World Dialogue on Regulation

The findings of the study on ICT demand in nine African countries will be examined and their implications debated by African regulators, policy makers and researchers at the World Dialogue on Regulation Africa Expert Forum. The Expert Forum has been rescheduled and will now be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 28 February 2005.

While Africans are making unprecedented use of information and communication technologies, with over 52 million mobile subscribers across the continent, in Uganda less than 1% of households continue to have access to fixed line telephony and only 0.3% to Internet access.

In Rwanda, gaining access could cost consumers more than their median monthly income making pre-paid mobile the only option for many Africans. Even in South Africa, with the highest GDP per capita on the continent, mobile penetration has only extended access beyond the 22% of households which already have fixed-line access by a further 10% to 32%.

These are some of the findings of Understanding ICT Demand in Africa: A study of nine countries. Using national surveys of over 16,000 households across eleven African countries the study sought to understand the diverse demand for ICTs in urban and rural settings, the means of access, expenditure on fixed, mobile, pay phones and the Internet and communication practices and patterns in African households.

The country reports for Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa,  Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia and a comparative analysis of the findings will be available from 31 January at www.researchICTafrica.net

The findings of the study will be examined and their implications debated by African regulators, policy makers and researchers at the World Dialogue on Regulation Africa Expert Forum to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 28 February. The full programme of the forum will be available on the Research ICT Africa website.

The national household surveys were led by the following Research ICT Africa! members:

University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa – Alison Gillwald, (network host).

• Namibian Economic Policy Research Unit – Christoph Stork
• University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  -  Lishan  Adam
• University of Botswana, Sebusang Sebusang
• University of Ghana –  Amos Anyimadu
• University of Makerere, Uganda – F F Tusubira
• University of Rwanda –  Albert Nsenyiyumva
• University of Yaoundé in Cameroon  -  Olivier Nana Nzépa
• University of Zambia –   Sikaaba Mavula

See http://researchICTafrica.net for more information and contact details.