By IPS Correspondents
JOHANNESBURG, May 7 1998 (IPS)

African countries continue to drag their feet on leaping into the age of information technology with only 12 of the continent’s 53 countries so far signed up for the launch of the world’s first satellite telephone system later this year.

On September 23, 1998, the first handheld satellite telephone service will be started by the United States-based company Idrium. The project combines 66 low-earth-orbit satellites and land-based cellular networks to enable users to call from anywhere in the world to anywhere on the planet.

Telecommunications development experts see this as an opportunity to reach the remote, inaccessible parts of Africa that will enter the next millennium without access to telephones.

“In areas of low or very low population density where geographical phenomena and economic difficulties render traditional land-line access impossible, such a system will represent a significant contribution to social and economic development,” says Pascale Sourisse.

“These systems will also act as drivers for a true integration of rural and remote areas into national development schemes, through access to national services and the creation of qualified local jobs,” adds Sourisse of Skybridge L.P., another satellite communications company.

Africa is the home to 700 million people and only 35 percent of them live in urban areas. Main telephone line penetration averages one per 100 people and the cost of setting up fixed-line infrastructure to these people is beyond the reach of governments.

According to John Richardson of Idrium, “… in Africa, there has been reluctance to sign up without thorough knowledge of the service. One of the fundamental problems is the lack of a formal policy”.

A strong involvement of local entities to operate the system is fundamental, if significant economic returns are to be obtained by the continent.

African countries that have separated their postal and telecommunications units to create leaner and more efficient enterprises include Nigeria, Egypt, Mozambique, Ghana and Senegal.

The majority of African governments, however, have been more concerned about protecting post and telecommunications companies fearing that mobile, and global satellite telephony, poses a direct challenge to them.

On board these satellites are the most intelligent switching systems, much more dependent on inter-satellite links than any other ventures. They also can bypass traditional telecommunication switchers.

“African countries need to adapt to the global mobile portable communications systems. Very few countries have the regulatory framework in place. South Africa has just completed work on it,” says James Rege, regional director of Idrium Africa.

Some of the innovations being mooted to take advantage of the new satellite technology in South Africa, for example, include solar powered telephone booths to provide public access in remote areas out of reach of existing telecommunication services.

Also, “import duties and other taxes are areas governments need to review,” says Muriuki Mureithi of Summit Strategies a telecommunications investment company in Kenya.

“Outside Africa, governments are recognising the role of telecommunications in national development and are looking for ways to reduce and even remove tariff barriers on telecommunication equipment,” Mureithi adds.

So far, Idrium says it has negotiated with 175 local service providers contracted to 47 million people across the globe. An Idrium handset will cost about 2,000 U.S. dollars, while a call will average about two dollars per minute.

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