DAL-DHAWEEYE

As long I can remember, my cellphone has been the laughing stock of my friends. When everyone else had flip phones, mine still had an antenna and a bad tendency to pocket-dial people. While others got 3G and international roaming, I could never get bars inside my house. And in the last year, before I moved to Somaliland, my friends all converted to iPhones, Blackberrys, and Droids while I continued using the Motorola burner that my dad bought in 2005. I’ve always paid my own cellphone bills, and as a student on a budget, opted for low-end, pay-as-you-go monthly plans. Most of my phones never had T9, so my texting skills are infantile. I’ve become accustomed to having a phone that doesn’t work half of the time, charges me 25 cents per text received, and functions more as a pager. Just ask my friends…I usually get their calls on my mobile and then call them back from my house landline phone.

Three international companies have launched an ambitious project aimed at connecting a million people in Somaliland with high-speed Internet access. Somcable, Bluwan and Globecomm systems will connect businesses and homes in Somaliland with up to 8Gbps capacity through FTTA (fiber through the air) access. The project is set to start in the capital, Hargeisa, and will later be deployed to other towns such as Burco, Borama and Berbera. Somaliland broke away from Somalia and is considered fairly stable. "We have set a target to provide 1 million subscribers with access to high-speed broadband by 2015, our target market is primarily focused on the cities of the horn of Africa; residentials (affluent or middle class), small-medium enterprises or corporate customers and we have several business models that are adapted to each segment of the market," said Somcable CEO Michael Cothill. To deliver capacity to the mass market, kiosks will be fitted with ...

After Somaliland independence was declared in 18 may 1991, a different telecommunication companies was established and at this current time Somaliland has three telecommunication companies which are: Telesom Company, Somtel and Nationlink. Each of these telecommunication companies in Somaliland has their mission and vision and goals, and there is no relationship between them. All Telecommunication companies in Somaliland provide their clients for different services such as fixed line telephone, Internet services, electricity, mobile services and mobile money transfer. Telecommunication systems have primary role; transporting information or message from one point to another.

Telecommunications in Somaliland   A number of local telecommunications firms operate in the region, including Telesom , Nation Link , Somtel , SomCable