Broadband for Africa

Living in the third world online

We become so used to doing everything online when living in a first world country, without much consideration for the services we use or the data capacity we’re consuming. We hardly ever have to stand in a line at the bank, we don’t think twice about listening to online radio, streaming or downloading the latest series and movies, watching YouTube videos as if they’re saved on our own computers, listening to Spotify or accessing any other megabyte-rich content.

According to statistics, of the 945 million people living on the African continent, only 54 million use internet. This is because of accessibility and affordability. And internet in South Africa is generally too expensive for the quality of connection offered Р usually dial-up or slow broadband Р and it is also monopolised by one or two companies.

The good news is that there is light at the end of this digitally dark tunnel. Africa is finally catching up to the rest of the world as three new fibre-optic cables have been laid down the coast of Africa. These fibre-optic cables are glass or plastic fibres that carry light along their length and which allow the transmission of large amounts of data and images over longer distances and at a higher bandwidth or data rate than other forms of communications. The new cables were said to be fully operational by 23 July last year, and will finally bring better, faster and more accessible internet to Africa, as well as hope to the dark continent, previously distanced from the global village.

Plugging into the global village

Seacom, which is over three-quarters owned by African investors and privately funded, is the company which laid down one of the new cables. This cable will provide south and east Africa with access to inexpensive bandwidth by running 13,700km of cables into the sea linking the UK to Kenya and South Africa and then to India. There have also been fibre-optic networks set up across the continent that will ensure that those that live inland also have improved access. The capacity of the Seacom cable will allow for things like high definition TV, peer to peer networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace, streaming of videos and use of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which is television delivered over IP based networks to your computer, and most importantly, provide a reliable internet service which is more accessible and more affordable.

Before the new cables were laid down, Africa had one fibre-optic cable, the SAT-3 cable, which ran from West Africa.