Page 59 - ITU Journal - ICT Discoveries - Volume 1, No. 2, December 2018 - Second special issue on Data for Good

ITU JOURNAL: ICT Discoveries, Vol. 1(2), December 2018

barrier which prohibitively increases the cost of the difficulties of rough and hard-to-reach terrains
investment in metro and last mile broadband typical of rural areas in developing countries, by
networks and access. Despite the massive capacity reason of their sub-1GHz spectrum band [16],
of landing cables on Nigeria’s coast, this policy which implies higher wavelengths that reach
hurdle contributes to fixed broadband penetration further, overcoming physical barriers in remote
in Nigeria being just 0.1%, while Internet terrains [17]. As a consequence of their relatively
penetration is 25.7% and active mobile broadband lower set-up costs in comparison to the traditional
subscription is 22.9%. broadband infrastructure of multinational
telecommunication companies, they also create the
Table 1 – Key ICT statistics (Ethiopia and Nigeria)
possibility of a business model that allows small
ICT statistics (%) Ethiopia Nigeria World businesses to enter the ISP market [18].
Internet penetration 15.4 25.7 45.9
Fixed broadband pene- 0.6 0.1 12.4 Mawingu Networks, based in Kenya, has been a
tration pioneer in using TV white spaces to deliver last-
Active mobile broad- 5.3 22.9 52.2 mile broadband access in rural Kenya since 2013
band penetration [17]. However, some of the challenges TV white
spaces’ pioneers have faced include governments’
Within the context of international broadband reluctance to allow TV white spaces’ spectrum to
networks, which facilitate the digital society where be used to deliver broadband services due to fear
data is key, reliable fixed and mobile broadband of interference with television signals, and the
access is the mainstay. It is therefore easy to see in absence of power grids in most remote locations
the Ethiopian and Nigerian situations examples of where the technology is needed. However, there
why African societies lag behind in an emerging are ongoing conversations between technical
global digital society fueled by data. Together, groups advancing TV white space technology and
Ethiopia and Nigeria account for about a quarter of government, while solar power has also emerged
Africa’s population (1.2 billion), yet Internet, active to solve the power problem in remote rural
mobile and fixed broadband penetration are quite settings.
low. The average Internet penetration, fixed
broadband and active mobile broadband Legislative frameworks which underpin societies
penetration rates for Africa are 19.9%, 0.4% and where the utility of data is realized are also needed
22.9% respectively. The global average for Internet in Africa. Currently, there are 38 African countries
penetration, fixed broadband and active mobile with cybercrime legislation [12] compared with 23
broadband penetration are 45.9%, 12.4% and with data protection legislation installed, revealing
52.2% respectively [13]. the priority of African governments. Contrary to its
name cybercrime legislation is typically used to
For data to really work for good, in Africa, there is prosecute critics of many African governments and
a lot of work to be done to overcome these to legalize government access to citizens’ data [12].
infrastructure and policy hurdles, which limits the
utility of data to the widest possible population on 5. AFRICA: MOVING FROM DATA
the continent. Continuous conversations with ‘’NOTSPOTS’’ TO ‘’HOTSPOTS’’
policy makers to overcome policy hurdles such as
prohibitive ‘’Right of Way’’ broadband cable fees, With the onset of the rollout of 4G and 5G Internet
resistance to infrastructure sharing policies, networks, ongoing and imminent in many parts of
monopolistic telecommunication markets, lack of the world, we are all rightly excited by the promise
investment in public Wi-Fi, amongst others, are of super-fast data downloads and uploads, wider
key. Furthermore, in view of the dire need in coverage and more stable connections powering a
African countries, we believe that the time has host of applications improving the quality of life of
come for conversations on the use of innovative millions globally. In these parts of the world, data
technologies, such as TV white spaces to expand is truly becoming a force for good.
broadband access, to be revived. Delivering
broadband services via TV white spaces, which are However, as this paper shows, Africa is lagging
unused spectrum between television stations, behind in the emergence of a globalized society
could significantly contribute to bridging Africa’s where data becomes a force for good. Many parts
large digital divide. This is because they overcome of Africa have become ‘’notspots’’ [19], a term

© International Telecommunication Union, 2018 37