1- How would you assess 2009 ?

2009 was an exceptional year for us in spite of the many  upheavals we witnessed.    
It was the year during which the world witnessed – historically - a revolution, with Mr Obama as the first person of colour to be elected  President of the world’s greatest economic and military power;
It was the year during which the world experienced one of its worst economic crises - even if things gradually started to pick up again from the second semester;
It is the year which saw Africa rival the most powerful continents in sheer numbers of GSM service users (a record 450 million) – more than South America and slightly less than Asia;
2009 is also the year during which the GVG group formed important partnerships with several African countries, thanks to which they are now able to earn important additional revenue from their international gateways.
In resumé we can say that 2009 was a relatively positive year for the world in general and for GVG and its partners (African Governments) in particular.

2- What is GVG’s take on the economic crisis ?

Crises are part of all human dynamics be they political, economic or cultural.  In the history of humanity, linearity is never constant - ups and downs are inevitable.  The crisis came about due to reasons that we are all  aware  of and that the authors – direct or indirect – have managed or continue to manage responsibly.  

The crisis hit African countries with direct consequences such as dwindling aid – bilateral, multilateral or from Bretton Woods   institutions.  Africa needs resources.  And thanks to GVG’s expertise and service levels, which limited the negative effects of the  crisis on our partner states, this need has to some extent been provided for.  In fact, one of the services we offer consists of generating  higher revenue for Governments and their partners (such as GSM operators, established operators) on international incoming traffic.   
In this sense the crisis has been recognised by ourselves and our partner States as an opportunity - a new and substantial source of revenue  which derives neither from debt nor from aid.
 

3- Africa also experienced the crisis,  albeit a little later on, in spite of the high growth of the Telecoms sector.  Does the crisis compromise the development of this sector?

The economic crisis of 2008-2009 has not had any direct impact on Africa (apart from that mentioned previously) because Africa is not a major player on the international goods and services market.  Africa has suffered collateral damage as a result of the crisis particularly as far as the exportation of raw materials is concerned (wood, rubber etc).  In reality as you are aware the world is now interdependent in that everything that happens at point A has immediate or deferred repercussions on point B.  As an example, is the contemporary world not bound together by this great web that is the Internet?

Luckily domestic demand for goods and services has not been seriously affected – in fact even less than that of the Telecoms sector made up essentially of telephony.  Africa has an oratory tradition, Africa talks.  I think that this is the aspect which has contributed to the run-away success of  the mobile telephone industry on the continent.  The study Africa Connected, recently completed by Ernst & Young, reveals that as far as this industry is concerned, Africa recorded one of the highest growth rates in the world with a 300% increase in the number of users between 2005 and 2009  (from 150 million users in 2005 to 450 million in 2009).         
It may be said that the crisis has slowed this growth down a little, but as a general rule the Telecoms sector is doing well.  And we do think that the best is yet to come.   

4- You state that GVG – thanks to its technical assistance - is enabling its partner States to generate additional revenue from their international gateways.  How does this translate concretely in terms of the facts? 

In our programme of assisting in the management of international gateways, we make highly effective services available to Governments, which enable their countries to :

·         have real-time visibility on incoming and outgoing traffic in their countries,

·         fight against fraud related to international calls,     

·         stabilise prices on the international market.

It is the combined effect of these advantages that enables our partner States to earn additional funds in order to face up to enormous challenges but also and above all to contribute to the development of the Telecoms sectors in their respective countries.

I will cite two examples for you – those of the Republic of Congo and the Republic of Guinea.

In Congo, the State brought in nearly 2 Billion FCFA only two months after the launch of our systems in the country.  And the State is not the only winner in this system.  The operators practising in this country also are. 

In Guinea, thanks to our system, we disconnected more than 3 100 fraudulent lines which would have caused a loss of 3 Million dollars?WHICH CURRENCY? to the State.  Fraudulent lines also equate to an enormous loss for the GSM operators legally set up in countries, who have acquired their operating licences legally and are the only operators entitled to supply gateways through which international calls must pass. And these operators suffer the illegal and disloyal competition of fraudsters. 

5-  You talk a lot about GSM operators.  What is your relationship to them?

The GSM operators are our partners on the same level as the historic operators of land lines, the Telecoms Regulators in the various countries as well as the Governments.   Our operations cannot be set up without the cooperation of these entities with which we maintain good relationships, professionally and even non professionally.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to all the operators with whom we have worked during 2009.  This collaboration has been smooth and most effective.

We are aware that the operators –  particularly those with whom we have not yet had the opportunity to collaborate - do not all know GVG as yet.

As you know, we all tend to look at unknown quantities from a distance. That is why, in the near future, our ambition is to work more closely with our technical partners who are the GSM and historic operators in order to get everyone onto the same wavelength. 

The contentment of the people of Africa does to a certain extent depend on our effective collaboration because we are working towards improving their living conditions by increasing Government revenue,  on international incoming traffic for example. 

