Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; ) is a landlocked country in West Africa. It covers an area of around and is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north; Niger to the east; Benin to the southeast; Togo and Ghana to the south; and Ivory Coast to the southwest. The July 2018 population estimate by the United Nations was 19,751,651. Burkina Faso is a francophone country, with French as the official language of government and business. Roughly 40% of the population speaks the Mossi language. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as "Burkinabé" ( ). Its capital is Ouagadougou.
Telecommunications in Burkina Faso
The Burkinabé government, in its telecommunications development strategy, has stated its aim to make telecommunications a universal service accessible to all. A large portion of this strategy is the privatization of the National Telecommunications Office (ONATEL), with an additional focus on a rural telephony promotion project. In 2006 the government sold a 51 percent stake in the national telephone company, ONATEL, and ultimately planned to retain only a 23 percent stake in the company.Radio is the country's most popular communications medium. Dozens of private and community radio stations and a handful of private TV channels operate alongside their state-run counterparts. The BBC World Service, Voice of America, and Radio France Internationale are all on the air in the capital, Ouagadougou.Use of mobile phones has skyrocketed in the last decade, growing from 2,700 subscribers in 1998, to 1.0 million in 2006, to 10.0 million in 2012. Competition was introduced to the mobile telephone segment in 2000 between operators Celtel (now Bharti Airtel), Télécel Faso (now Moov), and Telmob (ONATEL). This pushed rates down even as density and coverage area increased. Mobile phone users utilize "flashing" which allows extremely low-cost operations and Burkina Faso's ancient oral tradition and talking drum culture have harmonized well the introduction of mobile phone technologies. Additionally, mobile phone owners have acquired status by being able to loan their phones to others in their communities.