To reduce internet costs for telecom customers throughout the region, the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly, or WATRA, has announced that it is developing programmes to enable infrastructure cooperation among West African nations.

The Executive Secretary, Mr. Aliyu Aboki, revealed that West African countries can share digital infrastructure to reduce costs and improve internet access. This was discussed during a virtual meeting with stakeholders. By sharing resources, countries can avoid duplicating efforts and reduce the financial burden of building and maintaining their infrastructure.

Specifically, Mr. Aboki mentioned that countries can share gateways (digital doors that connect networks) and data centres (massive libraries that store and process data).

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This collaboration can lead to more affordable and widespread internet access in West Africa. West African countries can create a more connected and digitally empowered region by working together.

Empowering the Digital Economy in West Africa

While acknowledging that internet costs remain high in West African nations, Aboki stated that reduced internet access costs would boost each nation’s digital economy and encourage more citizens to use data, increasing telecom operators’ profits.

The WATRA Executive Secretary expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that content held in one African nation must travel through Europe to be accessed in another African nation, identifying a lack of interconnection as another reason driving up the cost of telecom services in the sub-region.

According to him, this is because users’ internet access is becoming more expensive due to the lack of direct connections between data centres in the area. One of WATRA’s most important initiatives is promoting the nations’ interconnectedness.

He added that to strengthen universal service policies and increase rural connections, the organisation collaborates with governments and national regulators in the various West African nations.

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Internet Connectivity and Economic Growth in West Africa

Stating the impacts of internet connectivity on the sub-region economy, Aboki noted that increasing internet penetration, mobile connectivity, and a tech-savvy youth population have led to rapid growth in West Africa’s digital economy.

According to him, the digital economy currently boosts the region’s GDP by about $30 billion a year. West Africa has approximately 400 million mobile users, and the telecom business is now valued at $63.17 billion.

In 2002, WATRA was established due to the need for a common platform for the telecommunications and ICT regulators in the West African region to exchange information, share best practices, and coordinate their actions.

The organisation is crucial to the regional harmonisation of the ICT and telecoms policies and regulatory framework.

The West African Common Regulatory Framework for Telecommunications and ICT, which establishes standards and rules for the regulation of the industry in the area, is created and implemented by WATRA.

To maintain uniformity and compatibility throughout the area, WATRA also coordinates and harmonises the national policies and laws of the member states.