If, like me, you often find yourself staring imploringly at the progress bar at the bottom of your web
browser, you’ll be glad to hear that things are about to change. Or at least that’s what those in the
know say.

The landing of the Seacom and TEAMs undersea cables are expected on the shores of Africa later
this year and hopefully, along with them, cheaper and faster internet access. According to some experts, subscribers can expect drastic price reductions and vastly improved speed. And it’s not going to stop there, as other projects, due for completion over the next few years, will further bolster this progress.

While the growing submarine cable infrastructure will play a fundamental role in improving – and in many cases linking – several countries for the first time, it is the on-the-ground infrastructure of the various networks that will determine the ultimate success of these projects. Arthur Goldstuck wraps his head around this conundrum in his Radar column on page 17.

While many countries in Africa display a relatively high level of ICT infrastructure and take for granted such things as secure, stable and relatively affordable broadband access, well-regulated telecoms and a high level of PC penetration, there are many countries where this is not the case.

Take Sierra Leone for example. This war-ravaged country is slowly but surely pulling itself to its feet and
ICT is playing a pivotal role in these efforts. Many of the projects aimed at developing the country are making use of ICT to engage and connect the youth, providing the opportunity to earn an income, share experiences, develop skills and hopefully contribute to improving the social and economic situation of this post-conflict country. You can read more about this in Kerry Dimmer’s article on page 44.

When talking about the transformation and development of ICT in Africa one cannot help but consider the role of free and open source software (FOSS). While the developed world may regard FOSS as a demon from the deep, on this continent it could very well be the answer to a myriad problems, one of which is the scandalously high costs of most proprietary software.

But it’s not just computer geeks who are interested in fiddling about with the inner workings of FOSS applications. Governments, academic institutions and even large corporates (from banks to global shipping companies) are investing heavily in this type of software, transforming both their network and desktop environments. Some of these organi-sations have also used the foundations of this software to create new applications specific to their needs. True African ingenuity at work! More on this topic can be found in David le Page’s article “Free for all’ on page 28.

While Africa continues to stun the world when it comes to the uptake and spread of mobile technology (the continent now boasts more mobile connections than North America), vast areas of rural Africa fall outside the range of both wired and mobile telecoms. But it seems as though the all-but-forgotten satellite phone may have an important role to play as a modern-day payphone – providing not only invaluable connections for friends and family, but also business opportunities for rural entrepreneurs. Read more on page 50.

JAMES RETIEF