Slashdot Mirror
Anarchy Brings Low Telecom Prices In Somalia
AlanKHG writes "As Somalia has been without a government for 13 years, its telecom market has gone unregulated. In that time, the service has become some of the best in Africa. On the other hand, some of the downsides of a society without government are visible, as the country is divided by warring factions and the roads have gone completely unmaintained."
Somalia can be considered several regions. Somaliland (western Somalia) considers itself a seperate country and maintains a working government (working by the standards of a 3rd world African nation). Puntland also maintains some rule of order (not as much as Somaliland, it seems), but considers itself a part of Somalia, and wants to see the creation of a federated Somalia. The southwest portion of Somalia is what we would consider to be the anarchistic Somalia, with small regions being held by whoever can collect guns and followers. In addition, in southwest Somalia is Mogadishu, which is partially controlled by the transitional gov't. (For those counting, that's three named governments/regions (Somaliland, Puntland, the transitional gov't/Mogadishu) and a good chunk of the country run by local warlords.)
So which part are we talking about? The (mostly unrecognized by the world at large, relatively stable) country of Somaliland, the (somewhat stable) autonomous region of Puntland, or the rest of Somalia?
Good telecom in Somaliland and Puntland wouldn't be an example of a telephone system in an anarchistic land. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if a powerful warlord with a large holding had decent telecom service.
TFA gives me the impression that the researcher is only talking about Mogadishu, which, from what I can tell, is just outside of the territory that Puntland claims, but still within its sphere of influence, with parts controlled by the transitional government of Somalia. Mogadishu wasn't stable during the US Military action there a decade ago, and googling, I find articles about kidnappings and murders. At the same time, I find an article which implies that southern Mogadishu is more stable than northern Mogadishu.
I'd be impressed if the telecoms stayed working in areas which were under true anarchy and lawlessness. I'd be less impressed if the telecoms are opperating in and from areas where a particular warlord or government is strong.
In any case, my google refresher on Somalia gives me no urge to live under anarchy, regardless of the benefits. The natives of Somalia seem to agree with me -- even the telecoms want to pay taxes, if it means a stable gov't.
It is not surprising that it takes only three days to install a land line. Service is good if phone use is a privilege of the filthy rich. Prices may be very low by international standards, but most Somalis are very, very poor. The number of phones is very low, the users are rich, and the employees of the phone company earn very little compared to the users. They can afford to appoint a guy who will work fulltime to install the land line immediately.
If the next government of Somalia is a socialist government, the exact same service by the same people will suddenly be very bad because everyone will have a right to a phone for an affordable price.
Have you seen the caption under the picture? It says "Somalis send e-mails in their own language". That is informative, isn't it?