Benin ICT Sector Performance Review 2009/2010 • to ensure the freedom and protection of the press as well as all the means of mass communication in respect of the law ; • to see to the respect of ethics in information matters and fair access of political parties, associations and citizens to official means of information and communication ; and • to guarantee the fair and appropriate use of public press and audiovisual communication organs by the institutions of the Republic, each according to its constitutional tasks and to ensure the necessary arbitrations if need be. The HAAC, in its position of guaranteeing the exercise of freedom of press and communication, ensures equal treatment between all operators in press and communication matters. It sees to the maintenance of the national cultural identity through the appropriate control of the opening of communication networks and ensuring free competition. It encourages creativity in the field of the press and communication and guarantees the conditions of support of the State to the public and private press. In addition, the HAAC is responsible for the use and allocation of frequencies devoted to radio and television broadcasting. Regulation Difficulties in the ICT Sector Operators suffer from a lack of effective operational regulation (interconnection, frequency management, management of disagreements). In the field of telephony, the allocation of radio electric frequencies is within the province of the Ministry in Charge of Telecommunication. The control of its frequencies, once allocated, it is ensured by the Regulation Authority. The frequencies devoted to radio and television broadcasting are allocated by the HAAC. And yet, these frequencies are the same. In Benin, there is currently no reliable frequency distribution table. 7