The potential for information and communication technologies (ICTs) to transform socio-economic development is now receiving great attention worldwide. Using the catchphrase 'Bridging the Digital Divide', national governments, NGOs, corporations, and global compacts such as the UN and the G8 are all marshaling resources to use ICTs for improving development in the South. And as Africa is the least developed region in the world, naturally much of these efforts are now focusing on the continent.
Telecommunications infrastructure is a basic precursor to the effective use of ICTs, which in this context are seen as an enabling tool with a multiplier effect that can cut costs and improve the quality and delivery of a wide variety of basic infrastructure and services. The prospect of new opportunities for economic growth is also heralded, which in turn will hopefully provide more finances for government programs. ICTs are also given the potential of transforming governance and improving the ability of marginalized groups to participate - from the local grass root groups to national governments, to regional and global forums which often have insufficient representation from the South.
The use of ICTs has grown rapidly in most urban areas in Africa. As an indication, only four years ago, a handful of countries had local Internet access, now the Internet is available in every capital city. Hundreds of new local and community radio stations have been licensed, and satellite TV is now also available throughout the continent. While penetration and use of ICTs is still very low compared to more developed countries, there are already many interesting examples of how these facilities are being exploited to improve the livelihoods of Africans.
One of the most interesting trends to emerge has been in the area of job creation. The scalability of ICTs lends themselves to adoption by small and medium size enterprises, which can provide much needed local communication services. Furthermore the 'death of distance' provided by the Internet has meant that there are even greater opportunities to be found in exploiting the much larger information and communication-based economies of the more developed countries.
While these developments are encouraging, unfortunately there are far too few examples of these initiatives as yet, largely because of the low level of penetration of telecommunication infrastructure in Africa. Although access to telecommunications facilities is increasingly coming under the spotlight in the development of strategies to exploit the potential of ICTs in Africa, this has mostly come from developed country initiatives. Not only has this tended to result in approaches which may be too superficial to deal with the complex range of issues in Africa, but has also resulted in a somewhat justifiable belief amongst Africa's leaders that external pressure to liberalize their telecom sectors is mainly aimed at helping the large multinational companies gain access to their markets.
Thus Dr Mbarika's book is a most timely input to the debate. The book's sub-title 'The Telecommunication Stakeholders Speak' is particularly resonant for me. Highlighting experience on the ground and obtaining views from a wide range of operators and regulators in Africa, his studies show that telecom liberalization is not just an external view foisted on Africa by the developed world, but is now a generally held understanding on the continent.
The majority of the stakeholders see liberalization of the sector as the key way to improving teledensity, by causing increased investment in the sector. But most interestingly, Dr Mbarika's research also shows that the investment does not all have to be foreign. Many of the respondents indicated that local investors have not received sufficient attention and have substantial potential to fill financing requirements, once the appropriate
