Two Dollars Price per Minute of Satellite Communication with Residents of Darfur

Sudan Events – Talal Muddassir

The raging war in the Darfur states led to the interruption of communication networks and internet services in a number of cities in the region located in western Sudan.

New information obtained by Sudan Events showed the emergence of Wi-Fi satellite communication technology across a number of centers there, where the cost of calling in a conversation reaches two thousand Sudanese pounds per minute (two dollars per minute).

A number of commercial sites in the cities of Zalingei, El Geneina, and Nyala have resorted to providing satellite internet devices to communicate directly via satellite. These devices were prevented by the National Telecommunications Authority from entering and using them in Sudan. However, the recent fragility of the security situation has made the Authority lose its control over the matter.

The level of communications service in Sudan has declined since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Militia in mid-April, as the ongoing clashes caused damage to the towers of service-providing companies and the depletion of fuel at the reinforcement stations, with the inability of technical crews to arrive for maintenance and supply, especially in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the states of Darfur.