A new report has revealed that the number of mobile phone subscribers in Africa is set to rise by 60% between 2010 and 2015, with regions in east and central Africa expected to contribute a large share of the growth. (more…)
Tags: African Telecoms, internet, Mobile phones, Nigeria
SEACOM, the first submarine cable to land on the shores of East Africa in 2009, has announced plans to upgrade the capacity of its cable following an increase in demand for the service. The SEACOM cable had an initial capacity of 1.28 terabits per second, but 60% of this capacity has already been taken up. (more…)
Tags: African Telecoms, Fibre-optic, internet, SEACOM
A recent report from the World Bank has revealed that Ghana received more than $1bn in Telecoms investment over a ten year period from 1998 to 2008. Such investments have led to a service offering at a very competitive price in Ghana, with international calls from Ghana being among the cheapest on the continent.
However, other countries have received far greater investment such as South Africa and Nigeria who received $18.1bn and $12.7bn respectively over the same period. This might explain figures from the International Telecommunication Union which show that Ghana had lower numbers of internet users in 2010 at 8.5 per 100 inhabitants, than South Africa, 12.3 per 100, and Nigeria, 28.4 per 100. (more…)
Tags: African Telecoms, Fibre-optic, Ghana, internet, World Bank
Recent studies on the price of broadband in emerging markets by research firm Ovum has revealed that for the vast majority, the service is still out of reach.
Broadband prices in 19 emerging markets were studied including South Africa and Nigeria and figures showed a cost far exceeding those in more developed markets. In South Africa, prices ranged from $1,443 a year for entry level broadband services, increasing to $6,000 a year for higher end services. Lower end costs were similar in Nigeria at $1,211 per year. This is despite the presence of multiple submarine communication cables off the coast of West Africa which were aimed at improving connectivity in the region.
However, there were expectations that prices would fall in the coming years in efforts to attract more users and drive revenue growth. Such a move would also help to unlock the potential for growth in these emerging markets.
Tags: Africa, African Telecoms, Broadband, Kenya, South Africa
Connecting rural communities has become a major issue for the telecommunications industry in Africa, according to a recent survey conducted by Informa Telecoms & Media. (more…)
Tags: African mobile networks, African Telecoms, digital divide debate
DESPITE the arrival and successful operation of a third undersea fibre optic cable, East Africa Submarine System (EASSy) the penetration of the internet in rural communities is still very low. (more…)
Tags: African mobile networks, African Telecoms, Bridging the digital divide, Kenyan internet
Togo’s Ministry of finance is conducting a feasibility study about issuing a third mobile license, according to reports. (more…)
Tags: African Telecoms, Etisalat, mobile license, Togo, TogoCel
In Part 5 of the Digital Divide Debate series, Emmanuel Mugabi from the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Uganda shares his thoughts on the digital divide in Africa.
Filmed at Digital Africa, Kampala, Uganda, 2010.
Tags: Africa, African Telecoms, digital africa, digital divide debate, Emmanuel Mugabi, FMNA, ForgetMeNot Africa, Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Uganda, VAS Services in Africa
