TRIBUNE

July 31, 2008

A snapshot of ICT in Africa

Taiwo Adisa, Abuja

The latest edition of the ITU report Trends in Telecommunication Reform: The Road to Next- Generation Networks, released in September 2007, gives an overall picture of how more and more people around the world are being connected to information and communication technologies (lCT). It says that by the end of 2006, there was a worldwide total of nearly 4 billion mobile and fixed-line telephone subscribers, plus over 1 billion Internet users.

In Africa, very few people have access to the Internet. But the mobile boom has resulted in an increasing number having access to telephony, which can lead to Internet access and many other services.

Harnessing mobiles to access the Internet

In Nigeria, the number of mobile subscribers had reached over 32 million at the end of 2006. At current rates of growth, Nigeria is expected to overtake South Africa during 2008 to become the continent’s largest mobile market.

The spectacular growth of mobile services in developing countries has been fuelled by declining tariffs, prepaid packages, cheaper handset prices, increased network coverage and new service options, such as mobility and the short message service (SMS). The same factors could promote wireless broadband Internet access. In Kenya, for example, one Internet service provider (ISP) has announcer that it will provide Internet access, including instant messaging and e-mail, through a hand held device. And in Zambia, a mobile operator is introducing the country’s first mobile Internet access facility.

Still, because of high prices, these services remain beyond the reach of most customers in developing countries and are targeted at high-end residential and business customers. It is hoped that operators will eventually find pricing plans that make these services more affordable

Mobile broadband
At the end of 2006, around 109 countries worldwide had commercial IMT-2000 networks, also known as third-generation, or 3G mobile. Asian markets were the earliest adopters of IMT-2000, followed by Europe and North America.

In Africa, Zambia launched commercially services In 2006. Nigeria has taken a technology-neutral approach under which those offering CDMA 1 x WLL with limited mobility can also provide 3G services. In Sudan, national provider, Canar Telecommunications Company has announced the commercial launch of the country’s first 3G wireless broadband Internet service.

The demand for affordable IMT-2000 services is rising in developing countries. They could help to meet it through the commercialization of low-frequency mobile technologies. These enable wider coverage with fewer base stations, and so reduce the cost of mobile infrastructure. CDMA450 is a 3G solution combining next-generation CDMA2000 wireless communication services with network coverage using the 450 MHz frequency band. Its wide adoption throughout the developing world is indicative of the benefits it can bring in low-cost connectivity. In Benin and Libya, services licensed in the 450 MHz frequency are used for delivering mobile or fixed wireless access to remote and rural areas.

Mobile financial servicesDespite the lack of standardization, the ability to make payments via a mobile phone has developed as a highly successful model, especially for developing countries. Financial services allowing mobile subscribers to send cash with a simple SMS have emerged as a way of bringing people without bank accounts into the world of financial transfers.

In Kenya, for example, M-pesa, or “mobile money”, has enabled the subscribers of Safaricom to make money transfers, with charges at less than a third of traditional banking services. Vodafone, which holds a 35 per cent share in Safaricom, has entered into a partnership with Citigroup that will soon allow Kenyans in the United Kingdom to send money home via SMS.

VoIPThe number of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and voice over broadband (VoB) subscribers continues to grow around the world, fuelled by the demand for cheaper services. In addition, voIP is being integrated into new services offered on IP networks, such as instant messaging and data range.

But VoIP also threatens the revenues of traditional incumbent operators, and until recently, it was banned in many African countries. However, a number of countries have now legalized Voir, including Algeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Also, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria are about to legalize the technology. Some countries are taking a more cautious approach, authorizing voIP only for incumbents.

WiMAXNew wireless technologies, such as WiMAX, offer leapfrogging opportunities to developing countries, and promise cheaper broadband services. More than 200 operators worldwide are preparing to deploy WiMAX or have begun WiMAX trials. A number of operators in Africa already provide the technology, and WiMAX networks are being deployed in the 3.3-3.8 GHz range of spectrum in Algeria, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda. In South Africa, Telkom began trials of WiMAX in Pretoria in 2005. In April 2007, Algerie Telecom in Algeria signed an agreement with Galaxia for the deployment of a WiMAX network. In Morocco, Meditel and Maroc Connect acquired WiMAX licences in 2005 through a public tender and started trials and roll-out of their networks in 2006. Also, in 2006, the Tunisian Government authorized Tunisie Telecom and Divona Telecom to rollout WiMAX networks, and these are being tested in Tunis and Sfax for corporate clients.

Fibre-optic connectivityThe deployment of international fibre-optic networks, together with national fibre-optic backbones, is increasingly viewed as a main policy objective for developing countries. In Africa, the SAT-3/WASC high-capacity fibre-optic cable connects Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Angola and South Africa. New undersea fibre-optic cable projects include the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy). Both Egypt and Kenya have announced plans to attract competing providers of undersea fibre-optic cables, so as to further lower the costs of internationallnternet access.

Numerous terrestrial fibre-optic projects have also been launched. For example, the Trans-Kalahari fibre-optic project in Botswana is expected to be operational in 2008. It is being implemented by the national incumbent Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), and will deploy around 2000 km of optical fibre, connecting Botswana with Namibia and Zambia. The project is part of a wider initiative to liberalize Botswana’s ICT sector, including the opening of its international gateway to competition and the introduction of VoIP services.

Internet exchange points (IXP)Due to the lack of international connectivity, African countries are often dependent on overseas carriers for the exchange of traffic between African ISPs. Consequently, African Internet users pay a higher price for their connectivity. Establishing regional IXPs reduces interconnection costs, as well as latency. Governments, regulators and policy-makers can incorporate IXPs into their ICT development strategies as a way of using their international bandwidth economically.

By 2007, eighteen African countries had created a national IXP and two regionally XPs existed - one in Cairo and another serving Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Four of the national IXPs are in least developed countries: Angola, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. The African Internet Service Provider Association (AfrISPA) plans to open IXPs in a further 11 African countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Cote d’lvoire, Gambia, Malawi, Mali and Senegal.

Opening the international gateway to competition can also reduce Internet costs, as can the liberalization of very small aperture terminal (VSAT) markets. Such measures have been taken in Kenya and South Africa. In Nigeria, the government actively supports the establishment of IXPs around the country and the Nigerian Communications Commission has approved a proposal to fund the creation of IXPs on a not-for-profit basis in collaboration with the ISP industry under the umbrella of Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN).

Privatization and competitionMany countries have found that competition is more fair when the State avoids being both a market player (as owner or partowner of the incumbent) and a referee at the same time.

Culled from ITU Connect Africa.