Publication: Africa's ICT Infrastructure : Building on the Mobile Revolution
Date
2011-06-23
ISSN
Published
2011-06-23
Author(s)
Williams, Mark D. J.
Mayer, Rebecca
Minges, Michael
Abstract
Information and communication
technologies (ICTs) have been a remarkable success in
Africa. Across the continent, the availability and quality
of service have gone up and the cost has gone down. In just
10 years dating from the end of the 1990s mobile network
coverage rose from 16 percent to 90 percent of the urban
population; by 2009, rural coverage stood at just under 50
percent of the population. Although the performance of
Africa's mobile networks over the past decade has been
remarkable, the telecommunications sector in the rest of the
world has also evolved rapidly. Many countries now regard
broadband Internet as central to their long-term economic
development strategies, and many companies realize that the
use of ICT is the key to maintaining profitability. This
book is about that challenge and others. Chapters two and
three describe the recent history of the telecommunications
market in Africa; they cover such issues as prices, access,
the performance of the networks, and the regulatory reforms
that have triggered much of the investment. This part of the
book compares network performance across the region and
tries to explain why some countries have moved so much more
quickly than others in providing affordable
telecommunications services. Chapter four explores the
financial side of the telecommunications revolution in
Africa and details how the massive investments have been
financed and which companies have most influenced the
sector. Chapter five deals with the future of the sector.
The final chapter synthesizes the main chapters of the book
and presents policy recommendations intended to drive the
sector forward.
Citation
“Williams, Mark D. J.; Mayer, Rebecca; Minges, Michael. 2011. Africa's ICT Infrastructure :
Building on the Mobile Revolution. Direction in Development ; infrastructure. © World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2325?show=full License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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