Africa's ICT Infrastructure

Mark D. J. Williams

Description

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been a remarkable success in Africa. In just 10 years-dating from the end of the 1990s-mobile network coverage rose from 16 percent to 90 percent of the urban population and by 2009 nearly half of Africa's rural population was also living within range of a mobile network. Large-scale investment in the sector across the continent has transformed telecommunications from a luxury enjoyed by a privileged few to a mass-market, low-cost service, used in villages and cities alike.
Africa's ICT Infrastructure: Building on the Mobile Revolution charts this ICT revolution, reviewing the rapid growth in networks and the emergence of the mobile phone as a part of everyday life in Africa. It also tracks the policy and regulatory changes that have driven this growth: the liberalization of markets, the establishment of effective competition and the emergence of institutions to regulate the sector.
Africa's ICT Infrastructure reviews how the investment in the sector has been financed and how the structure of the market has changed since the liberalization process started. It looks at the role of both private and public institutions as sources of financing for the sector and charts the emergence of investors from developing countries in leading the expansion of the sector across the region.

In the context of these successful sector reforms, Africa's ICT Infrastructure addresses one of the key questions facing regulators and policy makers: how far will this process go in delivering universal access to telecommunications services? By adopting an innovative new spatial modeling approach, the authors have mapped existing mobile network coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa and estimated the limits of commercially viable network expansion.
But at the same time as voice networks are expanding across the region, the focus of sector policy makers is turning to the Internet which is becoming increasingly important in the global economy. The authors use a similar spatial approach to analyze the commercial viability of wireless broadband networks in Africa and review the development of the region's fiber-optic network infrastructure which lies at the heart of broadband service delivery.
Finally, Africa's ICT Infrastructure draws these experiences together and offers a set of policy recommendations that will support the continued development of the sector, particularly in the delivery of affordable broadband Internet.

Sujets

• Broadband
• ICT
• License
• Mobile phone
• Mobile telephony
• WWW
• Information and communications technology

