[AfrICANN-discuss] On connectivity in africa

Tue Aug 7 12:44:24 SAST 2007

Eric, All,

Thanks to an email from Aduba Chuka from AfDB copied,  for projects or I
guess opinions :-), people can contact Mr. Diallo Thierno who is now in
charge of ICT on Operations side (I do not have his email) or Mr. I Irrua of
NEPAD (I.Ini at afdb.org).

Cheers
ar

On 8/7/07, Eric M.K Osiakwan <emko at internetresearch.com.gh> wrote:
>
> 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.
>
> (c) Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.   |  Learn more about Reuters
> <http://about.reuters.com/home/?WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1-2>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 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<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/media/accreditation/index.html>
> *.
>
> Information and media briefing notes are available at the designated
> newsroom for the Connect Africa Summit, click here<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/media/index.html>
> .
> * *
>
> *For further information, see here<http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/connect/africa/2007/index.html>or please contact
> *
>
> *Sanjay Acharya
> *Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
> ITU
> Tel: +41 22 730 6135
> Mobile: +41 79 249 4861
>  E-mail <http://www.itu.int/home/feedback/index.phtml?mail=pressinfo>
> * *
>
> *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
> Cell: +233.24.4386792
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Anne-Rachel Inne
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