ICTworks by Inveneo

The Nigeria ICT Forum has a call to action - a call for Broad Band For Nigeria (BB4NG): broadband internet access with speed of at least 4Mbps that is accessible, affordable and dependable to all citizens regardless of their status, station or location.

Now just to make sure we're all talking the same language, BB4NG defines broadband Internet connectivity as:

a descriptive term for evolving digital technologies that provide consumers a signal switched facility offering integrated access to voice, high-speed data service, video-demand services, and interactive delivery services

And BB4NG believes that access to information is capable of promoting & accelerating development of the country, citing the GDP impacts of broadband:

"…for every 10 percentage point increase in penetrations of broadband services, there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points."

Not a long-term BB4NG power solution

But where's the call for electrical power?

Now I happen to strongly agree with BB4NG. Broadband Internet access can accelerate the pace of development - economic, social, political - but even more than other information and communication technologies, broadband relies on a stable, reliable, and maintained municipal electrical grid infrastructure. Without it, broadband for all is a dream. Or as Oluwaseun Ojedeji says:

I think during the [BB4NG] forum, discussing how to create a policy that is geared towards having adequate power supply should be at the front burner. Yes Finland made such move because they already had the ingredients on ground. Electricity is very key and its on this that ICT will build on. Its good to have a broadband policy, but if the policy is for the people's benefit then power is inevitable!

Sadly, it may be easier to implement a broadband policy than to re-energize Nigeria's power grid, which is a defeat for Nigeria even if BB4NG succeeds.

I was IM'ing with Possicon this weekend about the difference between online business opportunities in Nigeria and Kenya. We both agreed that Nigeria could and should be beating Kenya in Internet businesses, but its not.

Both Kenya and Nigeria have many problems. But I think there are 3 main reasons why Kenya is pulling ahead of Nigeria, even though its a much smaller country:

1. Safaricom

It may not be the best mobile phone provider in Africa, but its certainly one of the most innovative and is pushing Internet access aggressively across the country with 3G data services and subsidized netbooks.

Nigeria may have more mobile phone players, and cheaper voice rates, but their 3G data services are no where near the quality and reach of Safaricom.

Glo 1 landing in Nigeria

2. Seacom & Teams

The East African bandwidth bonanza cannot be underestimated. With two huge fiber optic cables landing in Kenya, and it serving as a backbone for Uganda and Rwanda, Kenyans now have an unprecedented position to drive Internet adoption across East Africa.

Nigeria's telcom sector is years behind. Yes, the Glo cable is coming, but with the current restrictive regulation, I bet it will still be cheaper for Nigerian companies to buy bandwidth microwaved over from Benin.

3. Kenya Power & Lighting

Say what you will about last year's blackout, KPLC is pretty reliable as a power company, especially when compared with its peers. And anything digital or Internet needs constant, reliable electrical power.

No one would call Nigeria's National Electric Power Authority anything but useless. Not when it generates a new national anthem on daily basis.

Rise Up Nigeria!

These may be the 3 reasons why Kenya is leading now, but don't think that they will always be ahead. Possicon and I both also agree that Nigeria could overtake Kenya at any time, if it focused, if Nigerians themselves, and Nigerian business were serious about tapping the Nigerian Internet goldmine.

May 2010 be the year Nigerians wake up - or risk getting passed by.

This year, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have had to introduce power rationing, with industrial areas losing power intermittently for a day or a few hours at a time and residential areas losing power for up to three days in a week. In Kenya, it is estimated that the power outages will have negative effects on economic growth and that lower bandwidth prices will not benefit the small companies based in residential areas.

"The situation in Kenya is very ironical, I have a friend who shifted his offices from Nairobi city center to one of the residential areas; offering technical services locally and abroad, now he is experiencing blackouts for three days in a week," said Tony Ng'eno, managing director of WinAfrique, a renewable energy company operating in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Angola.

"Lack of regular or sufficient power delivery has a negative impact on the ICT sector; it increases costs for both providers and users alike by (requiring) additional sources of power like generators, which increases both capex and operational costs," said Dobek Pater, telecom analyst at Africa Analysis.

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=3D6F8DE0-1A64-67EA-E49CC7285E0C224A