West Africa
How MainOne is Driving Internet Access Competition in West Africa
MainOne is driving change in Africa, starting from West Africa
Competition is good. It not only keeps prices down but also keeps innovation up. For close to a decade, SAT3 (a submarine cable system) was the lone player in the fibre internet connectivity marketplace for West Africa. Things have changed in recent times.
The commercial launch of MainOne (another submarine cable system that currently connects Ghana & Nigeria to Europe) is rapidly changing internet connectivity in Ghana and Nigeria. With 10 times more capacity than SAT3, MainOne is poised to shake-up internet connectivity in West Africa. Already, the revolution has began.
The MainOne Cable is owned by MainOne Cable Company Mauritius; a pan-African company that has built a private sector led international telecommunications highway between West Africa and the rest of the world, via Portugal. With fibre optic cable licenses in Nigeria and Ghana, MainOne is aiming to be the preferred wholesale international bandwidth provider in Africa.
Since the commercial launch of MainOne in July 2010, the market especially in Nigeria has been witnessing a drastic improvement. For a start, the following Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Nigeria have connected to the MainOne submarine cable system: ipNX, MTN, Netcom, etisalat, Starcomms, Galaxy Backbone, Vdt Communications and Swift Network. The ISPs are now able to offer improved connectivity to their clients.
Steven Evans, CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, had this to say about Etisalat’s connection to MainOne in July 2010:
“submarine fibre optic cable will enhance Etisalat’s broadband capacity thus leading to improved data services to the benefit of our customers. Our subscription to the new technology is a demonstration of our commitment to delivery of superior service, which we are known for globally. Our customers remain the core of our business hence we are always keen to deploy the best technology available for their advantage.”
The changes have not been limited to improved connectivity alone. The tariffs are already dropping.
MTN, the biggest telecommunications network in Nigeria that offers internet connectivity nationwide using varying technologies, has recently been announcing reduction in its internet connection tariffs for its mobile users. MTN has not only reduced its pricing, but has also increased the data limits on its data bundles by up to 40% whilst introducing new Weekend and Daytime data plans. MTN’s BlackBerry users have not been left out of the party. MTN recently announced a new “promotional” tariff cut via SMS:
You can now stay connected on your BlackBerry for less. MTN offers you BIS weekly for N1,000 & BIS monthly for N3,000
Things are taking shape albeit slowly, in Ghana as well. Ecoband offers connectivity solutions to ISPs and Data Network Operators in West Africa, from its base in Accra Ghana. The company recently connected to MainOne and announced in late October 2010:
Ecoband activated STM-1 service on the new MainOne submarine fibre optic cable connecting Nigeria and Ghana with the Internet backbone in Europe. This makes Ecoband the first ISP and data network operator in Ghana to benefit from the new state of the art technology deployed by the MainOne Cable Company connecting Ghana with under 100ms RTT delay to Europe.
Some 3 ISPs in Ghana make use of Ecoband’s connectivity solutions: BusyInternet, MTN, and Teledata ICT. Though tariff cuts have not been announced, subscribers of any of the ISPs can already experience the improved connectivity. It is to be noted that BusyInternet has been advertising an “improved capacity” on Facebook.com in recent times, targetted at residents of Ghana, in a bid to earn more of the market pie.
The operators of SAT3 submarine cable in Ghana have already reacted to the threat poised by MainOne, by reducing their pricing by as much as 53%. In a report recently published by Business & Financial Times (B&FT):
The National Communication Backbone Company (NCBC) has reduced the wholesale prices at which it sells international and national bandwidth capacity to Internet Service Providers (ISP) by half as other international bandwidth providers enter the market, B&FT has gathered. NCBC, which manages the SAT3 on behalf of Vodafone and the national broadband fibre-optic cable, has since the beginning of this month dropped the US$4,500 price tag at which it sells el (2megabites) to ISPs to US$2,100.
Additionally, the average national bandwidth price has also dropped by about 53% amidst fears the existing carriers may lose customers ahead of the new cables landing in the country. The reductions follow an announcement by MainOne Cable, a new entrant to the international bandwidth market, that it sells the same capacity of e1 for US$1,050.
As more ISPs join the MainOne submarine cable system, one only can expect market forces to push down the cost of Internet connectivity in West Africa since there is now much more bandwidth to go round.
