Sierra Leone's international mobile gateway, which has been run as a monopoly to strengthen the national carrier, Sierratel, will be deregulated as the Africa Coast to Europe ACE fiber-optic project enters the implementation phase, according to government officials.The liberalization effort is a precondition for the landing of the fiber-optic cable, which will allow for operation of the country's international gateway by competing GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) operators, according to Minister of Information and Communication Ibrahim Kargbo.A consortium of 20 members have joined forces to build the ACE cable. The 17,000-kilometer-long fiber-optic cable should be completely operational in the first half of 2012 and connect 23 countries, according to a statement from France Telecom Tuesday.

After the launch of the Sierra Leone GSM Operators Association SLGSMOA in July 2008, the group claimed that operation of the country's international gateway is a provision of their GSM licenses and called for a transparent examination of its allocation.

A study by the GSM Association in February 2007, citing Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt as case studies, showed that competition in the international gateways market can reduce call prices by up to 90 percent and double call volumes.

Since Nigeria liberalized its telecom sector in 2001, its market has been opened up to private investment and huge progress has been recorded in the industry. The Nigerian telecom industry witnessed an average growth rate of about 8 million lines per year and by the end of October 2008, the country had attained about 59 million lines with a teledensity figure of 42 lines per 100 inhabitants.

Some observers say the liberalization of the international gateway will be a big stride for Sierra Leone's ICT development.