At the beginning of December 2009, Togo received its own domain from Google: Google.tg, with the optionthe language selection of French or Ewé. The International Institute for Sustainable Development published a detailed study on the support of interest groups in a public, internet-supported political dialogue with experiences from Togo. In June 2011 there were around 325,000 Internet users, which corresponded to around 5.4% of the population; in 2017 it was around 7.3%.
The Minister for Telecommunications and Post, Cina Lawson, is pursuing the ambitious goal of establishing nationwide Internet and mobile telephony for everyone on favorable terms and organized a workshop for schoolchildren in September 2015 to train them in coding software. She would also like to reorganize Togo Telecom and Togo Cellulaire in order to expand telecommunications even more efficiently and is striving for the highest quality. In 2016 the license for 4 G was granted, while the mobile operator Moov introduced its 3 G network. The World Bank also approved $ 30 million in funding for expansion and modernization of the Internet. The World Bank encouraged Togo to further expand the Internet and telecommunications and assured support for this. Maroc Telecom plans to invest 3.5 billion francs CFA in fiber optic cable and Moov Togo announced the imminent commercialization of GF3 and the proliferation of fiber optic cable.
Despite all efforts, insurances and assurances, the internet access is still not optimal. Since 2019 there have been relatively well-functioning WIFI routers to buy, which is why more and more hotspots e.g. E.g. in restaurants.
Communication and internet
In the past decade, telecommunications is increased sharply in Togo. Fixed network is hardly widespread, but the market for mobile phones has recorded annual growth rates of 17% on average since 2011 and has increased by almost 70% overall. According to the Togolese Ministry of Economic Affairs, 4.7 million of the 7 million residents at the time had a mobile phone at the beginning of 2016. 1.3 million were added in 2015 alone. The market for smartphones and tablets is growing primarily with Chinese devices, which are becoming increasingly cheaper. However, the usage costs are still very high, which is why 95% only use their mobile phone with prepaid credit. Only a small part can afford a continuous connection. In 2017, just over 500,000 of the 7.5 million residents at the time had Internet access at home.
According to ethnicityology, around 20% of the population currently has access to mobile Internet, which puts Togo in the West African average. Only Ghana is significantly higher with 33%. A total of 52 billion dollars in telecommunications were turned over in 2018 in the states of the CEDEAO, which makes up around 8.7% of GDP. With 10 million new customers in 2018, the number of mobile Internet users in the West African Economic Union rose to 185 million. By 2025 it should be 248 million, which would be a little more than half the population.
In an international comparison, Togo only ranks 173 in 2018 in terms of area coverage and quality of the Internet. Downloading a movie in HD takes an average of almost 9 hours. As always, the government has ambitious plans and aims to make mobile internet accessible to 90% of the population and 95% of businesses by 2022. In cooperation with the United Nations, the Togolese government published a strategy paper in 2018 to digitize the state and the economy.
For a long time, the state mobile operator Togo Cellulaire (part of Togo Telecom) and Moov, a subsidiary of Etisalat – Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, were the only Internet providers. Since July 2018, both have offered a 4G connection for mobile devices for the first time. In 2018, the government also approved two new Internet providers: Teolis and GVA (Groupe Vivendi Africa). The aim of the new competition is to boost competition and lower the prices for Internet and mobile phone use.
Many Togoers have both a Moov and TogoCel SIM card, as it is significantly cheaper to make calls within the same network. With access to mobile data, many use the Whatsapp communication channel to make phone calls, although this has only worked well in Lomé so far. Whatsapp is also significantly cheaper than regular SIM cards to make calls abroad.
You can find inexpensive telephone contacts to Togo on the interactive table of ‘cheaper calls’. Swiss Post is expanding its service to include Internet access and Internet telephony. You can find important addresses with telephone numbers in the Togo business directory.