This was originally published as Internet Connectivity in West Africa: How MainOne is driving competition
Oluniyi Ajao
Web4Africa Ltd.I am an Internet entrepreneur & technology enthusiast with strong interests in web design & hosting, writing about mobile communications technologies, and blogging.
Who is Who in ICT4D in Ghana, West Africa?
I am an Ethiopian that has not been back in Africa in 4 years and so I am counting down to my very first trip to Ghana and I am excited. Ghana is arguably one of the main hubs for ICT in Africa.
With 5 mobile providers operating in country it has highly dynamic mobile markets that are still growing. Ghana is also a place with strong wireless internet infrastructure. Ghana Telecom, currently owned by Vodaphone, owns a majority of the telecommunication infrastructure, however, the National Communications Authority has granted licenses to many ISPs to operate their own international satellite gateways as well.
Most interestingly for ICT4D, the Ghanaian government has embraced the idea that the ICT can be key a tool for sustainable development in their Ghana ICT4D National Policy:
The information and communication technology for accelerated development (ICT4AD) Policy is the result of a three phased process to develop an ICT-driven socio-economic development policy and plan that aims to aid Ghana’s developmental effort and facilitate the process of becoming a knowledge based information society and economy in the shortest possible time.
This makes it exciting for an ICT4D enthusiast like me to venture into a country where there is a homegrown ICT university the "Ghana Telecom University." that draws students from across West Africa and where Microsoft is planning to open a training site. Even Google wants in on this party, having recently launched Google Maps in Ghana. The only other Sub-Saharan African countries with this utility are Kenya and South Africa.
So from one enthusiast to another, I would love to hear from those of you that have experience working with ICT4D in Ghana or have any ideas about things I should look for, ICT4D things to do, people I should talk with etc. If you yourself are in Ghana and would like to connect, that would be great as well!
Though at this moment, my biggest question after rummaging across Washington DC to get the visa, packing and related travel rituals covered has to do with ICT. So I went searching on the twitterverse and Facebook for an answer to this question:
How does one go about using an iPhone4 in Ghana given the smaller simcard used for IPhone4's?
The good news is, according to most accounts, the innovation on the ground has developed to a point where there are sim-cutters and sim cards abound and very affordable from all service providers. But I still would love your advice about ICT in Accra.
Thanks and see you in Accra!
Tsega Belachew
A global development enthusiast originally from Ethiopia particularly focusing on innovation; social and technological toward paving the way of the future for positive global sustainable development. With a background in life sciences, African studies and global health, I have worked in the National Institutes of Health doing project administration and on mobile health initiatives across the globe through the Health Unbound project with the mHealth Alliance. My interest in Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) is in the fact that technology rests between silos as an enabler, informer, efficiency builder and connector. As a writer for Inveneo, a social enterprise that focuses on technology, I will bring you information about social and technological innovations.
Public ICT Resource Centers for students and teachers in West Africa
Submitted by lamtech on Fri, 07/16/2010 - 08:05Description
Our initial primary pursuit is the establishment of our inceptive ICT lab in the eastern district of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Similar projects that strive to foster educational and technological advancement in West Africa struggle to thrive because their extensive use of power renders them unsustainable. In this region, gas is required to power used or new standard computers, generators, and grids, yet gas is un-affordable. Thus, labs that utilize such equipment cannot be maintained, and ultimately are not successful. LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc. advocates an energy-efficient and sustainable design to ensure lasting effectiveness. Our model requires an initial investment, but ultimately is preserved as a self-sustaining operation. LAM-TECH currently has a team of five volunteers in Sierra Leone conducting research on the positive and negative effects of the use of virtual science labs in high school education compared to traditional labs.
LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc. seeks to educate, support and empower each underserved individual in our target community. It is our goal to become the premiere source for mainstream and alternative science and technology education in West Africa. Through the establishment LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc.’s ICT labs, we will improve the quality of education for students, teachers, and educational facilities throughout West Africa, helping communities to gain independence, knowledge, skills, and ability.
Sierra Leone’s socio-economic and political stability has declined dramatically since the 1980’s due to its inability to manage internal problems and external macroeconomic policy changes. It worsened in the face of a decade long civil war, which brought about widespread issues concerning education. Lack of access to education is a pervasive problem in Sierra Leone. Many of the country’s residents are illiterate or have received very little formal education. The statistics are shocking:
•Only 39% of the population (10 years old and older) is literate.
