Denis Opudo
The idea of Africa mobile –first-continent has been critiqued by many scholars. The hot debate is centered on the assumption that mobile phones promote access to the internet in the continent. Some people argued that mobile is the main reason for retarded growth and development in Africa.
According to Nanjira Sambuli, Africa will experience less development if it heavily relies on mobile technology alone. Additionally, he noted that mobile is for consumption purposes with limited work coverage.
Ben Roberts, the CTO of Liquid Telecom Group highlighted merits of the mobile technology. It helps in connecting people, online payment among others. However, he noted that there very minimum spectrum to get millions of people connected at the same. He, therefore, advocated for another technology to rekindle Africa development agenda. Fiber network seems to be the best alternative although it faces challenges of poor infrastructures in the rural areas. Government support is crucial for rolling out fiber network both in rural and urban areas in the continent.
CEO of internet connectivity provider BRCK Erik Hersman, on the other hand, pointed out the high cost of accessing the internet. He emphasized that in Africa, not all Smartphone holders can afford to pay for internet services. He concluded that the challenge is not only a technical problem but also a business model challenge.
The continent technocrats are working on a freemium model that will provide free internet across Africa by 2020.
