Open Up Access for Africa

In March 2008 statistics showed that just 3.6% of internet users in the world were from Africa. APC is advocating governments and business to "open up" infrastructure and regulate for lower prices.

The Case for “Open Access” in Africa: Mauritius case study LONDON (Russell Southwood for APC) -
As other African countries along the SAT-3 submarine internet cable struggle with the high costs of monopolised international bandwidth, Mauritius has encouraged a lowering of prices through price-setting. But Mauritius Telecom had lowered its rates even before the government scale came into effect. The Cyber Island has seen a significant increase in its call centre and outsourcing sectors. Can Mauritius provide lessons to countries that are looking to boost their economies? This study written by Russell Southwood for APC in May, and now available for the first time in French and Portuguese, examines the relationship between international bandwidth prices in Mauritius and the impact of its Cyber Island strategy.

Internet in Africa: A well-organised racket MONTREAL (Frédéric Dubois for Alternatives) -
Africans pay five to ten times more than Canadians do to access the internet. It is even more costly in rural settings, where a connection is often hard to find. However, what is even more scandalous is the fact that the consumers have no say. A walk on the dark side of the internet.

Privatisation on its own can be dangerous, workshop told JOHANNESBURG (Alan Finlay for APCNews) -

Privatisation without regulation does not necessarily improve service delivery, and may even decrease access to information and communication technology for the poor. This is the view of US-based academic and ICT policy analyst Robert Horwitz, who was speaking at a one-week research workshop held in Johannesburg in July 2008. Horwitz is no newcomer to South Africa, or to the politics behind antennas, cables and wires.

A statement by African civil society groups was made in light of the publicised commitments and goals of the Connect Africa Summit taking place in Rwanda, Kigali on 29th and 30th of October 2007. The statement acknowledges that the private sector plays a key role in the deployment of infrastructure in Africa. Its continued investment should be encouraged through the implementation of a stable policy environment that encourages investment as well as protect the public interest. Read the full statement here

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Visit: http://www.apc.org/en/news/openaccess/africa/cyber-strategy-mauritius-ca