Executive Summary

This policy amends the National Telecommunications ICT Policy of 2010. While the 2010 policy laid the basis for future policy development, technology developments have continued, and new priorities have emerged that are critical to the sustainable development of the ICT sector. The new policy over the next five years (2019 to 2024) aims to address these developments and support the social and economic development of Liberian society under the key pillars of Structure, Empower and Transform (SET). In summary, the key objectives of the policy are to:

1. Expand ICT infrastructure and establish a national fiber optic backbone to connect all 15 county capitals and cross-border connectivity with reliable links;
2. Address last mile challenges to ensure universal access to voice services and broadband, supported by the adoption of infrastructure sharing and dig-once policies and effective use of the Universal Access Fund to meet the needs of underserved areas;
3. Leverage the assets of all telecommunication operators to support improved connectivity in Liberia;
4. Ensure Government has access to efficient connectivity services along with a Data Center and backup facilities to serve the needs of all government departments;
5. Ensure critical ICT infrastructure is well protected and effective response mechanisms are in place to deal with cybersecurity issues and other physical disasters e.g. epidemics;
6. Foster the development of efficient Government E-services and online applications for supporting the growth of Liberia‘s economy;
7. Establish a National Education and Research Network (NREN) for all tertiary and secondary education institutions to provide access to high speed internet and digital educational services
8. Support human capacity building and local innovation in science, digital skills and technology leading to the creation of new jobs;
9. Use ICT to drive inclusion of women, marginalized and indigenous groups;
10. Boost the development of a vibrant E-commerce and digital services sector;
11. Enable citizens of Liberia to explore the full use of the broadband services making them a competitive, knowledge driven and well-informed society;
12. Improve access to information and transparency through the design and implementation of open data initiatives; and
13. To localize administrative, technical and ensure effective management of the.lr country code (cc) top level internet domain (TLD) to support Liberia‘s ICT development agenda

The vision of this policy is to facilitate Liberia‘s transformation into a knowledge-based economy and inclusive information society with enhanced social development for all. The policy thus recognizes the critical barriers that must be overcome in Liberia to achieve progress towards the SDG connectivity target and other regional commitments.

The Government‘s role in the ICT sector will be addressed over the next 5 years as outlined below.

1. Strategic leadership and coordination in promoting the use of ICT. To be most effective, this should be driven by the office of the Head of State;
2. Ensuring there is an enabling environment and sufficient backbone infrastructure for the commercial deployment of ICT services. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication (MoPT) and the regulatory authorities;
3. Providing support for ensuring access is affordable and available to all members of Liberian society;
4. Supporting the adoption of ICT within government, both for internal administration and for transactions with the public and business. This extends to providing connectivity to government institutions, hosting data and supporting the development of relevant egovernment applications

In recognition that some functions are currently being performed under various institutions, this policy recommends that the following roles are enhanced with relevant changes where necessary to align with the policy‘s objectives (see Section 6).

Given the dynamic nature of the ICT Industry, this policy will be revisited on an annual basis by a cross-sectoral, inclusive multi stakeholder policy review team assembled by the MoPT. The review would identify new trends and emerging technologies which need oversight by the Ministry and propose modalities for their adoption or regulation.