The telecommunications sector reform launched in Senegal in 1996 mainly benefitted the shareholders of the privatized telecommunications companies. Unlike mobile telephony, fixed telephony, rural telephony, and the Internet have made little progress. The level of competition is still low, a credible and impartial regulatory framework has not yet been established, there has not been a great deal of foreign direct investment in the sector, and it is still under state control. This privatization has, however, meant that the State has now lost a key tool for implementing its development policy.