In June last year, Teolis, Togo’s third internet service provider (ISP), spent more than CFA211 million to acquire an operating license. The telecommunications operator however launched its activities in the country only last February 22^nd. With a total investment of CFA1 billion since its creation, the new firm seems to be faring well. Its goals in Togo apparently align with that of the government, knowingly connecting the whole Togolese population, both rural and urban, to the rest of the world via broadband over the next decade.

In this interview with Togo First, José Anyovi, Managing Director Teolis, answers some of our questions.

Togo First: What innovations does TEOLIS bring to the Togolese market?

José Anyovi (JA): First, Teolis is a new ISP that acquired a license to operate in Togo. It will thus add much value to the country’s digital economy. Our main objective at Teolis is to provide a reliable, fast and economic internet service, both for professionals and the general public. We want to cover all of Togo and connect Togolese people to the rest of the world. In terms of innovations, we bring a certain diversity with technologies that our firm uses. This would allow all groups of the society to have access to internet services at interesting prices.

We have access to LTE technology which is expanding rapidly nowadays. It is one of the latest technologies in the telecommunication sector. None of the operators actually present in Togo has a license to use this technology.

Togo First: What about Vivendi Africa Group which is just landing in the market…?

JA: Well, Vivendi mostly deals with fiber optic and does not focus on the same sector as us. The technology that Teolis uses targets the general public, and is mostly related to mobile.

Togo First: Why did you decide to be established in Togo?

JA: Teolis is a Togolese company established by Togolese for Togolese people.  

Togo First: In Togo, customer service is still a major challenge that needs to be overcome. In this regard, what are presently the means at the disposal of Teolis to improve the quality of customer service?

JA: First, before offering any services, TEOLIS conducts a field study whose results it later releases. After this stage, deployment has to be planned. One of the advantages of TEOLIS is that it provides its major corporate clients monitoring tools.

Another thing is our teams’ reactivity. For example, a proactive team was dispatched to monitor our Network operations center (NOC). It is well equipped to tackle issues when they arise.

Togo First: TEOLIS comes with 4G. A technology that Togolese are not yet used to. What average speed should be expected? At what costs?

JA: Today, we wish under our strategy, to start our deployment with companies and the minimum speed we intend to provide is 4Mo/s. We have two different offers, including the business offer which is fully dedicated and the smart pro offer which is a shared formula.

Togo First: Togo’s government wants to increase Internet’s penetration rate to more than 90% by 2030. How will TEOLIS contribute to the achievement of this goal?

JA : Teolis fully shares the government’s ambition to increase internet’s penetration rate to 90% by 2030, especially since we also target the general public, both in urban and rural areas. The latter is left out in the major transition towards digital terminals. As a result, we mainly wish to focus on rural areas, as we said while launching.

Togo First: But more specifically, in terms of figures, what will your contribution be?

JA : We cannot tell since each operator has a role to play in covering the country. However, for its part, Teolis will focus on the general public as this is currently not fully taken care of.

Togo First: In Togo, mobile represents 99% of internet’s market shares while ISPs capture about 0.66%. What strategies will you leverage on to reach the general public?

JA: Teolis has a progressive expansion plan for the next five years and it will be unveiled at each developmental stage. As for our strategy, we have already revealed it while launching. Teolis Zone will be available soon. It is part of our strategy adressing mobile users.

Togo First :…Teolis Zone ? What is that?

The service will be presented when launched with all necessary details. It is our next offer.

Interview by Fiacre E. Kakpo

“Only vehicles meeting technical standards in place and respecting the maximum legal load and size, will be allowed to use public roads,” the Togolese government declared last Wednesday, during a ministers’ council.

This aims at avoiding the roads’ rapid degradation and make the infrastructures safer for populations, the ministers’ council said.

Still in the same regard, the government plans to use specific equipment to proceed to vehicle weighing and set technical control for vehicles.

Violations under the new approach include: exceeding maximum legal load, refusal to take vehicle to weighing station and road degradation (voluntary or not). In the case of the latter, the guilty individual is to pay for rehabilitation. In addition, the government also said it considers as a violation, failure to proceed to technical control.

During the recent ministers’ council held on March 21, 2018, the government declared it wants to tighten regulation against violations caused by social network users. The decision arose as authorities noticed limitations of the current regulation; one of such limitations being the inability to engage civil and penal liability of internet users.

Meanwhile, “many hate speeches and fake news are spread online, on social networks particularly; this is a global source of concern and a serious threat to social stability and social peace”, reads the decision’s explanatory statement. In this framework, new laws will be adopted. Among these, government plans to adopt a law related to fake news and create a reporting platform.    

However, before all these new measures are implemented, non-coercive measures will be first taken. For example, authorities want to “train populations to digital culture, through education and prevention measures; ease detection of abusive content by putting in place reporting processes; encourage self-regulation by establishing a trust-based relationship with ICT firms”.   

Additionally, the government wants to “tighten regulation of social networks by initiating a sensitization campaign on their use, and by signing with representatives of entities like Facebook and Twitter a code of good conduct”.  

This aims at ensuring a “responsible use of these media, to preserve social peace and ensure the respect of public and individual liberties”.

Togo’s power utility, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET), wants to connect this year, twice more users than it currently has. From 50,000, this number should rise to 100,000 according to CEET’s Managing Director, Mawussi Kakatsi.

To achieve its target, the utility launched a large scale connection scheme involving many incentives. The latter includes the 30% decrease in connection fees and the payment of those in installments by users over six months. The fees should even be further reduced in the future.

Still to this end, works will be conducted to rehabilitate, reinforce and make local distribution network more autonomous. CEET has benefited in this framework, a significant funding provided by its technical and financial partners.

On March 20, 2018, the University of Lomé got teaching equipment from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The equipment which was in effect granted to the university’s school of agriculture (ESA), is valued at CFA160 million.

It includes mostly pulpers, huskers, crushers, sprayers, a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometer.

This equipment will help boost quality of research works at ESA’s research laboratory for agricultural resources and environmental health which will be using it. It will also benefit the neem seed based bio-pesticides production unit.

The ministries of agriculture and environment were the ones that provided the university the equipment.