Senegal is a democratic republic on the western-most coast of Africa. The country covers an area of 196,772 square kilometers and has a population of 13.71 million. As a densely-populated country, Senegal is committed to driving forward economic growth. In 2007, sales generated by the telecom sector accounted for more than 7% of the country’s GDP. The last five years have witnessed spectacular growth in mobile telephony—from 1.5 million subscribers in 2005 to 3.4 million in 2007. The development of information and communication technology is the linchpin of the government’s strategy for accelerated growth. Since privatization of its telecom industry in 1997, Senegal has maintained a 15% growth rate in the telecom market over recent years. By the end of 2009, its telecom subscriber base had reached 6.7 million.

Due to privatization of the telecom industry, the Senegalese government has had to bear enormous annual communications expenses. Privately-owned telecom networks also pose a security risk for communications between government departments. Speeding up economic growth while protecting sensitive information and ensuring political stability has therefore become a major concern for the government. As a result, it began seeking suitable technologies for building a national information security network at the end of 2006.

GoTa National Information Security Network

In 2007, ZTE put forward GoTa―a new-generation digital trunking technology with independent IPR—for Senegal’s national information security network. ZTE drew on its rich experience in building public security systems to create a solution that would handle both routine and emergency communications, and that would be attractive to the Senegalese government.  

Because Senegal’s national information security network is integrally connected to its political stability, the government expressed concerns about whether the network could ensure information security as well as meet their communication needs. 

To allay these concerns, ZTE proposed a GoTa trial in Dakar, the capital city. After government approval, ZTE began trialing the network in December 2007. It took only three months to complete the whole process, from equipment delivery and network deployment, to commercial trial. 

The GoTa trial was officially launched in Dakar in February 2008. Senegal’s Minister of Home Affairs, Police Chief, and Assistant to the Chinese Ambassador attended the launch event. The Minister spoke highly of ZTE’s rapid response team.

The successful commercialization of GoTa laid a solid foundation for the government to build its GoTa national information security network. On February 13, 2009, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Senegal to attend the signing ceremony of Senegal’s GoTa National Information Network Project. The next day, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade met ZTE’s Chairman Hou Weigui, to express his thanks for the help ZTE had given to his country. He also made clear his expectations of further cooperation.

The project which began in 2009 was formally put into operation in early 2010. The first phase of the project covered 21 major cities, and had a capacity of 100,000 lines.

Serving the 11th Islamic Summit

On March 12, 2008, the 11th Islamic Summit was held in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. The GoTa trial deployed by ZTE played an important role in delivering trunked dispatch services to government departments and to the Summit. Ibrahima Diallo, the Equipment Section Chief of Senegal’s Home Affairs, used the GoTa terminal to dispatch and command police officers and peacekeeping troops. At the conclusion of the Summit, he gave a high appraisal of the system: “GoTa features fast call connection, crystal clear voice, and is easy to carry. We believe GoTa will play a key role in stable social and economic growth.”  

Safeguarding the 50th Anniversary Celebration

Senegal celebrated its 50th independence anniversary at Independence Square on April 4, 2010. It was the largest ever celebration since Senegal gained independence. Twenty two African heads of state and over 20,000 people attended the event. To guarantee sound running of the celebration, and to ensure the safety of all heads of state, the Senegalese government set up a special on-site security guard and dispatched all police officers, guards, escorts, and some armed forces to the Square and along the parade route. The GoTa system was widely used to provide secure dispatch and communication services.

Before the celebration, Senegal’s Home Affairs Minister and relevant leaders went to the site to experience the feature-rich GoTa services. They were satisfied with powerful functions of the system. During the celebration, thousands of GoTa terminals were used for on-site dispatch, coordination, and security work. The system was also highly praised by on-site workers and officials for its outstanding and professional trunked radio performance. After the celebration, Senegal’s Ministry of Home Affairs sent a special letter of thanks to ZTE expressing their appreciation and willingness for future cooperation.

Promoting National Economic Growth

Senegal’s national information security network was built to provide government departments, national security authorities, and police forces with reliable and secure dispatch communication services. This helps the government significantly reduce expenses on communications, and effectively improves their working efficiency and level of informatization. Moreover, it plays an important role in safeguarding Senegal’s political and social stability. A stable political and social environment is fundamental for the country’s economic take-off. Senegal has benefited in many ways from the excellent performance of the GoTa national information security network.

■   Multiple security protection mechanisms

The GoTa national information security network provides security protection mechanisms such as service priority control, virtual private network, remote terminal disabling, and two-way access authentication. These ensure the security and confidentiality of trunked radio services for government departments, and avoid threats to national security caused by information disclosure.

■   Professional trunked radio services

The GoTa national information security network offers professional trunked radio services such as group call, private call, floor taken, late-join, and dynamic regrouping. It also has a fallback operation mode to ensure that high-level government officials can still use the system if a public communications network fails due to heavy traffic or emergency events.

■   Integrated communications solution

The GoTa national information security network provides up to 1.8/3.1Mbps data rate in uplink and downlink―the highest data rate ever supported by digital trunking technologies. The network integrates voice, wireless broadband data, and trunked radio, helping the government to deliver diverse, cost-effective, and secure communications services (including routine and emergency communications), and improve its level of informatization.

In order to drive its national economic development, the government of Senegal hopes to improve national security to a level that encourages investor confidence and attracts foreign investment. ZTE believes the GoTa national information security network can fulfil the government’s goals and contribute to political stability and economic take-off in West Africa.