COMMUNICATION: Internet Use Growing, But Still Lags, in Africa

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Sep 30 2002 (IPS) - Slow to plug into the ‘wired world’, the African continent is now making “relatively rapid” progress in using information and communication technologies (ICT), says a U.N. study released Monday.

Still, the digital divide is at its “most extreme” in Africa, where ICT is at a very early stage of development compared to other regions of the world, the study warns.

And until that changes, says U.N. chief Kofi Annan, the continent will be unable to attract the investment that generates economic growth.

“Five years ago, only a handful of countries had local Internet access, now it is available in every capital city,” the study says.

Of Africa’s roughly 816 million people, it was estimated in 2001 that one in four had a radio; one in three a television; one in 35 a mobile phone; one in 40 a fixed telephone line; one in 130 a personal computer; one in 160 used the Internet and one in 400 had pay television.

“The last five years in Africa have seen the mobile phone explosion, with more cell phones activated in that time period than landline connections installed over the last century, and wireless users outnumber traditional fixed-line users in many countries,” adds the study, prepared by the U.N. information and communication technologies task force.

Many Internet accounts are shared, and public access services such as tele-centres, cyber cafes, and other forms of public Internet access are growing rapidly in urban areas across Africa, reports the study, titled ‘ICTs in Africa: a Status Report’.

But despite this rapid progress, sub-Saharan Africa, along with South Asia – where growth is faster – remains at the bottom of the list of Internet usage in developing regions.

U.N. Secretary-General Annan said Monday that bridging the digital divide in Africa, and elsewhere, is a formidable task that requires not only leadership, but also a major commitment of resources.

“Nowhere are the needs more acute than in that part of the world. ICT is a chance for Africa,” he said.

“It is not, of course, a magic formula that is going to solve all the problems. But it is a powerful took for economic growth and poverty eradication, which can facilitate the integration of African countries into the global economy.”

“With innovations such as wireless fidelity – commonly known as Wi-Fi – and other low-cost technologies and business models that are now being explored, we should aim to provide cheap, fast and eventually free access to the Internet,” he said.

But investments will still be necessary, not only to ensure that people have the technical skills and the literacy needed to use information technology facilities and service them, but also to create content that reflects the interests of that part of the world, he added.

The U.N. Task Force on ICTs, appointed by Annan two years ago, has decided to place special emphasis on Africa.

Internet use is highest in the United States, where 54.3 percent of the people use the technology, compared with 28.2 percent in Western Europe, 3.9 percent in Eastern Europe, 3.2 percent in Latin America, 2.3 percent in East Asia and the Pacific, 0.6 percent in the Middle East and 0.4 percent each in South Asia and Africa.

The strongest growth in Africa has occurred consistently in the north and south and among the higher income sectors.

As of mid-2002, the number of dial-up Internet subscribers was close to 1.7 million, up 20 percent from 2001, mainly bolstered by growth in a few countries, such as Nigeria.

Of these subscribers, north and south Africa were responsible for about 1.2 million, leaving about 500,000 in the remaining 40 sub-Saharan countries.

The study also said that radio still remains the dominant mass medium in Africa. Radio ownership is estimated at 200 million in 2002 versus 62 million televisions.