18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria1 Building an African Information Infrastructure : strategies for overcoming current limitations towards achieving Universal Internet Access ‘Shola TAYLOR Principal Consultant/CEO Kemiliñks International Afrinet September 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria

18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria2 The Internet Explosion Growth has been phenomenal hosts + several thousand users m hosts m users Virtually every country connected 74 years to reach 50 m telephone users 4 years to reach 50 m internet users Africa is still lagging behind

18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria3 Internet Expansion - what next? Difficult to predict, BUT … -multimedia is emerging with larger BW requirements that are scarce/expensive Can Africa catch up ? -Internet expansion requires good backbone networks -Africa can catch up IF … the right policies and regulations are there

18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria4 Limitations to growth of Internet in Africa Kemilinks study of Internet access in Africa indicates 4 main limitations : Price of Internet Access - hardware/software -service provision -telephone service charges Infrastructure Content : source, language Regulations

18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria5 Strategies for overcoming limitations(I) Define government policy towards Universal access and Universal Service : with realistic goals and timeframe Ensure demonstrable commitment of governments at all levels - establish websites etc. Licensing must be relevant to developmental needs -network roll out and performance targets -define obligations including rural access -enforceable penalties if targets are not met

18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria6 Strategies for overcoming limitations(II) Licence infrastructure providers Encourage more foreign investment with local partnership Clearly defined regulatory framework – incumbent vs ISPs, international access etc. Special Tariffs to attract more users Encourage more Telecentres, particularly in underserved areas Promote competition in service provision Promote local development of content

18-20 September 2000Afrinet 2000, Ecowas Secretariat, Abuja, Nigeria7 THANK YOU Thank you for listening CONTACTS -tel fax