Update April 2000: Algeria

Last December, one of the major changes that the political scene witnessed is the substitution of the members of the Government. As far as the Posts and Telecommunication sector (P & T) is concerned, the former minister Mr Youyou Abdelmalek has been replaced by Mr Meghlaoui Mohamed.

This newly appointed government reinforces the policy of the previous one towards a more free market and the liberalisation of different economic sectors including that of Posts and telecommunications.

As a matter of fact, Mr Meghlaoui has recently focused on the fact that the sector must undergo deep changes as soon as possible. The reform of the current organisation and even the functioning of the PTT ministry is to be engaged. A project law is under elaboration and is to modernise the current PTT code established since 1983. It also intends to open the sector to private and public operators in priority the exploitation of the GSM.These changes will, no doubt, impulse the Information Society progress for which the development of the telecom infrastructure is a necessary background.

In the interview that Mr Meghlaoui gave to the national press (March, 2000) he declared that the priorities of the foreseen reform are at three principal axes :

• the modernisation of the regulatory and juridical framework to allow our country to evoluate in the new international telecommunication context (the separation of the posts from the telecommunication is expected for a better administration of the telecommunications)
• the levelling the national existing telecommunication network to go with the future competition through recently launched projects of the acquisition of signalisation, processing and dispatching (forwarding) systems,
• Entering Algeria in the Internet era

The ministry of communication and culture, which is in charge of the media (written press, Radio and TV broadcasting and all the cultural activities), has also undergone the change of its first responsible Mr Rahabi Abdelaziz by Mr Tebboune Abdelmadjid.

At a local level, Algiers, has changed its status. For the last three years, it has held the status of a Gouvernorat (super-capital) called the "Gouvernorat du Grand Alger GGA". But the new government reversed this status to a wilaya as it was the case before.

SATIM (though previously mentioned as a key organisation and an IS project leader) is especially active currently in the field of banking system reformation. As a matter of fact, Algeria is intending to enter banks into the monetics era by launching the "Specialised inter-bank network" project.

EEPAD (One of the Algerian private ISPs specialised in tele-education services located in Annaba, east Algeria) inaugurated last month an Internet access server in the capital city Algiers. This event gathered a lot of participants such as professionals, journalists and the public.

In the framework of the IS project "Schools Internet connection" led by the "Direction de l’Education" of Tlemcen (west Algeria), this latter has moved a step forward by connecting 25 high schools, 12 colleges and 6 primary schools. The event was celebrated with the presence of local authorities and representatives of local educational staff.

The last quarter of 2000, new KPCOs has been included.

• Interministerial commission for the agreements of ISPs.
• SEFP (State secretariat for professional training): Ministry in charge of the professional training. It has launched a wide project of the connection of all the institutions of the sector to Internet and the implementation of an administrative Intranet.
• HOLDMAN (Public Holding of Manufacturing Industries) manages more than 114 companies and is leading a wide project of networking these companies.
• LAMOS (Laboratory of modelization and optimization of systems) University of Béjaia is launching projects related to school interconnection at the Mediterranean level.
• SNTF (National company of railway transport): is involved in an IS project of railway tickets sale automation .
• CNERIB (National center of studies and research on building) is involved in IS project.
• CCI Seybouse (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Seybouse). It plays a representative, administrative and economical expansion role. It has in charge the introduction of the desirable commercial, industrial, taxation and customs tariffs legislative changes to the concerned authorities. Add to this, its role in training and information. It is involved in an IS project.