Streamlined telecoms sector goes mobile
INCREASED AVAILABILITY OF CELLPHONES, ALONG WITH FOREIGN BACKING, HAVE LED TO AN EXPLOSION IN THE NUMBER OF MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS AS HAITIAN TELECOMS OPERATORS ADAPT TO MODERNIZATION

JEAN ARRY CEANT Managing Director of Conatel

The telecommunications sector was a stagnating state monopoly until privatization became a government priority. Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communication, Ernst Laraque, had it at the top of his portfolio, but was wary of privatizing and totally rejecting the “old for the new.” He favored a more pragmatic blend of public and private control, allowing new private communications companies like Haitel to appear, while the original state organization Teleco continued operating on the condition that it improved its services in order to compete.
The state regulatory agency for this new liberalized telecoms sector is Conatel (Conseil National des Télécommunications). Jean Arry Ceant, fresh from several years in the U.S., was appointed Managing Director in 1995. “At that time, there was no internet operation, no cellular operation, no modern beeper operation,” he says. “We were so far behind.”

Mr. Ceant’s chief concern as Conatel MD was the telephone operation. He understood the need to diversify the market, and awarded a license to the Comcel private phone company. Then he advised the government to involve the state-owned phone company Teleco in the cellphone market. They now have 70,000 subscribers. “The business is flying,” says Mr. Ceant. “When we started, a cellphone cost $600. Now it is $120. Tomorrow it will be free. You will only have to pay for services once there is competition.” In the last five years, phone penetration has risen from 0.7% to about 3% and Mr. Ceant hopes to see this reach 20% over the next five years.

FRANCK N. CINÉ President of Haitel

He regrets, however, that some countries are still wary of investing in Haiti for reasons such as bureaucratic delays, structural problems, outdated laws. “If things were simplified, we could achieve a lot,” he says.
Haiti’s first privately-run telecommunications company, Haitel, has already achieved a lot. Run by Franck N. Ciné, a Haitian who lived in the U.S. for 20 years and became a vice president of U.S. operator MCI, Haitel is one of the country’s largest foreign projects. With the backing of Nortel, Mr. Ciné financed a $100 million investment to form the country’s first cellular phone company. It now has over 50,000 subscribers, covers most of Haiti and has made a profit in its first year. “This is a company that started making a profit from the word go,” he says. “Every
single penny is reinvested in the project.”

CONNECTING HAITI TO THE WORLD The recently liberalized Haitian telecommunications sector is to be regulated by Conatel.

Mr Ciné’s achievement counters Haiti’s negative reputation. “Our major goal was to improve the image of the country and we have done that,” he maintains. “We have a product that is for everybody and a company managed by Haitians which is successful.” He’s proud of the fact that a once luxury item like a cellphone is now available to all levels of society.

He thinks international attitudes are discriminatory and false when they cite Haiti’s inability to adapt to modernization. “Haitians can go anywhere and be successful,” he observes from personal experience. “In New York, Haitians are the best doctors and its community is considered the most adaptable and successful. In Canada we have a large number of teachers in the education system.” He welcomes the fact that Haitel is a Haitian/U.S. company but would like the U.S. to be more supportive and give longer term help to improve life in his country.
Haiti now needs peace to create progress. It also needs structural adjustment after decades of inefficiency and mismanagement. Mr. Ciné had to overcome many difficulties when setting up Haitel. “We did it with strong support from Nortel,” he says. He would like to see other current projects, especially those concerning tourism infrastructure, fare equally well.