6-  You say that certain GSM and historic operators do not know you well enough as yet.  This is no doubt also the case for certain Governments or States and even certain population groups.  How do you envisage resolving this issue?

This is a very important point you have just touched on. We began operating in Africa almost twelve years ago.  During these years, we have developed a number of important business relations with certain African states, historic operators and institutions in charge of Telecoms regulations in the countries concerned.

Our activities allow these entities to streamline international incoming and outgoing traffic, to monitor this traffic in real time, to do away with fraud and above all to increase their revenue from  international gateways.

In a nutshell, GVG has succeeded in turning the international gateways into a national resource for the African Governments with which we are working. 

We still have much to do as several countries and sub-regions in Africa do not as yet benefit from our services.  

We therefore need to make ourselves better known, to ensure there is a greater awareness of our services and their benefits, and that people recognise our brand.

We need to be well-known not only by our key partners, the Governments, the Regulators and the GSM and historic operators with whom we are called upon to work closely but also by the people of these countries of which the Governments are, thanks to our assistance, better able to confront economic and social challenges.   

Let’s look at this rather ironic comparison : communities in African countries know the international financial institutions which lend them money – often at restrictive rates – but are not aware of GVG, which is enabling their countries to obtain finance (free of costs and interest rates) to fight against poverty and get on the road to economic development.  We will endeavour to resolve this paradox.         

7-  What are GVG’s key strategies for 2010 ?

In 2010, we aim to consolidate our skills, increase our coverage across Africa and make ourselves heard among key partners in order to become better-known.

We are going to pull out all the stops to become and remain a key player in the development of Africa. 

We are also going to concentrate on improved quality of service although interestingly enough this is currently higher than international standards.

8- In which other African countries would the GVG group like to operate ?

We would like to be the leading partner of the Governments of Africa.  From this point of view, we have 53 African countries in our sights.  And if we can secure these markets in 2010, we will.  That is our ambition.

9- There is also a debate on the wide fibre optic network coverage in Africa over the last two years.  What would you recommend, satellite or fibre optics?

From the outset it can be said that the two technological options – fibre optics and satellite – complement each other.  Of course the satellite option requires a higher investment but it has the advantage of covering really remote areas where fibre may not be feasible. 

As far as the quality of transmission and reception of data is concerned, fibre is preferable.  

The debate is not so much about which of these technologies is the best option but rather about the accessibility of  services they offer to their target population groups.        

The satellite is a good relay to fibre optics and together these two technologies can guarantee infallible accessibility and quality of service,  much to the satisfaction of telephone and internet users.   

10- Interconnection and the command of tariffs and legal aspects is still a complex and very technical debate.  Do you think that standardising the rules and texts on a sub-regional level is a concrete solution?

Interconnection – as its name indicates – implies that several companies, networks and entities are put into play.    

It is a debate which is indeed very complex and technical particularly given its multi-directional and multi-spatial aspects.     

Any mechanism which involves several role-players, dimensions and interests needs to be discussed in consultation so that  regulations may be formulated to govern its functioning. 

From this point of view it is more than urgent to standardise rules and texts on sub-regional level and   even more so on African level.     

The telecoms sector should take a look at the achievements of the accountants and lawyers of West      Africa (with SYSCOA and OHADA) who resolved numerous issues to which no satisfactory answers had previously been found.  

The standardisation of  interconnection-related texts in the Telecoms sector would be a first step towards   a concrete solution, even if it’s not a panacea capable of simplifying the issue.

11- To what extent is GVG involved in supporting the standardisation ?

GVG is a key player in African Telecommunications.  

GVG contributes its expertise (technical and advice) relating to interconnection issues in several African countries.

Given these attributes, GVG will have a contribution to make to the debate on standardisation of texts at the opportune moment. 

12-  What is your analysis of the continuous interconnection tax cuts on international level?

Interconnection tax cuts are the logical and inevitable consequence of the high competitiveness in the Telecoms sectors.  Over and above coverage and quality of service, price is a key dimension for the marketing strategy of players in the sector, be it nationally or internationally. 

This tax cut is a good thing for households which will need lower communications budgets or which for the same budget will be able to  communicate proportionately more.

As far as international calls are concerned, this tax cut should take place in both directions : from Africa to the other continents and vice-versa.

This requires reliability, discipline and foresight on both sides.

13- M. LAMOTHE, is there anything you would like to say in conclusion ?

First of all I would like to thank you for the opportunity to review the activities for the group which I have been running with our CTO Mr Patrice Baker, for the past twelve years.  A decade is nothing in the life of a company and that’s no doubt why this is the right time for things to start taking off. 

We would also like to thank those Governments which have placed their trust in us by soliciting our assistance and expertise for the management of their international gateways.

It is the opportunity for us to thank all our partners, Regulators, historic operators and GSMs who have collaborated with us.

Africa faces various challenges and GVG certainly intends picking up on some of these.  We have already cast the foundations in this respect and we will continue to forge ahead, improving our service levels as we go.

We wish all the peoples of Africa a happy new year for 2010 and Prosperity and Peace to the Continent.