Information Society Watch

February 2, 2008, Nicole Ferraro, LightReading.com

Africa has been seemingly bypassed by the growth of the Internet, as evinced by the fact that only 3.5% of the Internet users of the planet live there. There were multiple reasons for this slow growth in Internet usage, primarily due to high costs associated with cable-based services, as well lack of reliable electricity supply. However, with the advent of mobile phone technologies which offer Internet access, these challenges are being overcome. In projects ranging from accessibility to health care databases to agricultural produce trading, cell phones have bypassed the traditional problems that plague wired access and have provided a useful and highly cost-effective service to the users. Wireless Internet is thus poised to change the African Internet landscape and will probably help transform the continent in a significant way.

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