Challenges and Missed Opportunities: Telecommunications Services in Yemeni Rural Areas

Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope) – Yasmine Abdulhafeez

Hanadi Ahmed works in the field of digital marketing, which requires a strong Internet connection to facilitate her tasks efficiently and within a short timeframe. Hanadi resides in the central district of Al-Hodeidah city, and the absence of her mother outside the province poses a significant obstacle to her work.

Hanadi’s mother lives in one of the rural areas of Taiz Governorate, located in southwestern Yemen. She moved there after doctors advised her to stay in an area with moderate weather conditions, especially since she suffers from chronic illnesses that are exacerbated by extreme heat.

Hanadi explains, “I cannot go for more than a year without visiting my mother to ensure her well-being. So, I have to complete my work even during my travel, but the weak Internet network there forces me to return. Many citizens in that area suffer from weak telecommunications and Internet services, especially those who live in low-elevated areas such as valleys and basins. This isolates them from the world, as they cannot make calls or browse the Internet except by climbing nearby hills. It’s a real struggle for rural residents.”

Internet service in rural Yemen is weak and may be nonexistent in some areas. Internet access is obtained through the 3G service provided by telecommunication companies or the Wi-Fi service provided by YemenNet. Unfortunately, the service is extremely weak, intermittent, and varies from one area to another.

The only method of Internet service provided in Yemen is YemenNet through the fixed network in major cities, which is delivered through cables and fiber optics. However, most rural residents live in mountainous areas, and providing them with the service requires excavation, digging, and high costs.

Regarding telecommunications services in rural areas, the National Information Center mentioned in a report that rural areas have long suffered from weak telephone communication services. The reasons cited include the lack of electricity reaching many rural communities and the challenging nature of mountainous areas, which require high costs to deliver the service.

The report confirmed that the Public Telecommunications Corporation has worked on using special devices powered by solar energy in rural areas to solve the problem of delivering telecommunications services in areas without electricity, in addition to fixed telephone devices.

The report also clarified that the Public Telecommunications Corporation has been working on improving rural telecommunications services by providing new and advanced wireless communication systems that contribute to supplying many rural areas with services at lower costs, better speed, and diverse options.

Despite the efforts made to improve the telecommunications sector in Yemen, the issue of citizens accessing telecommunications and Internet services in rural areas remains persistent. It has worsened during the years of the conflict, which inflicted significant damage on the infrastructure of this sector, especially in rural areas.

Poor Telecommunications

Many residents of rural areas suffer from weak mobile phone network coverage, which deprives them of many job opportunities and makes it difficult to stay in touch with family and relatives.

Mohammed Hasan, a resident of the rural areas of Taiz Governorate, is an example of this situation. He used to work in an auto repair shop with his father in one of the cities but had to relocate with his family to a rural area in 2018, where he became isolated from the world.

Mohammed says, “My house consists of two floors. The lower floor has no coverage from any telecommunication company. If I expect a call from my friends or family, I have to go far from home in search of network coverage or climb to the roof and find a spot where I can make or receive a call. In the upper floor of the house, some rooms have no coverage at all, while in others, coverage is available at specific times, like dawn or after noon. Many times, I can only get coverage by going far away from home.”

With a voice filled with frustration, Mohammed confirms that he has lost many job opportunities due to weak network coverage. He explains that his colleagues cannot reach him by phone, so he has to inform them that if there is any job opportunity, they need to send someone to notify him.

A previous report published by the Public Telecommunications Corporation titled “Stages of Developing the Infrastructure of the Telecommunications Sector in Yemen” stated that due to the challenging geographical nature of rural areas in Yemen, along with scattered and remote residential areas, the corporation faces difficulties in improving telecommunications services for these communities, similar to the situation in urban areas. The report mentioned that providing telecommunications services through traditional means can incur high costs due to the difficult geographical nature of rural Yemen.

Challenges & Solutions

In the context of challenges and solutions from the perspective of citizens, Abdulhakim Al-Saba’i, Head of the Financial and Administrative Development Department at Taiz University, states: “The poor telecommunications and Internet services in rural areas, and the lack of a reliable communication network, are a result of the infrastructure being damaged due to the conflict, as well as theft. Other reasons include road closures and the lack of maintenance of the communication infrastructure in some rural areas, which leads to a lack of maintenance for towers and other communication equipment, and the absence of expanding coverage in these areas.”

He believes that possible solutions in this regard include repairing the damaged towers, providing them with infrastructure and specialized personnel, and opening all roads leading to them. He emphasizes that ending the conflict will greatly help in developing the telecommunications sector and other important sectors in the country. He also points out that no laws have been enacted to regulate the telecommunications sector to keep up with the rapid and successive developments in the field of communications and information technology. The regulations and organizational structures of the telecommunications sector in Yemen have not changed since 1996, which has weakened the quality of its services.

He further explains that Yemeni residents have been living in scattered settlements for a long time due to the lack of security and trust in the future. Therefore, they have lived in mountain peaks to seek protection from this nature and the difficulty of accessing them.

Hussein Mohammed, a telecommunications engineer, says: “The poor service in rural areas, the lack of coverage from telecommunications companies, along with the absence of service centers and modern devices in existing towers that can improve the service (especially regarding the Internet), all present challenges for the citizens there.”

He adds: “The reason behind the deterioration of telecommunications services in rural areas, as well as in cities, is the deteriorating economic situation of the country, as well as the geographical nature of these areas. The low population density in rural areas also poses a barrier. The cost of providing a tower to supply communication services to an area will not be compensated due to the low number of subscribers. Therefore, it is better to target urban areas with high population density and obtain a large number of subscribers.”

The uses of telecommunications services among residents in rural areas are diverse, similar to urban areas. This is especially true with the advancements and developments happening worldwide in various fields. In addition to the increasing migration of families towards cities and other countries in search of a livelihood, communication with them becomes a daily necessity.

These uses and others indicate the growing demand for these services, which requires the relevant authorities and telecommunications companies to exert more efforts to improve the performance of various communication services and expand their coverage to the largest possible number of areas across the country.