Internet gap in Africa getting wider: Study

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Internet gap in Africa getting wider: Study

Broadband Internet connections in Africa are expected to more than double by 2011, but the continent is falling further behind the rest of the world as the governments failed to open markets and drive down costs, the local Nation daily reported Tuesday.

High-speed Internet connections in Africa -- including DSL, WiMax and wireless technologies such as 3G -- are likely to rise to 7 million by 2011 from 3 million now, according to a report by South African research group BMI-TechKnowledge.

That compares with almost 70 million connections already in European Union countries. The gap means broadband services will be inaccessible to all but a few rich and privileged Africans, which is likely to deter needed foreign investment.

"Africa is very far behind the rest of the world, and it seems that the gap will only get bigger unless something is done," said BMI telecoms analyst Richard Hurst, co-author of the report.

Less than 1 percent of Africans have access to broadband services due to a lack of international connectivity and unwieldy monopolies, compared with 22 percent of Americans and 30 percent of western Europeans, Hurst said.

North Africans are the most Internet-savvy, because governments have liberalized telecoms sectors, while Internet service providers can access undersea cables from Europe.

But in East Africa, broadband is virtually nonexistent, because there is no undersea cable linking countries to the rest of the world, forcing ISPs to rely on expensive and unreliable satellite connections.

East African countries are meant to be building an undersea cable, but the project has stalled.

Poor Internet access and high costs are preventing countries such as Kenya from nurturing call-center outsourcing industries, which could provide thousands of jobs.

Source: Xinhua