1. Government Internet Services Provisioning available to prioritized MACs and their individual facilities 2. Prioritized MACs provisioned with improved connectivity 3. Development of Concept of Operations 4. Development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Tender Templates, Provisioning Guidelines, etc 5. Broadband Communications & Value-Added Services (VAS) Procurement 6. Design for Shared Services Infrastructure & Application Services 7. University of Liberia Campus Connectivity 8. Improved Access to Education and Research Materials for Prioritized Tertiary Education Institutions in Liberia 9. Progress Made toward Liberia Internet Exchange Point (LIXP) Implementation 10. Improved Internet Connectivity at Prioritized County Service Centers Expected Result 1: Government internet services provisioning available to prioritized MACs Although multiple internet services providers (ISPs) provide internet in Liberia, connections are often unreliable, hampering communication among government entities. To address this challenge, the Government of Liberia’s 2017-2021 ICT policy established Libtelco as the government-preferred ISP. The completion of the CSquared Metro Fiber Ring (MFR) — a more than 180kilometer fiber backbone that provides services to all mobile network operators (MNOs), ISPs, and the government — will expand Libtelco’s services. However, the ISP’s ability to capitalize on the MFR and sustainably provide improved internet services to priority ministries, agencies, and commissions (MACs), however, depends on its viability. • • • MAC Bandwidth Assessment: Key Findings Forty-nine of the 50 MACs assessed have bandwidth allocations that are, on an average, 2.5 times less than the required bandwidth for staff to improve their performance using connectivity and ICT 67 percent of the MACs assessed did not have a complete and structured Local Area Network (LAN) About 90 percent of the MACs have at least two power sources; however, only about 14% of these have any form of backup to keep core equipment running during power transitions On average, 25 percent of staff did not have access to internet; some even lack access to computers MAC technicians graded their overall satisfaction with their current ISP’s performance as 3 on a scale of 1 to 5 To help the government leverage the improved services • and improve Libtelco’s viability, Digital Liberia conducted an organizational review of the ISP, which resulted in a three-year strategic plan with recommendations to • restructure and right-size the ISP into a customerfocused, results-driven organization. The plan aims to help Libtelco develop specific services for government and commercial customers and secure the necessary equipment and software to operate effectively. Digital Liberia also helped the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MOPT) and Libtelco refine the list of priority MACs for connection to the MFR. Complementing these efforts, Digital Liberia developed an internet bandwidth capacity assessment tool to calculate the required capacity for data transfer based on each MAC’s current and anticipated needs. The bandwidth assessment provided necessary information on the readiness of 51 MACs to connect to the CSquared MFR. The internet bandwidth capacity assessment tool enables the MOPT to assess bandwidth needs at other MACs. To ensure that priority MACs had the required infrastructure to connect to the MFR, Digital Liberia collaborated with CSquared to develop technical specifications for consumer-provided equipment: the firewall, uninterrupted power supply, and racks needed to boost the availability of uninterrupted power DIGITAL LIBERIA FINAL REPORT | 15