Digital Divide: M-Africa

Abstract

Africa, undoubtedly the fastest growing mobile technology market, is faced with challenges in its efforts to bridge the digital divide. Coping with the astronomical growth in the use of mobile communications has been a burden in terms of providing effective and efficient telecommunications policies governing mobile communications.

As a region, Africa is geographically, rather large, and applying each individual country proved impracticable. Therefore, for the purposes of data collection in the diagrams for this work, 19 African Countries are exemplified. They are South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritania, Malawi, Lesotho, Egypt, Botswana, Tunisia, Liberia, Sudan, Tanzania, Mali, Uganda, Cameroon, Niger, Somalia, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland.

However, effective use of mobile communication technology rests on many factors such as the legal and regulatory framework, fiscal regulation, consumer protection and the technical regulation set in place.

This Paper evaluates the effects of the digital divide in mobile technology using Africa as a case study and tries to offer suggestions at the end of each evaluation. It outlines the communication policies currently implemented and tries to analyze these policies through their aims and objectives.

Furthermore, the paper delves into the economic aspect of the use of this technology by critically assessing the competition in the relevant market and the access to such technology.

In addition, the performance of the communications sector in its effect towards the consumer and its means of outreaching the technology through its universal service provisions will be analyzed.

Moreover, the effects of licensing mobile operation networks and the dynamics of spectrum allocation using charts to show the different licensing regimes with the different technological systems in use in Africa will be assessed.

Finally, where there is an adequate provision of a conducive and sustainable environment for this infrastructure, bridging the gap would be non-consequential. Achieving this would include the reduction of license fees for new entrants and provision of a compatible environment for such structure.

Keywords: Mobile Communications, Telecommunications, Africa, Regulation, Legal framework, fiscal, Competition, Access, Universal Service provisions, Consumer Protection, Technology