Southern Sudan Seeks Own Code

The Government of Southern Sudan is pushing to have Khartoum allow its two telecom operators — Gemtel and Vivacell — to operate beyond its 1956 border.

According to GoSS Minister for Telecoms and Postal Services, Maj-Gen Gier Chuang, Juba wants the government in Khartoum to allow Gemtel and Vivacell to operate in the North as well.

The border that separates North Sudan from the South has great bearing on the implementation of most protocols, including the share of oil revenue from the South and the establishment of political constituencies along the border line.

Speaking at the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation Africa e-Gov Forum 2009 in Kigali, Rwanda, Maj-Gen Chuang said the biggest challenge of the two telecoms operating in isolation was that the South has not yet acquired its own international gateway for the telecoms.

“These two operators were already functional even before the peace agreement. They were not recognised since we were being referred to as rebels. Even after we signed the establishment of GoSS, the regulator does not allow them to operate in the North,” he said.

Sudan has four national telecom operators — Kuwait-based Zain, the South African subsidiary MTN, Sudatel and Carna Telecom. It also has two others which are exclusively for the South — Gemtel Mobile Network and the Lebanese-owned Vivacell.

Click here for the rest of the story.