Telecommunications Infrastructure and Development
ICT Networking
Donor Initiatives to Support ICT Infrastructure in Africa
ICT Policy
Conclusion
Annex 1. African Telecommunications Regulatory Agencies
Annex 2. African Mobile Networks
Annex 3. African Internet Connectivity
Annex 4. Privatization Status of African PTOs

The African ICT sector is witnessing a continuous liberalization resulting in satisfaction of demand and increased access. This trend is witnessed especially in the increased availability of cellular telephones. However, it is also important to know that this trend is not reflective of the continent at large.

Telecommunications Infrastructure and Development

The African telecommunications sector is continuing to show a more liberal policy to attract foreign investment and to improve its infrastructure and services. This trend is reflected in:

• the increase in the number of countries that have established an independent regulatory agency,
• the increase in partial/full privatization of the telecommunication operator, and
• the increase in the number of private ISPs and cellphone operators.

The path taken in the liberalization of the telecommunication sector across the continent is similar.

• Separation of the Posts and Telecommunications sectors
• Separation of the telecommunications regulating and operating agencies
• Licensing of operators of various types of telecommunications services
• Partial/full privatization of the PTO

By the end of the year 2000, 25 countries have established an independent telecommunications regulatory authority (See Annex 1.) Out of these 25 countries, 9 of them did so only after 1998. There are only 17 countries where the PTO is the sole mobile telephone services operator (See Annex 2.) However, there remain 7 countries without mobile telephone services. Regarding Internet service provision, the PTO is the only ISP in 13 countries (See Annex 3.)

Seychelles is the only African country where the fixed telephone operation is fully privatized. The trend is to partially privatize the fixed telephone operations of the PTO with shares being sold to a strategic partner, a telecom cmpany from the developed world. Thirteen countries have partially privatized the fixed telephone operations of their PTO (See Annex 4.) Four countries have a second fixed telephone operator. Among the four, Ghana has two fixed line operators besides the PTO. Somalia has four telephone operators although a PTO is non-existent due to the country’s prevailing situation.

The highest increase in cellular subscribers in the sub-Saharan region can be attributed to the introduction of new cellular networks to countries where there was no cellular operations or with a single cellular network ran by the PTO. Countries such as Ghana and Uganda have also allowed the introduction of new entrants (second line operators) in the fixed line market to address the situation.

Compared to the rest of the world, Africa continues to lag behind in the development of the infrastructure with only 2% of the world’s telephone and an average teledensity of less than 2 per 100 inhabitants (1.89% in 1997). Despite the poor infrastructure and other problems, the liberalization of the sector and many of the international initiatives which are contributing to the improvement of the telecommunications infrastructure in the continent have continued.

ICT Networking

The year 2000 saw the Internet connectivity of all the 54 African countries. The key indicators for Internet development are the number of host sites, the number of users and the number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Internet host sites: According to a survey carried out by Network Wizards (NW) (http://www.nw.com) in July 2000, Africa had about 210,572 Internet host sites (184,547 of these were in South Africa), and a growth rate of 70 % compared to a similar survey by NW in July 1998. A separate comparison for sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) shows a rate of increase of 30% for the same period.

Internet Users: According to Mike Jensen, the current estimates put the number of Internet users in Africa as of November 2000 at somewhere around 3,000,000 out of which 2,000,000 were found in South Africa. The highest growth rate in the sub-Saharan region could be attributed to the establishment of new Internet facilities in countries that did not so far have local Internet access.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): Here also according to Mike Jensen, there were about 450 ISPs in the region by early 2000, or 300 ISPs excluding South Africa, and most of the countries in the continent, except for 20 countries, had more than one ISP.

Despite the growth in Internet connectivity in the region, Internet services remained confined in the capital cities, though in some countries the services extend to major secondary towns. Only 16 African countries have established POPs in some locations, with South Africa having POPs in 70 locations. These are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Gabon, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tchad, Togo Tunisia, and Zimbabwe.

Donor Initiatives to Support ICT Infrastructure in Africa

With the growing importance of Internet connectivity and the potentials of ICTs in furthering economic and social developments, defining national ICT policies and strategies are now high on the agenda. A number of donor and executing agencies have joined their efforts to support African countries in formulating ICT policies in accordance to the prevailing development priorities of each country.

The African Development Forum, held in October 1999 with the theme "The Challenge to Africa of Globalisation and the Information Age," was instrumental in further developing an African-led ICT agenda. Concrete outcomes were achieved from this forum addressing ICT application in healthcare, education and commerce. In addition, the need for developing National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) policies and plans was another area that received increased response.

Among the many continental and international fora which pledged support to the development of the African ICT infrastructure, we find:

• The Global Knowledge II (GKII) Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• The ACT 2000 held in Sun City, South Africa
• The G8 Summit held in Okinawa, Japan and the establishment of the DOT (Digital Opportunity Taskforce) Force
• The launching of the Global Development Gateway Project
• The election of Africans to the ICANN board
• The launch of Scan-ICT to document the progress of ICT development in Africa.

ICT Policy

The African Information Society Initiative (AISI) calls for the elaboration and implementation of national information and communication infrastructure plans in all African countries. The past year saw continued effort in preparing National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plans and policies across the continent. Figure 1 shows the status of the development of NICI plans and policies at the end of 2000. Thirteen countries have NICI policies and plans while ten countries are in the process of designing NICI policies and plans.

The AISI framework and the Acacia Initiative have been highly instrumental in stimulating debates and discussions on ICT policy formulation and implementation in Africa. At the outset, it is important to recognize that the process for setting-up ICT policies and strategies is not automatic (even very slow to come), as it requires concerted efforts from all parties, mainly from national governments for effective leadership and direction.

Conclusion

Telecommunications regulatory activities including the licensing of operators, partial/full privatization of government owned operators and the involvement of the private sector as telecommunications operators have shown progress in the past year. The progress has been complemented in terms of fulfilled demands and increased access. Such activities need further encouragement as they are the core in the development of the African ICT infrastructure.

The Forum on Telecommunication Regulation in Africa held by the ITU in Gaborone, Botswana from 25-27 October 2000 is a case in point. The outcomes of the forum, coupled with other efforts such as the ongoing attempt to establish a regulators association are expected to further augment ongoing efforts. Addressing regulatory challenges through appropriate policies and actions remains the only alternative in the ever-changing ICT sector.

Annex 1. African Telecommunications Regulatory Agencies ^@

Annex 2. African Mobile Networks.

# ITU World Telecommunication Development Report – 1999.

Annex 3. African Internet Connectivity.

# ITU World Telecommunication Development Report – 1999

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