ITU Official Praises African Countries for Innovation

South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria were singled out for praise in promoting telecommunications development by an official of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), during the the African Telecoms 2004 conference yesterday, reports allAfrica.com.

"Michael Minges, head of the Market, Economics and Finance Unit at the ITU argues that barriers to further growth in mobile telephony were less a question of income, than of the geography of signal coverage.

South Africa

South Africa, he said, should be commended for providing 97% of its population with coverage. "South Africa now has better coverage for mobile than for terrestrial TV."

The country was also noted for having led the way in subsidizing growth through exchanging the 1800 frequency, sought after by cellular operators, for four million free sim cards to be given to poor people. "This will dramatically expand the South African market," he said.

Uganda

Minges hailed Uganda for its experiment in adapting India's Grameen financing experience. "Many villages in Uganda can receive cellphone signals, but residents can't afford the service." MTN had a system that put them in touch with micro-finance possibilities, which along with solar-powered or battery-charged phones, allowed individuals to acquire a phone and start a business selling access.

Nigeria

Nigeria also received a mention for having encouraged fixed wireless technologies, which had now grown to serving a quarter of the market for high-speed internet access.

Assessing the prospects for mobile access to Internet, he said that the current "second generation" GSM allowed people to use SMS as a substitute for e-mail".

Related articles from Textually's Mobile phone project - Third World category:

-- ‘Africa's future is mobile'

-- Mobile phone use grows in Africa

-- Cell phones are changing Africans' relationships with one another

-- Community phones connect SA townships

-- SMS Out of Africa

-- Mobile phones for Uganda's poor

emily | 6:05 PM | Mobile phone projects - Third World |
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2004/05/003765.htm