Internet Access for African Countries

"This article looks at the current state of Internet access in the African countries of Ghana (in West Africa), Kenya (in East Africa) and South Africa. The different approaches for hooking onto the Internet backbone are discussed with a view to the availability and cost to Internet services for the community at large. These approaches range from a government hands-off approach in terms of regulating the businesses involved in the provision of Internet services, through firm control on who can operate as Internet Service Providers (ISP), to full control of the content that emanates from these countries. This article further examines some causes of the current problems facing African countries and the high cost of Internet access to the ordinary person. Finally some initiatives to bridge the digital divide are presented and analysed in terms of how to maximize their returns.

"The Ghana Government Internet Access policy regulates who can operate as an Internet Service Provider. A license is therefore needed to operate as an ISP. Acquiring such a license can take anywhere from a month to a year. In this way the government controls who can enter the Internet market place. Once an ISP secures a license it can operate by hooking onto the backbone directly by VSAT. This is the way most ISPs connect onto the backbone. Although the use of a leased line to Ghana Telekom is possible, it is expensive and quite unreliable due to poor planning and infrastructure. The provision of a dail-up Internet access to the general public is plus or minus $25 per month. A dedicated radio link of 64kbps may cost as much $500 per month.

"Until recently many Internet cafes operated on a dial-up connection with four to eight computers, but this has almost vanished as almost all the ISPs have been over subscribed rendering dial-up Internet access extremely slow if not impossible. The over-subscription by the ISPs results in numerous breaks that further results in high telephone bills for these small Internet cafe operators. Most of these cafes have had to close down. A valuable service to the public is now lost. However, a new breed of Internet cafe is now springing up. These use at least 30 PCs, a dedicated radio link of 64kbps or 128kbps to an ISP and in some cases a VSAT connection onto the backbone directly. These cafes usually boast of state-of-the-art technology. There is no control on how these cafes and ISPs connect to the Internet backbone or on the content that can be uploaded or downloaded from these ISPs.

"The scenario in Kenya is quite similar with an added control on the content that can be uploaded from the country. While there is no control on the material that can be downloaded, there is government control on information that can be uploaded from Kenya...."

"Internet should be accessible to all to share information, to promote intellectual work and business, and to facilitate communication. In a real Internet spirit the South African government does not regulate who can operate as an ISP or the content that can be uploaded or downloaded from the Internet....This has resulted in an excellent academic Internet infrastructure and a vibrant business Internet infrastructure.

"Internet access in South Africa is free for some academic institutions and customers of ABSA bank. Commercial dial-up rates are as low as $5 per a month making it affordable for most urban dwellers...."

"The top-level domain name management of a country is a public service provided by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This if enforced will promote an African country's presence on the Internet. Currently it is very difficult to tell how many sites on the Internet are from African countries. This is due to the exorbitant amounts charged by some ccTLD (country code top-level domain) managers, for example $35 plus VAT in Ghana. Many Website developers, SMEs and individuals register domain names from the .com, .net, .org etc for as low as $9...."

"The question most African governments need to ask is: How to provide Internet access to citizens at affordable prices and make Internet access available to the rural communities?...The poorer countries without good telecommunication infrastructure are those that pay high prices for Internet access, for example $33.75 per a month in Ghana. Surprisingly, these are the countries with all sorts of control mechanisms. Are these countries concentrating on controlling the Internet instead of expanding it to the whole community?..."

"Is controlling the entrance of new players into the Internet market place the answer to the digital divide? Is it the lack of appropriate knowledge or the lack of capital for these projects, or the lack of manpower, inadequate telecommunication infrastructure, or a combination of these and other factors that cause the ever-widening gap in the digital divide? Have African countries encouraged local citizens to find innovative ways of providing Internet access at affordable prices to their citizens? Why is one country, South Africa, able to offer free Internet access and Internet access for as low as $5 a month while the poor (HIPIC) countries are charging between $30 and $60 a month for a simple dial-up connection?..."

"The questions above require that we examine some of the positive points of the South African scenario...These factors include the following.

• The numerous controls imposed by governments continue to retard the development of Internet access in some countries.
• Each government should develop a well-planned scalable telecommunication infrastructure that is capable of utilizing new technologies as they arise.
• The telecom infrastructure must be maintained and upgraded constantly in line with modern technology.
• Web presence should be promoted with the use of the country code top-level domain name. In this regard ccTLD management should be a public service charging a minimal fee for domain name registrations. Private companies will then act as registrars and value-added sellers.
• A policy is needed for every player in the hi-tech industry and related fields that a certain quota of their services be offered to the rural community and another quota towards education in the rural community for each year...."

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