He explains that in Niger, to bridge the Digital Divide we must first tackle illiteracy. More than 80% of population cannot read or write to send and SMS and much rather use voice. Until this is tackled The Digital Divide in Niger will only grow and it is a major problem which needs to be addressed.

75% of respondents* surveyed said that the improvement of access to and adoption of telecommunications services in rural areas is “very important” to their business. A further 20% thought it “moderately important”.

SIM penetration still remains under 20%
“SIM penetration still remains under 20% in a few parts of the continent, but even where penetration reaches the 50% mark, in rural areas penetration is in most cases below 10%. This represents a problem when two thirds of the continent’s population resides in rural Africa,” comments Nick Jotischky, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.

Government and regulators must play their part
“The ICT industry has the capacity to help Africa’s economy boom but government and regulators must play their part. There are several challenges to overcome and there is now a realisation that in order to improve the adoption of telecommunications services to rural areas, the public and private sectors must work together in partnership. Only then will ambitious universal access service targets become reality,” he adds.

Connecting rural and remote areas
As well as providing a platform for new organic growth for operators, connecting rural and remote areas presents opportunities for vendors across the telecommunications ecosystem.Over a quarter of respondents answered that the provision of cheaper devices represented the best opportunity for the vendor community, just ahead of network expansion (21%) and use of alternative energy sources (20%).

Filmed at West and Central Africa, Dakar, Senegal June 2010.

Filmed at Digital Africa, Kampala, Uganda, 2010.

Most of the talks covered how wireless application and innovation is needed to connect the wider African community with Internet, with only about 6% + Internet penetration. In Uganda it is alot lower and it was highlighted that the government are too slow in connecting schools in Uganda which is critical if kids are to be educated and help develop Uganda as they grow older.

SMS the killer application
Interestingly with all the high tech talk going on about 3G, wireless and infrastructure, it was highlighted that SMS is still the killer application in Africa. Good to hear what we have always believed at FMNA, the key focus must be on the 80% of the African market who cannot afford a smart phone or a data contract.

These people need to be connected now and cannot wait for prices to come down or connectivity to improve for this to happen. Thankfully our two way email and chat service on every mobile phone is helping to bridge this digital divide NOW and we look forward to connecting all Africans.

This unique start was then followed by a video address by Dr Hamadoun Toure, the ITU Secretary General who explained the recent growth and also the challenges faced by the African market.

Mobile subscription rates are increasing by up 42% per year in Africa. The African mobile market is one of the fastest growth rates in world, for example….Gambia and Equatorial Guinea, mobile adoption is growing by 50 to 70% per year.

Mobile prices are low and accessible is high, but high cost of broadband is a major bottleneck and broadband it was argued should be recognised as national right for all. Mr Toure added that the moment is now ripe to put together and seek the best way forward to drive African Communications.

The Vice President of Uganda likened the ICT revolution to when in the 1950’s when his family grew a lot of cotton. Other countries found it hard to grow and asked how to do it and Uganda became 3rd largest exporter. Similarly in ICT, he explained that training was needed, at all levels in Africa. Utilisation of mobiles needs to be increased and the industry needs to help to develop strong policy on ICT use to improve in Africa. “This can transform people from poverty to middle class with positive change.”

How can Africa develop?
He explained how e-Health schemes for malaria and disease means these issues can now be resolved without coming to Kampala which is great for Ugandans.

He explained that Africa was not yet ready for this big change now, as economies and governments are fragile, but they need to build strong policies to transform societies, as building a democracy takes time so policies are needed now.

Africa Needs To Now Produce
The Vice President highlighted the plight of Africa clearly by saying historically “Africa receives 99.9% of things but needs to turn this around and find out how to do and build capacity to produce”. Uganda consumes but now needs to produce especially in ICT.

Good food for thought, which highlights just how big the digital divide is in Africa and the work needed. This needs to be addressed by both strong policy and public and private partnerships in Africa. At ForgetMeNot Africa are both happy and proud our eTXT technology will help to empower Africans and in the words of Dr Hamadoun Toure, the ITU Secretary General, fullfilling the “national right” of each African to be part of the digital revolution.

Broadband access makes a variety of e-services, including education, available and can make a significant difference to schools who struggle with limited resources.

A single teacher could lecture to many classrooms across the continent, via the web. This would mean thousands, possibly millions of students could benefit from learning from specialist teachers. Students can also access high quality educational resources and share ideas with other students or professors at schools around the world.

Plans are in motion to connect schools in some African countries, enabling students to:

- Access to information from around the world

- Be provided with up to date learning resources

- Connect with international opportunities

- Learn independently or from a unique curriculum

Education is the great equaliser in the world, and bringing it online can give students the opportunity to become global citizens and competitive, productive contributors in the local job market.

Filmed at West Africa Com, Abuja, Nigeria June 2009.

Juniper Research believes that, in 2008, approximately 45% of mobile devices sold worldwide were socalled ‘entry-level’ handsets (which… Nokia defines as being handsets with a retail value less than $60). A small but growing proportion of this total is accounted for by ultra-low cost handsets, which retail for $15 or less.

Of the 700 million low-cost handsets expected to be sold in 2014, Juniper Research believes that the greatest proportion – around 24% – will be sold in Africa and the Middle East…

Speaking to Mobile network Operators all over Africa, it appears that, as they move their focus to the poorer urban and rural communities, these ultra low-cost handsets are becoming even more important.

In support of this:

Africa’s largest mobile phone company, MTN Group Ltd, is planning to bring handsets with MTN’s brand costing as little as $12 in the first half of next year. MTN’s Vice President of southern and east African region, Tim Lowry, said the handsets would be manufactured in China and may be priced between $12 and $15.

Making these phones available will help many unserved African communities to take their first steps across the digital divide. The next step is to encourage the use of SMS and SMS based applications to enable them to experience the benefits of digital communications.

Source: Juniper Research, Wireless Federation