abstract: The telecommunications sector was at the centre of structural reforms in the 1990s in the countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States (CEMAC). Two decades later, the issue of access to universal service is still very much on the agenda. Drawing on panel data between 2000 and 2018, and based on the adapted Koski (2002) model, we illustrate that liberalisation and privatisation have had a significant impact on the availability of mobile and Internet telecommunications services. The effects of deregulation on affordability, however, do not appear to be significant. The direction of subsidies towards a previously designated operator responsible for universal service obligations is suggested.