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Tollgate player cleared of frau... New bill leaves industry with a three-ti... Indian Ocean countries largely isolated ... Africa rings in the changes in informati... Big Mac index finds rand undervalue... Lubombo plan lays trail from SA's Hluhlu... Stals proud to be unpopular if it means ... |
Africa rings in the changes in information industry
Privatisation and deregulation are transforming telecommunications, writes THABO KOBOKOANE
In the past two years, five countries have partially privatised their telecommunication operators, two have introduced a second operator in the fixed-line market, 15 private cellular companies have started up, while a dozen Internet service providers have sprung up as Africa seeks to join the international information economy. This is all based on several radical changes in Africa's regulatory regime, which has sought to separate posts from telecommunications, and to develop independent regulatory agencies. Although it has often lagged behind the rest of the world, there are signs that Africa is starting to wake up. International Telecommunication Union statistics suggest a revival is on the cards. A report to be released today comes on the eve of Africa Telecom 98, the ITU telecommunications showpiece which opens tomorrow and runs until Saturday at Nasrec. The report shows Africa had one of its highest annual growth rates in phone lines, 10%, driven by the targets set out for privatised companies. At this rate, the ITU report says, the 1996 figure of 13.7-million main telephone lines could double by 2003. While most fixed lines remain state-run and only three countries have a second operator, "that privatisation has taken place in some of the region's largest economies makes it likely other countries will follow". For the most part, the sale of national operators has been to strategic foreign investors bringing badly needed foreign exchange and investment. The report says the mobile cellular market is blossoming with subscribers numbers approaching 2-million. But most of these are in SA. It says, however, there is room for additional private investment in the sector, particularly as there are countries without any cellular networks. "Mobile cellular, though relatively expensive, can help boost access by substituting for fixed lines," it says. Access to the Internet has also felt the pace of change. Most countries (47 of the 54) in the region have developed some form of Internet access in capital cities either through local dial-up E-mail, or through full leased-line service. Despite all these achievements, the study warns the real challenge will be to extend "reasonable access to all". While privatisation will increase the number of telephone lines and cellular service could supplement accessibility, the report adds that "these developments will need to be backed up by other policies to extend access at the community level". It says the main challenge for African policymakers is to find ways in which the different sectors - state, private, local and foreign, formal and informal - can work together to achieve common objectives. Meanwhile Jay Naidoo, Minister of Communications, will announce the formation of the Africa Telecommunication Development Fund, which will use Africa Telecom 98 to raise funding for telecommunication infrastructure on the continent. "This vehicle will be a partnership between the public and private sector," says Naidoo.
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