[AfrICANN-discuss] On connectivity in africa

Tue Aug 7 07:09:25 SAST 2007

Dear All,

It is a great move by the Bank but let me propose that the Bank also  
invest in the fiber networks that are planned.

Wiring Africa within and around should be a top priority of the  
Infrastructure part of the ICT Marshall plan at the iConnect Africa  
meeting.

Eric here

On 6 Aug 2007, at 19:12, Anne-Rachel Inné wrote:

> AfDB loans $50 mln for Africa satellite link
>
> Mon 6 Aug 2007, 12:41 GMT
> [-] Text [+] 		
> TUNIS (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved  
> a $50 million loan towards the construction of a satellite to boost  
> communications in Africa's rural areas, the bank said.
>
> The venture will provide several telecoms services including  
> international telephone calls and internet connections and permit  
> radio, television, and multimedia broadcast reception in each  
> country, AfDB's chief investment officer Hassan Farah said.
>
> Eighty-five percent of Africans live in rural areas, the bank said.  
> Africa accounts for only 3.4 percent of global internet users and  
> 3.2 percent of the world's computers.
>
> The venture, involving 45 countries grouped in an organisation  
> called the Regional African Satelite Communications Organisation  
> Members (RASCOM), will extend telephone cover in rural areas and  
> provide cheaper pan-African interconnectivity for African telecom  
> operators, compared to charges levied by existing service providers.
>
> "Farmers will have better access to market information, weather  
> forecasts as well as new technologies," the bank said.
>
> The bank had no word on when the project would be completed. French  
> electronics group Thales said in June the satellite was due for  
> launch in the last quarter of 2007 from Europe's Spaceport in  
> Kourou, French Guyana.
>
> © Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.  |  Learn more about Reuters
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> -----------------------
> Connect Africa Summit to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, 29-30 October 2007
> Marshall Plan for ICT to meet 2015 development goals
>
> Geneva, 11 July 2007 — The Connect Africa Summit will be held in  
> Kigali, Rwanda, 29-30 October 2007. This was announced by ITU  
> Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré at a Press Conference in  
> Geneva, held jointly with the UN Global Alliance for ICT and  
> Development (GAID).
>
> While investment in ICT infrastructure in Africa has improved  
> dramatically in recent years, representing a total of USD 8 billion  
> in 2005 (up from USD 3.5 billion in 2000), and growth in mobile  
> phones has increased by as much as 400 per cent, Africa has fallen  
> back in overall connectivity. While mobile has surpassed fixed line  
> telephone access, fewer than 4 out of every 100 Africans have  
> Internet access; broadband penetration remains below 1 per cent;  
> and 70 per cent of all Internet traffic within Africa is re-routed  
> outside the continent, driving up costs for businesses and consumers.
>
> "We need a Marshall Plan for ICT infrastructure development in  
> Africa," said Dr Touré. "We have to mobilize the world's human,  
> financial and technical resources to support economic growth,  
> employment and development across Africa." He added that support  
> was pouring in from partners in this endeavour, including from  
> leading ICT companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere — who have  
> been given the challenge of replicating their successes in Africa  
> — as well as from governments, international organizations and  
> development banks. He pointed out that the Chairman of Intel  
> Corporation Mr Craig Barrett is spearheading the efforts through  
> his leadership of UN GAID.
>
> With less than 8 years left to meet the 2015 targets of the UN  
> Millennium Development Goals (MDG), drastic steps are required. Dr  
> Touré pointed out that meeting ICT connectivity targets would act  
> as a catalyst in achieving the broader development goals. "ICT is a  
> means of creating wealth and sustainable economic growth," he said.
>
> UN Secretary-General to support Connect Africa initiative
>
> Earlier, speaking at a function at the International  
> Telecommunication Union, UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon  
> expressed his full support to the Connect Africa initiative and  
> said that it represented an important step in overcoming the  
> digital divide. "This is an important vision," he said. "We need to  
> make our best efforts, as part of our MDG programme, to bridge this  
> gap." He also said that ITU should broaden its vision and  
> commitment to meeting long-term global concerns, such as climate  
> change.
>
> The Connect Africa Summit will be held under the patronage of the  
> President of Rwanda, Mr Paul Kagame, and Chairman of the African  
> Union, President John Kufour of Ghana. It will be organized by the  
> International Telecommunication Union, the African Union, the World  
> Bank Group and UN GAID, in partnership with the African Development  
> Bank, the African Telecommunication Union and the UN Economic  
> Commission for Africa. This collaborative effort will engage some  
> 500 high-level stakeholders active in the region, including China,  
> India, the European Commission and G8, OECD and Arab countries,  
> major ICT companies, the United Nations Development Programme and  
> other international organizations.
>
> "This will not be just another Summit," said Dr Touré. "It will be  
> a Summit of commitment between partners, not a meeting to negotiate  
> new resolutions." The private sector, governments and international  
> organizations will be called on to work together, and there will be  
> a commitment to creating an environment that promotes the  
> improvement of ICT. "ICT is a business, and the only way to ensure  
> sustainability and large-scale effects is to provide an environment  
> that lets business deliver ICT," added Dr Touré. "For too long we  
> have had negative information coming from Africa; we have to bring  
> positive news."
>
> Speaking on behalf of GAID, Mr Walter Fust, Director General of the  
> Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, said, "ICT is  
> extremely important for managing knowledge for development, and for  
> bringing local knowledge into development." He stressed the  
> importance of the Connect Africa initiative and said that emphasis  
> should be laid on a few targeted areas, such as using ICT to  
> empower people with disabilities and to "reverse the pyramid of  
> learning" by ensuring that all schools are connected to the  
> Internet. He added that the goal is to establish 500'000  
> telecentres worldwide by 2015.
>
> Online Media Accreditation for the Connect Africa Summit is now open
>
> For Press accreditation, see here.
>
> Information and media briefing notes are available at the  
> designated newsroom for the Connect Africa Summit, click here.
>
> For further information, see here or please contact
>
> Sanjay Acharya
> Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
> ITU
> Tel: +41 22 730 6135
> Mobile: +41 79 249 4861
> E-mail
>
> Enrica Murmura
> Secretariat of the Global Alliance for ICT and Development
> New York
> Tel: +1 212 963-5913
>
> E-mail murmura at un.org
>
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Eric M.K Osiakwan
ICT Integrator
Internet Research
www.internetresearch.com.gh
emko at internetresearch.com.gh
42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North
Tel: +233.21.258800 ext 2031
Fax: +233.21.258811
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