•The literacy rate of men is higher than that of women nationally and by region. The national literacy rate for men is 49% while that for women is only 29%.
•40% of individuals in Sierra Leone age 6 to 29 have never attended school or received formal education.
West African countries suffer from a poor science and technology education, low rate of science and technology graduates from secondary school and universities, limited number of job placements in the technology industry, and a limited use of science and technology processes and procedures by students and teachers to solve everyday problems in Sierra Leone. West Africa’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education survey results of 2009 compiled by InfoDev.org indicates that the education sector’s ICT infrastructures are under-served. In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 81 technical/vocational education institutes serving 5,824 students with a teaching population of 219 educators including university professors but only 2% of these students are computer literate.
The total number of science and technology education students and teachers continues to gradually decrease due to lack of adequate teaching materials, availability of science and technology education tools, resulting in poor results in national examinations starting in junior high school and continuing through to college/technical/vocational/university. The table on the following page illustrates the dire results
Several reasons exist for these statistics, including a lack of standard policies for the use of ICT in education and government. The lack of adequate science and technology curriculum for educational institutions, high cost of PCs & Internet connectivity, lack of science and technology laboratories in more than half of the high schools and inadequate supply of chemicals, apparatus, high cost of materials and chemicals to build new science labs and teaching materials were labs are available, and lack of qualified human resource capacity to service institutions of higher learning in addition to political instability, all contribute to the low percentages illustrated in these numbers.
LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc. understands that all of these problems cannot be solved at once but starting from the following a multi-layered approach will ensure its success.
Goals and Objectives
The mission of LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc. is to promote and increase the penetration ratio of science, information technology and computer science education to under-served students, teachers and communities in West African countries. In pursuit of this mission, our organization has established the following goals and objectives
•To become the premier source for mainstream and alternative science and technology education resource center in West Africa.
•Establish one center of at least 10 personal computers in every senior high school and college by 2020, bundled with custom developed educational software systems covering all subject areas in the West African Examination Councils curriculum.
•Increase student pass rate, teacher effectiveness, college admissions into science and technology programs, and youth employment in the ICT and education industry.
Objectives:
•Train at least 10% of the teachers in year 1
◦15% in year 2
◦20% in year 3
•Increase the pass rate in science and technology subjects taken at the BECE & WASSCE by 5% in year 1
◦10% in year 2
◦30% in year 3
•Increase the number of successful college admissions into science and technology degree programs by 5% in year 1
◦10% in year 2
◦30% in year 3
•Increase the number of youth employment in the ICT and Education industry by 5% in year 1
◦10% in year 2
◦20% in year 3
•Achieve a 15% improvement in each focus area of our program by the end of year 3
Methodology
To accomplish our established goals and objectives, LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc. implements the following programs and services. This methodology was determined based on research on the target population, as well as the organization’s own established history of success.
Our main competitive advantages are our approach and the equipment we plan to utilize. We plan to use computers, printers, copiers and network devices with the lowest power consumption requirements in their class. None of our equipment will use more than 50 watts; they will range from 20 to 50 watts. Seventy percent of our power will be allocated to our solar grid – the most significant expense of our project, but also the element that will ensure sustainability and long-term success.
The savings will continue because the main source of energy to power the centers and our offices will come from renewable energy sources (solar, wind and batteries). Currently, there are only about 10% of the current non-for-profit organizations in West Africa with knowledge of low power computers and renewable energy solutions for rural areas.
Another advantage to our approach will be our accessibility to a full range of complimentary products and services to ensure students and teachers receive complete benefit. We will train them on computer use and repair, effective research practices strategies to perform experiments using virtual simulations where laboratory materials and equipment are in limited supply or non-existence.
Our team has extensive knowledge in the field of ICT and renewable energy through experience gained by working with fortune 500 corporations in North America and Europe, as well as non-profit organizations in India, South and East Africa. These regions are aware of the benefits of using low power computers and renewable energy sources to establish computer centers in rural area.
The ICT Resource center will provide virtual science and technology labs, document services, desktop publishing, internet access, basic ICT training, and digital library, and prometric testing. Virtual labs will feature demonstrations, videos, video training, and audio books. We will develop one centrally located public center in each provincial headquarter town with at least 50 workstations, three color and black copiers/printers, and two binders and laminating machines. The goal is to have each resource center opened for at least 12 hours a day.
