The Malawi government had earlier
turned down applications from private Internet Service Providers (ISP) and instead granted
one to its own Malawi Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (MPTC). In a joint venture
effort between MPTC (38%), ComNet of USA (42%) and Bj Trust of Malawi (20%), MalawiNet was
established in 1997 as the only commercial Internet Service Provider. The Malawi
Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) established in 1998 has reorganised the
sector. Accordingly a mechanism for liberalising and licencing of ISPs was put in place.
As of February 2000, fifteen ISP licences have been issued. Out of the fifteen, five ISPs
- SDNP, BUMAS, Integrated Computers, Epsilon Omega, Computerland, Wiss, Global Internet
and Africa Online are providing services along Malwi Net.
All ISPs do provide hosting
services.
MalawiNet operates 128 Kbps link directly
to the US with POPs in Lilongwe and Blantyre, but calls from anywhere in the country are
tariffed at local call rates.
InterACCESS, the
communications division of Computer
Solutions Ltd, is the only company in Malawi providing Internet Web Hosting
and related services. InterACCESS also owns the Top Level Domain ("mw" TLD) for
Malawi and controls and administers all custom domain registrations, currently managed by
and executed on servers in the USA.
Computer World, a
subsidiary of Computer Solutions Ltd. and the first computer retail outlet in Malawi, was
recently extended to include the country’s first Internet Café which provides
facilities for casual browsing, training and bureau services.
The MPTC recently liberalised the
market, allowing private ISPs to obtain their own connections, either via MalawiNet's POPs
in Lilongwe or Blantyre or via a direct international link from MPTC (costing 20,000
USD/month). VSAT-based services have recently been allowed, with companies such as Lever
Brothers and Oilcom installing equipment to service their internal communications needs.
Communication costs by MalawiNet
are as follows: (US$ 1.00 = 43.35 Malawi Kwachas (MK) by mid 1999)
| E-mail
set-up |
2,000
MK |
| E-mail
subscription |
420
MK/month |
Free time: 2hrs/month |
| Internet
connection fee |
4,160
MK/month |
| Internet
subscription |
2,500
MK/month |
Free time: 20hrs/month |
Internet host sites: 13
(2000)
Internet subscribers
(2000):
- Total: 4,400
- Internet subscribers per 10,000
inhabitants: 9.40
The total of 4,400 subscribers
could be misleading because there are several Intranets that have only one account with an
ISP. Some of the Intranets are Malawi Government Wide Area Network, Malawi
Telecommunications Ltd, Limbe Leaf Tobacco, and Agriculture Development marketing
corporation. For example Malawi Government Wide Area Network has 450 active users.
Internet Users (2000):
- Total: 15,000
- Users per 10,000 inhabitants: 14.51
Internet use by categories:
- Individual: 38%
- Commercial: 38%
- Academic and Research: 3%
- NGO/UN/International: 11%
- Government: 10%
Internet bandwidth (Kbps):
128
