Information Society Watch

July 2006, Gumisai Mutume, Africa Renewal

This article discusses the $300 million East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) expected to be completed in 2007. This system will, among other functions, support broadband Internet connections that transmit information at up to 40 times the speed of dial-up telephone links. The project is being undertaken by New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and is part of Africa’s strategy to ensure all countries are connected to each other via a broadband system. This will mean a tremendous change from the earlier modes of Internet traffic in Africa, which required routing through US, Europe or Asia. The article also discusses the Pan African Localisation Project financed by the IDRC for localising Internet and software content into African languages. The project hopes to halt the dominance of European languages throughout the Internet, and ensure participation from African societies, most of whom are very poorly connected to the Internet.

Read full text