Lionel Bernard

Broadband Coming Lionel Bernard

Amidst the bewildering end of the Liberian civil war in 2004 and subsequent elections that brought hope to locals and diaspora Liberians alike, three entrepreneurs conceived an idea of starting a technology based business in Liberia with the ultimate goal of bringing much needed broadband speed Internet connectivity to that country. Using their collective experience, connections and little money, they embarked on a six year journey to reach their goal, a journey full of challenges, setbacks and triumphs. Lionel Bernard recounts their experiences in establishing CallLiberia.com, a groundbreaking online and booklet format yellow pages for Liberia. He reveals the impact of several widely read and criticized articles the trio published about the country?s telecom sector over that period. He gives an account of their backroom dealings with high level Liberian government officials, their worldwide efforts to raise capital from venture funds and investors to bid for the Liberian national phone company, and their relentless drive to attract the Uhurunet undersea fiber cable project to Liberia. Revealing and bold in scope, Broadband Coming gives a peephole view into the dynamics of a segment of Liberian society and the uncontrollable forces and counter forces that have a deep influence on succeeding in that society.