Broadband Penetration Must Rise in Developing Countries: U.N.

Poor nations in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean must develop a stronger broadband infrastructure in order to fully utilize opportunities presented by information technology, noted the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the recent Information Economy Report.

Companies and consumers need to avail economic benefits of IT, such as the setup of offshoring industries (for instance, call centres) and use of cellular phones, in order to ‘narrow the digital divide’ and expedite the development process, noted Petko Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General UNCTAD. These industries remain profitable during economic slumps because they help large firms cut costs, which means they are key to generating employment in poor nations.

The digital divide is vast between continents, as well as between countries. Inhabitants of developed countries are 200 times as likely to use broadband as inhabitants of less developed countries, while the average cost of broadband is $1,300 per month in some African countries (such as Swaziland) and a mere $13 in others (such as Egypt), the report noted.



This is not to say Africa isn’t progressing at all. Currently, mobile phone connections in the continent are 20 times greater than fixed landline connections and growth in such subscriptions is fastest in the continent, moving from 54 million to 350 million in 6 years. However, because of poor internet access, consumer services like internet banking and market data services are in their infancy.

There is still much to be achieved before developing countries can compete with developed countries on a somewhat footing. Currently, South Korea has the highest broadband penetration rate of 86%, while Africa has a penetration of less than 1%, the report revealed.

Source: Reuters, Cellular News, BBC, TMC Net, broadband-finder.co.uk (image)
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