Internet Access in Africa: A Critical Review of Public Policy Issues

McCormick, Patricia K.

doi:10.1215/1089201x-22-1-2-140

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…If internet use, the capacity to access and use the requisite hardware and software, and even electricity supplies, 12 remain highly concentrated in only certain parts of the country and amongst certain segments of the population, 13 it is unlikely 12 Just under 29% of Kenyan households are connected to the electricity grid (KIPPRA 2010: 21). 13 For example, the vast majority of African Internet users are male (McCormick, 2002). Whilst Thioune (2003: 29) has found that a majority of women feel that these "instruments are not made for them."…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imagining a Silicon Savannah? Technological and Conceptual Connectivity in Kenya's BPO and Software Development Sectors

Graham

Mann

2013

E J Info Sys Dev Countries

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This is a paper about expectations surrounding a potentially highly transformative moment in East Africa's history: the arrival of underwater fibre-optic broadband communications cables into the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. It combines a media content analysis with findings from interviews with business owners in Kenya's nascent business process outsourcing (BPO) and software development sectors in order to explore how such moments of technological 'connectivity' are imagined, marketed and enacted within economic development. It argues that connectivity is not just a matter of boosting physical/material capacity but also about redressing conceptual connectivity; bringing places 'closer together' involves rehabilitating the images of places in peoples' minds and removing imagined senses of distance. As such, technologies of connectivity are marketed not just as tools of altered communications affordances, but more importantly, as momentary opportunities for revisiting the image of places from afar. Additionally, the cables reveal the importance of fostering internal linkages in order to better build international recognition and connections. 'Moments of expectation' that surround new ICT technologies reveal how discourse and representation play a strong role in enabling markets to form and change. The very idea of 'connectivity' itself is driving plans and policies throughout the region."The great historical tragedy of Africa has been not so much that it was too late in making contact with the rest of the world, as the manner in which that contact was brought about" Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism, 1950 (1997): 226.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imagining a Silicon Savannah? Technological and Conceptual Connectivity in Kenya's BPO and Software Development Sectors

Graham

Mann

2013

E J Info Sys Dev Countries

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“…Free flow of information lays the foundation of the following: “the ability of states, on both an individual and region basis, to collect, store, analyze and transmit information is a significant indicator of the degree of sovereignty with which they govern” (McCormick, , p. 144). According to Warf (, p. 3), “Internet accessibility reflects, inter alia , the willingness of governments to allow or encourage their populations to log into cyberspace.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The situation is even more complex among African countries. McCormick (, p. 142) argues that “given the absence of an effective regulator, African countries that embrace liberalization risk losing significant control over the development of the telecommunication sector and the accompanying economic rewards as they become increasingly dependent on foreign capital, technology and management expertise. Perceived insufficiency of private investment to meet global demands also places African countries in a weak position to negotiate favorable contracts.”…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Starting in the United States and the United Kingdom, over 40 percent of telecom operators in 167 countries were privatized by the late 1990s, and value added services are allowed by many countries to be provided in a competitive way (Li, Qiang, & Xu, 2005;Maddens, 2009). Additionally, as Internet access costs are often negatively related to Internet penetration (Kiiski & Pohjola, 2002;McCormick, 2002;Oyelaran-Oyeyinka & Adeya, 2004;UNCTAD, 2015), increased competition in telecom markets would arguably increase the transparency in the price mechanism and thus lower the price of Internet access. Yet, Kiiski and Pohjola (2002) executed a cross-country analysis on the diffusion of the Internet in OECD countries, and found that competition in telecommunications markets does not seem to exert any independent influence on Internet penetration.…”

Section: Internet Affordability: An Effect Of Competition?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And if so, what specific policy variables? Previous research on Africa shows that the diffusion of Internet access is associated with factors such as economic strength, access cost, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and education level (Kiiski & Pohjola, 2002;McCormick, 2002;Oyelaran-Oyeyinka & Adeya, 2004;Oyelaran-Oyeyinka & Lal, 2005;Roycroft & Anantho, 2003) but few articles look at the policy side. This article is an attempt to fill this research gap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Crossing the Digital Desert in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Does Policy Matter?

Wentrup¹,

Xu²,

Nakamura³

et al. 2016

Policy & Internet

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The last decade has seen a rapid growth of Internet access across Africa, although it has not been evenly distributed. It is therefore important for policymakers to ask how policy can bridge this inequality of Internet access. This article addresses the dearth of research assessing the interplay between policy and Internet penetration by identifying Internet penetration‐related policy variables and institutional constructs in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Based on a literature review and data availability, four variables are suggested: (i) free flow of information; (ii) market concentration; (iii) the activity level of the Universal Service Fund (USF); and (iv) total tax on computer equipment. The results show that only the activity level of the USF and low total tax on computer equipment are significantly positively related to Internet penetration in Sub‐Saharan Africa. Free flow of information and market concentration do not show any impact on Internet penetration. The latter could be attributed to underdeveloped competition in most Sub‐Saharan countries. We recommend that policymakers promote the policy instrument of Universal Service and USF and consider substituting tax on computer equipment with other tax revenues, and not to blindly trust the market's invisible hand to fix inequality in Internet diffusion.

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Barriers to free and equal access to information: implications for being informed in sub-Saharan Africa

Kanyengo

Mufalo

2008

Global Information Inequalities

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Internet Access in Africa: A Critical Review of Public Policy Issues

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

Imagining a Silicon Savannah? Technological and Conceptual Connectivity in Kenya's BPO and Software Development Sectors

Imagining a Silicon Savannah? Technological and Conceptual Connectivity in Kenya's BPO and Software Development Sectors

Crossing the Digital Desert in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Does Policy Matter?

Barriers to free and equal access to information: implications for being informed in sub-Saharan Africa

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