The phenomenal growth of the Internet in the last few years has
affected developed and developing countries alike. Although progressing
at a slower rate than in other parts of the world, Internet connectivity
is also transforming the face of Africa. With massive investments
in telecommunications infrastructure, new partnerships between governments,
agencies and NGOs, and a variety of private and public initiatives
sprouting up, the landscape is rapidly changing.
Four years ago when the Internet began to develop in North America,
Europe and in some parts of Asia, the focus of debate within the African
Internet community was on whether African countries would miss out
on this opportunity. The weak telecommunications infrastructure in
most African countries was singled out as the main obstacle to the
wide-spread implementation of Internet technology in Africa.
Now, however, the discussion among experts has shifted. The question
is no longer whether or not Africa will ever get access to the Internet.
Instead, inquiries are about what African organizations and institutions
will do with the technology.
In 1994, the world map of Internet connectivity showed only two countries
in Africa having full Internet connectivity: South Africa and Egypt.
To date, there is hardly any country in Africa without some form of
connectivity to Internet and almost all countries in Africa can be
reached by e-mail.
Several Internet initiatives have been sponsored by international
donor agencies such as IDRC, the World Bank, UNESCO, UNDP and USAID.
Governments, agencies and a number of multinational NGOs have also
helped make it possible for many African countries to be connected
to the Internet. These initiatives have played a major role in the
spread and use of Internet in African countries.
Increasing speed of long-haul connectivity
Not only has the Internet spread throughout Africa in the last two
years, but the speed at which each country has connected to the international
Internet backbones outside the continent has also increased dramatically.
In 1996, only three countries (South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia) had
more than a 64 kbps(1) link; Ghana, Morocco and Uganda were connected
at 64 kbps while Chad, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia
and Zimbabwe were struggling with a 9.6 kbps link. The remaining countries
either had no connection or had only dial-up e-mail access.
Today, the picture is completely different. Every country in Africa
is now connected. Moreover, thirty countries now connect to the international
backbone at 64kbps and more. These countries include all Southern
African countries, most countries of Eastern and Northern Africa and
a number of West African countries.
Some limiting factors
Despite these achievements, there are still a number of technological,
environmental, operational and financial bottlenecks constraining
the rapid growth of Internet connectivity in Africa as compared to
other regions of the world.
In most connected African countries, services are mainly limited
to the urban centers, and usually only in capital cities. Very few
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in African countries have points-of-presence
(PoPs) outside the cities. This, it has been argued, is mainly due
to the poor telephone connections in remote regions.
Infrastructural problems include: bottlenecks due to low-speed and
narrow-bandwidth lines, the poor quality of connections, the limited
coverage of the telecommunications infrastructure, and the small number
of lines available. Other obstacles include high installation charges
and usage fees.
The high cost of some of the available long-haul (terrestrial or
satellite) links to the high-speed Internet backbones may be the key
obstacle to Internet growth in Africa. As one would expect, the high
cost of long-haul connectivity usually translates into high subscription
and connection charges to ordinary subscribers, which in turn poses
problems for end-users and ISPs alike.
The user base of some ISPs is very limited, and there is some concern
about their ability to sustain their services, even in capital cities.
Finally, the acute shortage of technical staff to design, install,
operate, support and maintain Internet nodes and backbone networks
should be mentioned. Lack of technical support for end-users is another
serious limitation. In fact, numerous Internet initiatives and projects
in African countries have been delayed or even postponed due to the
shortage of people with proper technical skills.
Conclusion
Although the use and spread of Internet in African countries is still
slow compared to countries in other regions of the world, almost every
African country now has some level of Internet connectivity. Despite
the problems mentioned above, it is fair to say that the Internet
is slowly making progress in Africa.
Clement Dzidonu
President
International Institute for Information Technology (INIIT)
(1) kbps: kilo bits per second
Factors limiting the growth of Internet in Africa
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