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
ZTE Corporation, a Chinese telecommunications company, has signed an agreement with the Burundi Backbone Systems Company (Burundi BBS) to build Burundi’s first national backbone network. (more…)
Tags: African mobile networks, Burundi, Fibre-optic, internet
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
Namibia has hosted a three day national summit aimed at discussing ways to catalyse development in the ICT industry of the country. The prospects for the industry were greatly improved after the landing of an undersea fibre optic cable on the west coast of the country earlier in the year.
The cable, named the West Africa Cable System, was the first ever submarine cable to land on Namibian shores and is expected to revolutionise communication sevices for the Namibian population. The service will provide access to a high speed ICT infrastructure that will be cost-effective, and sustainable. (more…)
Tags: Africa, Fibre-optic, internet, Namibia, Submarine cable
The latest report from the UN which monitors the progress towards achieving the Millenium Development Goals shows that work is still needed to achieve the desired results particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The eight goals were officially established following the Millennium Summit in 2000 and include ambitions to eradicate poverty, reduce child morality, and combat HIV/AIDS by 2015. All 193 member states of the UN agreed on the goals as well as many international organisations and yet, much still needs to be done if they are to be achieved by the target date. (more…)
Tags: Africa, internet, Millenium Development Goals, Sub-Saharan Africa
Kenya will soon benefit from a link to its fourth undersea fibre-optic cable. The cable, named the Lower Indian Ocean Network 2 (LION2) has been funded by France Telecom and will further enhance the capacity of the Kenyan communication network. (more…)
Tags: Fibre-optic, internet, Kenya, Kenyan Telecoms
A recent study on ICT access gaps in Kenya, commissioned by the Communications Commission of Kenya, has revealed large differences in access to telecommunications within the country.
Figures show that only 12.5% of Kenya has access to the internet, and less than 5% of Kenyans living in rural areas use the internet. This is despite an increase in the number of internet users in Kenya from 1.7m in 2007 to 10m in 2011. (more…)
Tags: Digital divide, Digital villages, internet, Kenya, Kenyan Telecoms
African Business reports Google Africa’s vested interest in Africa. (more…)
Tags: Africa, Bridging the digital divide, Google, internet
For many years people have spoken about how reliable access to internet services will change the way education is delivered in Africa. While most Western schools do enjoy full use of email and the internet, a large majority of African schools still do not have the same ability due to the lack of access and a problem known widely as the digital divide. (more…)
