# SONITEL
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{{Short description|Nigerien national telephone and telecommunications carrier}}
{{Citation style|date=August 2021}}
'''SONITEL''' ({{Langx|fr|'''Société Nigérienne des Télécommunications'''|lit=Nigerien Telecommunications Society|label=none}}) was the [Niger](/source/Niger)ien national telephone and telecommunications carrier from the late 1990s until the mid-2010s. It was created on 20 March 1997 as a fusion of the telecommunications arm of [Nigerien Posts and Telecommunications](/source/Nigerien_Posts_and_Telecommunications) ({{Langx|fr|Office des Postes et Télécommunications|label=none}}) and the [STIN](/source/STIN) ({{Langx|fr|Société des Télécommunications Internationales du Niger|lit=International Telecommunications Society of Niger|label=none}}), which controlled [land line](/source/Landline) telephone connections abroad. The process had begun with the passage of a law aimed at the privatisation of telecommunications (''Ordonnance N°96-031 du 11 juin 1996''),[[http://www.csdptt.org/imprimer.php3?id_article=319 TRIBUNE LIBRE : La libéralisation totale du Secteur des Télécommunications au Niger : Quelles conséquences sur les cadres politique, institutionnel et réglementaire ?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013061252/http://www.csdptt.org/imprimer.php3?id_article=319 |date=2006-10-13 }} Malam Garba Abdou, csdptt.org, 21 December 2004.] and was part of a larger process of internationally led privatisation of Niger's once large [parastatal](/source/parastatal) sector.[{{Cite book
|last=Decalo
|first=Samuel
|title=Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.)
|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Boston & Folkestone
|year=1997
|isbn=0-8108-3136-8
}}{{rp|239–241}}] SONITEL had the government of Niger as a majority share holder.
Following the 1999 Constitution of the [Fifth Republic of Niger](/source/Fifth_Republic_of_Niger), SONITEL was to be privatised, and in 2001, after an unsuccessful round of offerings, the majority of the companies shares were sold. In December 2001, 51% of the company was purchased by the [Sino](/source/China)-[Libyan](/source/Libya) consortium [DATAPORT](/source/DATAPORT), made up of [ZTE](/source/ZTE) and the Libyan LAAICO company. The ZTE majority consortium reportedly paid 11.8 billion [FCFA](/source/CFA_franc), beating out [FranceTelecom](/source/France_telecom) and [SONATEL](/source/Sonatel).[[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1646954.stm China swoops on Niger privatisation]. 9 November 2001] The government of Niger continued to hold 34.11% of the company, with private investors taking 11%, the 1300 employees of SONITEL holding 3%, and France Câbles & Radio – who had been a stakeholder in STIN, 0.89%.[[http://www.sonitel.ne/a-propos/historique.html SONITEL:Historique] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184605/http://www.sonitel.ne/a-propos/historique.html |date=2016-03-03 }}.] In 2004, SONITEL's mobile phone arm was opened up to face foreign competition, but SONITEL continued to hold a monopoly on Internet communication, the [.ne](/source/.ne) name registry, and international fixed line voice communication.[{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,NER,,403f57b310,0.html |title=UNHCR {{!}} Refworld {{!}} U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2003 - Niger |website=www.unhcr.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007124210/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,NER,,403f57b310,0.html |archive-date=2012-10-07}} ][[http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/depeches/medias/20071122.REU5505/france_telecom_decroche_une_licence_globale_au_niger.html France Telecom décroche une licence globale au Niger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305193637/http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/depeches/medias/20071122.REU5505/france_telecom_decroche_une_licence_globale_au_niger.html |date=2008-03-05 }} REUTERS 22.11.2007]
Following mobile phone competition, SONITEL was widely criticised for poor performance,[[http://www.planeteafrique.com/niger/index.asp?affiche=News_Display_R.asp&ArticleID=1197&s=Liberation&rub=Actualit%C3%A9s Eldorado des Télécommunications au Niger. Des combinaisons échappent à l'Etat]. Planete Afrique. 9 juin 2008] faced a series of protests and strikes by its workers over pay and conditions,[Souley Adji. [http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inst/download/dp12200.pdf Labour and Society Programme: Globalization and union strategies in Niger. International Labour Organisation. DP/122/2000] {{ISBN|92-9014-634-6}}] and accumulated debts of 40 billion FCFA despite a 140% increase in user fees.[[http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2009/02/13/01011-20090213FILWWW00445-niger-telecoms-sonitel-renationalisee.php Niger: Télécoms Sonitel renationalisée] AFP. 13 February 2009] On 13 February 2009, the government of Niger announced it was "canceling" the privatisation of SONITEL and its subsidiary SahelCom (which handled mobile communications), although it hoped to eventually re-privatise the company. The Minister of Communications stated that the process had "failed", and the government would retain a 100% share in SONITEL, and form a new administration of the company.