Enhancing the telecommunications infrastructure
Telecommunications
The period of the 11th Plan was marked by the enhancing of the networks’ basic infrastructure through:
- Enhancing the transmission networks and the local networks for subscribers with optical fiber cables, and extending the high bandwith digital transmission systems, meeting the needs of an ever-growing activity in the field of communications.
- Consolidating Tunisia’s linking with the world communications network in order to increase the national network’s capacity and ensure further fluidity for international telephone traffic, especially through a third underwater cable linking Tunisia and Italy, which will start being exploited from December 2009 and which will supplement the SEAMEWE 4 underwater cable and the Keltra underwater cable.
- Extending the national switching network and improving the quality of its services.
- Enhancing the capacity of the mobile telephony switching centers in parts of the country that have transfer problems, and setting up new centers in the north-west, the north-east, the south and the Sahel. These efforts will be pursued in 2009 to modernize and improve the services and to provide about 50% additional capacity for switching equipment; this will improve quality and promote added value services.
Thus an ambitious program has been started to develop a very high bandwith for economic enterprises and administrations. It consists in a national program aiming at providing subscribers with means of access by using optical fibers in 300 economic and administrative regions for a total cost estimated at 120 million dinars (MD). This program was designed after Tunisie Télécom had carried out the first phase for a total cost of 10 MD, and enabled the network to be brought near to business buildings in over 50 industrial and administrative areas in the governorates of Tunis and Ariana. The program not only aims at providing a high bandwith but also constitutes an activity that enables the creation of enterprises specialized in setting up, running and maintaining networks. Tunisie Télécom took the initiative of adopting preferential pricing, i.e. the same SL traditional price setting but with a doubled speed through the use of optical fibers.
Efforts was also done to provide communications services that enabled telephone traffic to be made more dynamic at regional and international level, to make sure that Tunisia was better connected up to other countries and allow it to join major world communications projects. With this aim, a strategy was crafted that was essentially based on the following main lines:
- Keeping on efforts to ensure and improve traffic and diversify land, sea and satellite links.
- Enhancing Tunisia’s connection to the world networks, in order to meet the ever-growing demands of the national economy in the field of international communications, while guaranteeing the network’s complete safety, so that Tunisia can become a transit platform for North Africa.
Digitalization of Radio and TV broadcasting
- Broadcasting national TV programs (TV7) using digital technique on the ARKIFA Company’s Galaxie 25 satellite to ensure coverage of North America and on the European Spatial Communications Company’s two (Eutelsat W2 and Hotbird) satellites to ensure coverage of Europe and North Africa, as well as on the Arab Spatial Communications Company’s Arabsat Badr 6 satellite, to ensure coverage of the Arab World and the countries of the African Sahel.
- Keeping on broadcasting national TV programs (TV7) using digital technique on the Egyptian Satellites Company’s Nilesat satellite, to ensure coverage of the Gulf States, the Arab Machrek and part of North Africa.
- Keeping on broadcasting national TV programs (Tunisie 21) using digital technique on the two (Arabsat Badr 6 and Nilesat) satellites.
- Starting up a digital land TV (TNT) after a pilot project of digital land broadcasting in Greater Tunis was carried out. This network will ensure almost 90% coverage of the population by early 2010.
Radio Broadcasting
- Keeping on broadcasting national, international and cultural radio programs using digital techniques on the European Spatial Communications Company’s Eutelsat W2 and Hotbird satellites, on the Arab Spatial Communications Company’s Arabsat Badr 6 satellite and on the Egyptian Satellites Company’s Nilesat satellite, to ensure coverage of the Arab World, the countries of the African Sahel, the Gulf states, the Arab Machrek and part of North Africa.
- Continuing broadcasting national and international radio programs on the ARKIFA Company’s Galaxie 25 satellite, to ensure coverage of North America.
- Broadcasting Radio Ezzitouna on the Arabsat Badr 6 and Nilesat satellites.
The functioning and distance control network
Keeping on setting up of the remote control and mastery network in transmission stations to ensure broadcasting to isolated and uninhabited areas.
Rationalizing the use of the frequency spectrum
As part of the efforts exerted to extend radio cover at national level and to ensure continuous checking operations of radio operations and make sure these comply with the permits granted, the National Frequencies Agency (ANF) has strengthened the fixed radio stations by building a radio watchdog in the El Ghazala Technoparc to supervise all the regional centers. A second mobile unit was acquired for measuring and checking the frequency spectrum.To ensure better use of the frequency spectrum, to keep up with technological developments, and complying with the internationally-adopted standards, the following measures were taken:
- The 3.5 GHz band was freed to reserve it for Wimax network services
- The 1.5 GHz band was freed to reserve it for the IMT2000 international mobile networks
- Operators were encouraged to use the upper bands, such as the 38 GHz band, for fixed services (radio link for short connections), in order to restrict the use of the lower bands, which will be reserved for new technique such as third-generation mobile phones and (IMT2000) developed systems.
The electromagnetic environment
To keep up with the rapidly changing communications technologies, a laboratory will be set up for electromagnetic conformity that will enable mechanisms for measuring repercussions on the electromagnetic environment to be developed, will mitigate electromagnetic pollution and will make an evaluation of communications equipments, like other electronic and electric equipment. Also, laboratories reserved for electromagnetic equipment and communications terminals in the CERT (the Telecommunications Studies and Research Center) will be upgraded to obtain international accreditation. All these projects come under the signing of agreements with the European Union for reciprocal recognition and the acceptance of industrial products’ certificates of compliance.