Informations

• Publié par: world-bank-publications
• Publié le: 23 juin 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 20
• EAN13: 9780821386767
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT
Infrastructure
Africa’s ICT Infrastructure
Building on the Mobile Revolution
Mark D. J. Williams, Rebecca Mayer, and Michael Minges Africa’s ICT InfrastructureAfrica’s ICT Infrastructure
Building on the Mobile Revolution
Mark D. J. Williams, Rebecca Mayer, and Michael Minges
Vivien Foster and Cecilia Briceño-Garmendia
Series Editors© 2011 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
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Washington DC 20433
Telephone: [phone]
Internet: www.worldbank.org
All rights reserved
1 2 3 4 14 13 12 11
This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development / The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in
this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World
Bank or the governments they represent.
The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The
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All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to
the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433,
USA; fax: [phone]; e-mail: [e-mail].
ISBN: 978-0-8213-8454-1
eISBN: 978-0-8213-8676-7
DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-8454-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data has been requested.
Cover photo: Jonathan Ernst / World Bank
Cover design: Naylor DesignContents
About the AICD xiii
Series Foreword xv
About the Authors xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Abbreviations xxi
Chapter 1 Introduction 1
Access to Communications 2
Institutions and Market Reform 9
Financing 15
Future Investment Needs 17
Policy Analysis and Conclusions 20
Notes 24
References
Chapter 2 Access to Telecommunications in Africa 25
Access: Burgeoning, at Least for Mobile
Telephony 26
Prices: Falling, Where Competition Is the Rule 33
Quality: Reliability Is a Problem 45
v vi Contents
Infrastructure: Bottlenecks Impede Growth 50
Conclusion 66
Notes
References 68
Chapter 3 Market Reform and Regulation 71
Market Liberalization and the Development
of Competition 73
Private Sector Participation 95
Regulation 98
Reform and Performance 108
Notes 115
References 118
Chapter 4 Financing Telecommunications in Africa 123
Private Financing of ICT Investment 124
Public Financing of ICT Investment 137144
References 145
Chapter 5 Future Investment Needs 147
The Cost of Providing Basic Voice Network
Coverage 149
Wireless Broadband Infrastructure 170
Notes 178178
Chapter 6 Policy Analysis and Conclusions 181
Policy Analysis 181
Recommendations 186
Conclusion 199
References 200
Appendix 1 Access to Telecommunications in Africa 201
Appendix 2 Market Reform and Regulation 203
Appendix 3 Financing Telecommunications in Africa 237
Appendix 4 Future Investment Needs 245Contents vii
Appendix 5 Rates of P enetration of ICT Services in
Sub-Saharan Africa 255
Index 267
Boxes
2.1 The Challenge of Estimating the Number of
Broadband Users in Africa: The Case of Nigeria 34
3.1 Fixed-Line Services in Nigeria 76
5.1 Wireless Broadband Infrastructure Basics 171
Figures
1.1 Competition in Mobile Markets in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 1993–2009 10
2.1 Telecommunications Subscribers, Sub-Saharan
Africa, 1998–2008 27
2.2 Growth in New Mobile Subscribers, Sub-Saharan
Africa, 1999–2008 28
2.3 ICT Penetration Rates per 100 Inhabitants, 2008 29
2.4 Average Penetration Rates, Top 10 Countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa versus Bottom 10, 2008 30
2.5 Access to Telephones by Rural/Urban and
Income Quintile, 2007 31
2.6 Public Pay Phones in Kenya, 2001/02–2007/08 32
2.7 Wireless Broadband Subscriber Growth (2000–10),
Top 10 Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa 33
2.8 Cost of Fixed-Line Monthly Basket, 2009 36
2.9 Cost of Mobile Prepaid Monthly Basket, 2009 37
2.10 Trends in Mobile Prices in Africa 39
2.11 Median Mobile Monthly Average Revenue
per User, 2000–10 40
2.12 Value Added and Excise Taxes on Mobile
Communications Services, 2007 41
2.13 Average (Mean) Price of a One-Minute Peak-Rate
Call to the United States from Countries in
Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–08 42
2.14 Price of One-Minute Peak-Rate Call to the United
States from Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2010 43
2.15 eak-Rate International
Call within Africa, 2010 44viii Contents
2.16 Price of One-Minute Peak-Rate Call within and outside
Sub-Saharan African Trade Agreements, 2010 45
2.17 Fixed Broadband Price, 2010 46
2.18 Fixed Broadband Internet Subbasket by Region
and Level of Development, 2008 47
2.19 Monthly Mobile Broadband Prices, 2010 48
2.20 International Internet Bandwidth, 2009 51
2.21 GSM Footprint, 1999 and 2009 54
2.22 Mobile Network Population Coverage, 2009 55
2.23 Wireless Broadband Subscribers in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 2005–10 57
2.24 Backbone Bandwidth Requirements for Various
Communication Services 59
2.25 Fiber-Optic Backbone Infrastructure Deployed
and Planned, 2009 60
2.26 Length of Operational Fiber-Optic Backbone
Networks in Top 10 Countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa (excluding South Africa), End 2009 61
2.27 Length of Fiber-Optic Backbone Network under
Construction in Tan Africa), End 2009 62
2.28 Submarine Fiber-Optic Cables in Africa, 2011 63
3.1 Net Change in Fixed Lines, Sub-Saharan
Africa, 1999–2008 78
3.2 Mobile Voice Market Liberalization in
Sub-Saharan Africa, 1993–2009 79
3.3 Broadband Internet Value Chain 84
3.4 Ownership of Fiber-Optic Backbone Networks 86
3.5 Fiber-Optic Backbone Networks in Nigeria, 2009 89
3.6 Fiber-Optic Backbone Networks in Sudan, 2011 91
3.7 Financing Structure of Regulatory Authority
for Select Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2007 99
3.8 Scorecard for Oversight of the Telecommunications
Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2007 102
3.9 Interconnection Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2008 104
3.10 Mobile Termination Rates in Sub-Saharan African
Countries, 2009 106
3.11 Difference between Expected and Actual
Penetration Rates for Mobile and Fixed-Line Operators 109
3.12 Impact of Reform on Tariffs 110