The center will generate its own funds for operating expenses through monthly, quarterly and yearly membership fees from ICT Club members. Photocopying, desktop publishing, computer repairs and maintenance services will be offered to the public as well as a means to generate income to sustain the centers. This program is the first to be implemented because it will create the greatest impact and become self-sustainable to attract more donations from potential donors. The project will be duplicated in selected underserved senior high schools and colleges with at least 20 workstations to minimize congestion and maximize total community impact
The following illustrates the evidenced long-term cost-effectiveness of low-power Student and teacher enrollment rates continue to decrease from junior high and, senior high to post-secondary institutions at an alarming rate. The following chart displays the highest level of education completed by Sierra Leoneans.
Stay tuned for complete proposal in the coming weeks
Project
LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc. seeks to educate, support and empower each underserved individual in our target community. It is our goal to become the premiere source for mainstream and alternative science and technology education in West Africa. Through the establishment LAM-TECH Foundation, Inc.’s ICT labs, we will improve the quality of education for students, teachers, and educational facilities throughout West Africa, helping communities to gain independence, knowledge, skills, and ability.
1. To become the premier source for mainstream and alternative science and technology education resource center in West Africa.
2. Establish one center of at least 10 personal computers in every senior high school and college by 2020, bundled with custom developed educational software systems covering all subject areas in the West African Examination Councils curriculum.
3. Increase student pass rate, teacher effectiveness, college admissions into science and technology programs, and youth employment in the ICT and education industry
Technology
Today! Improving Business Opportunities in East & West Africa: #ICT4D Twitter Chat
Building on last month's amazing Skype Chat on Nigerian Internet Business Opportunities we're now going to look beyond any one country, and investigate business opportunity in East and West Africa:
- How might Internet business opportunity and entrepreneurship be different in East Africa versus West Africa?
- What could each region learn from the other?
- And what can we do now to improve cross-Africa collaboration?
These are the questions we'll discuss in the next ICTworks Twitter Chat - a freewheeling conversation around our central questions on the Twitter platform.
We'll start at 14:00 GMT (your timezone) on April 22nd with introductions, then move into the discussion, using the #ICT4D hashtag in Twitter. Be sure to RSVP here.
You may want to use TweetChat as your Twitter client for this chat - we've found it to be worthy.
Our hope is to learn from each other and find ways we can increase Internet business opportunity and entrepreneurship across Africa.
Be sure to follow ICTworks on Twitter and RSVP today!
.
Wayan Vota
InveneoWayan Vota is a technology expert focused on appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) for rural and underserved areas of the developing world. He is a Senior Director at Inveneo and is the editor of ICTworks
Internet Business Cultures in Africa: East + West - ICTworks Twitter Chat
Last month, we had an amazing Skype Chat on Nigerian Internet Business Opportunities - over 40 entrepreneurs and netcitizens joined in a lively debate on new business models and enabling factors to bring Nigeria to the forefront of online business innovation.
But what about East Africa? Kenya surely has the same level of Internet-based buzz as Nigeria. And Uganda isn't far behind. So this brings forth a few questions we should examine:
- How might Internet business opportunity and entrepreneurship be different in East Africa versus West Africa?
- What could each region learn from the other?
- And what can we do now to improve cross-Africa collaboration?
These are the questions we'll discuss in the next ICTworks Twitter Chat - a freewheeling conversation around our central questions on the Twitter platform.
We'll start at 14:00 GMT (your timezone) on April 22nd with introductions, then move into the discussion, using the #ICT4D hashtag in Twitter. Be sure to RSVP here.
- Handy Re-Tweet
:Internet Business: East + West Africa -
#ICT4D Tweet Chat 4/22 @ 14:00GMT -
RSVP: http://bit.ly/april-chat
Our hope is to learn from each other and find ways we can increase Internet business opportunity and entrepreneurship across Africa.
Be sure to follow ICTworks on Twitter and RSVP today!
.
Wayan Vota
InveneoWayan Vota is a technology expert focused on appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT) for rural and underserved areas of the developing world. He is a Senior Director at Inveneo and is the editor of ICTworks
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