africa and internet

Broadband Internet connections in Africa are expected to more than double by 2011, but the continent is falling further behind the rest of the world as governments fail to open markets and drive down costs.High-speed Internet connections in Africa -- including DSL, WiMax and wireless technologies such as 3G -- are likely to rise to 7 million by 2011 from 3 million now, according to a recent report by South African research group BMI-TechKnowledge.That compares with almost 70 million connections already in European Union countries. The gap means broadband services will be inaccessible to all but a few rich and privileged Africans, which is likely to deter needed foreign investment.Less than 1 percent of Africans have access to broadband services due to a lack of international connectivity and unwieldy monopolies, compared with 22 percent of Americans and 30 percent of western Europeans, Hurst said. More than three-quarters of Internet connections in Africa are dial-up.
North Africans are the most Internet-savvy on the continent, because governments have liberalised telecoms sectors, while Internet service providers can get access to a number of undersea cables thanks to their proximity to Europe.But in East Africa, broadband is virtually non-existent, because there is no undersea cable linking countries to the rest of the world, forcing ISPs to rely on expensive and unreliable satellite connections.