Word: africas
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...Today is a historic day for Africa and marks the dawn of a new era for communications between the continent and the rest of the world," SEACOM Chief Executive Brian Herlihy said in a statement marking the launch. "Turning the switch on creates a huge anticipation but, ultimately, SEACOM will be judged on the changes that take place on the continent over the coming years...
With the arrival of SEACOM, which cost some $600 million, East Africa will no longer be dogged by the rather ignominious distinction of being the last place on Earth without access to a high-speed submarine fiber-optic cable. Until now, it has had to rely on vastly more expensive - and less dependable - satellite connections for Internet and international phone service. (Read: "Kenya's Mobile Gold Mine...
After famine, now comes the flood. SEACOM is the first of three fiber-optic cables that will connect East Africa, via the Kenyan port of Mombasa, to the rest of the world. Analysts say that could lead to a more than 90% reduction in the cost of Internet access in years to come. The high price of using the Internet has up until now crippled the region's nascent tech sector, denying jobs to millions of well-educated young Africans. (Read: "Kenya's Blackboard Jungle...
...touted as a bargain. Other firms offer unlimited but extremely slow Internet connections, barely capable of making Skype calls, for about $40 per month. "No one can [guarantee] there will be a 90% drop next year, but hopefully there will be," says Christopher Stork, senior researcher at Research ICT Africa, a technology analysis firm based in South Africa. "That's the minimum we would expect, but in the long term, it would be much, much cheaper...
What effect will this have on East Africa? A recent World Bank report found that countries experience 1.3% economic growth for every 10% increase in high-speed Internet connections, but sub-Saharan Africa has some unique challenges. Only 5.9% of Africans are connected to the Internet, and most are in North African countries such as Egypt and Algeria. That compares to 26.9% for the rest of the world. To put those numbers in perspective, consider this: Just 17% of people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity...