on fiber in Monrovia and has been building out fiber local loops to serve larger customers in Monrovia15. The Policy requires Libtelco to get the concurrence of, and work in harmony with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MoPT) and the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) before embarking on any major sector undertaking that may have implication on policy and regulation. 3.6.4 Service Providers/ Local Operators Access providers are an integral part of the sector. They include both mobile network operators (MNOs) and commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs). New entrants to the market are anticipated, including data center operators, the Monrovia Project Link (Google/C-Squared) metro fiber network operator, and potentially a Carrier of Carrier’s company to provide national open access fiber infrastructure services on a wholesale basis. 3.6.5 CCL The Cable Consortium of Liberia (CCL) operates as a public private partnership to ensure effective utilization and operation of the ACE submarine cable landing. The level of share ownership determines the capacity available to the shareholders. CCL is majority owned by the government with the remainder held by the major commercial network operators. The ownership breakdown of CCL is as follows: the Government of Liberia (55%), Libtelco (20%) and the three mobile network operators (MNOs): Lonestar (10%), Orange (10%) and Novafone (5%)16. The detailed study for the divestiture of shares in CCL has been completed and a majority of the Government shares in the consortium will be sold, with a minority share being for retained for state administration and for providing capacity to the planned national research and education network (NREN) which will need at least 1Gbps initially but does not have the resources to pay commercial rates for capacity. 3.6.6 The Ministry of Mines and Energy and Ministry of Public Works The Ministry of Mines and Energy and Ministry of Public Works will collaborate with telecom operators and the energy companies to ensure the co-location of fiber with power line and other passive infrastructure, and to ensure that the barriers to obtaining the necessary Rights of Way are minimized. 3.6.7 Local ICT firms ICT firms based in Liberia which provide consultancy, software and hardware solutions and other services are also part of the sector. These firms play a key role in providing specialized services such as portal development, website management, local content development, and providing expertise in building networks. 4.0 POLICY OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES 25