Alternative Paths to Internet Infrastructure: The Case of Haiti

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2. Telecommunications climate

As this section will show, there are good reasons why infrastructure development is challenging in Haiti. Autocratic rule and political turmoil have left a difficult legacy. For almost three decades, Francois and Jean Claude Duvalier (father and son) ruled Haiti, and despite the nation's poverty, these leaders amassed large personal fortunes. The second Duvalier regime collapsed in 1986 after an open revolt. Years of crisis and instability followed. The current democracy was established in late 1994 when Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the elected and deposed leader, returned from exile.
This history has left Haiti among the least developed countries in the hemisphere -- a real challenge for infrastructure development. Its per capita gross domestic product is around 250 U.S. dollars. Although there is great need to build the information infrastructure that can facilitate long-term economic growth and political stability, short-term needs like health care are also pressing. For example, roughly one in nine Haitians do not survive to their first birthday. With illiteracy rates exceeding 60%, the number of people who could navigate the Internet is somewhat limited. Finally, the geography itself is not conducive to infrastructure development. As an island nation, it is remote from every country except the Dominican Republic, and mountainous terrain makes domestic interconnection expensive. Costs are further increased because 65% of the population is rural.

Haiti does have one trait that is conducive to telecommunications growth: a large expatriate community living in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. This trait boosts the demand for international communications services, even among those with relatively low incomes.

Telephone services are provided by Telecommunications d'Haiti (Teleco), a government-owned monopoly. Telephone infrastructure is among the most limited in the world, making a lack of phone lines the preeminent issue in Internet growth. Haiti has 0.9 phone lines for every 100 people -- less than half the average for Africa. If one excludes the large capital city of Port au Prince, Haiti has 0.2 telephone lines per 100 people. It often takes years to get a phone line; there is a waiting list of roughly 100,000. Despite some ambitious plans, there has been no significant increase in phone lines for years. Moreover, at any given time, roughly one-third of the nation's phone lines are out of service. Telephone service costs are roughly 10 U.S. dollars per month.

Despite the limited domestic service, Teleco has remained profitable in most years. Fifty percent of Teleco's revenues come from international services, which are highly profitable, thanks to high accounting rates. The government receives 25% of Teleco's revenues, so it depends on the company's success. Moreover, there is talk of privatization in 1999, which would bring more money to government coffers, particularly if Teleco is profitable. Thus, as in many countries, one cannot address Internet policies without considering the impact on the monopoly telephone provider.
Other telecommunications services are also limited. Teleco does not provide pay phones, nor does it allow resellers to use its phone lines for this purpose. There was an open tender for cellular licenses in 1995, and several companies are developing cellular infrastructure in Haiti, but operation has been repeatedly delayed. The one functioning telecommunications sector that is not controlled by Teleco is Internet.

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