Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] On connectivity in africa
Eric M.K Osiakwan
emko at internetresearch.com.gh
Tue Aug 7 17:34:17 SAST 2007
It is important that the funding is done in an Open Access manner so
we avoid the remnants of a closed club as in the SAT3 rendition.
Thank you.
Begin forwarded message:
> From: "Eric M.K Osiakwan" <emko at internetresearch.com.gh>
> Date: 7 August 2007 08:09:25 GMT+03:00
> To: africann at afrinic.net
> Subject: Re: [AfrICANN-discuss] On connectivity in africa
> Reply-To: africann at afrinic.net
>
> 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
> Cell: +233.24.4386792
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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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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