The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) has validated the “White Paper on Connectivity in Africa and Regional Cooperation Framework for Submarine Cable Accessibility” at a virtual forum. Under the ATU’s plan 2018-2022 and the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030), the Union aims to promote quality broadband infrastructure and affordable ICT Services. The paper says over 20 African countries are landlocked and there is a need for a cooperation framework to facilitate access to submarine cables available to those with a coast.

The white paper says that internet connectivity in Africa is limited compared with the global average, and there is a significant gap of almost 20 per cent on average between coastal and landlocked countries. At the virtual validation forum bringing together representatives of ATU’s 51 member states and 54 telecom companies, ATU secretary-general John OMO said this gap of almost 20 per cent represents a major constraint on development.

According to ATU, there is a need for best practices and a cooperation framework to facilitate use of the submarine cables available to those with access to the sea. The paper said that only ten countries in Africa have cross-border optical fibre links with all their neighbours, including three landlocked countries, namely Botswana, Burkina Faso and Lesotho. It also noted that there is a gap of more than 15 per cent between landlocked and coastal countries in terms of the length of operational optical fibre transmission networks. The length of these networks in Africa is less than  5 per cent of the world total, with a 10/90 distribution between landlocked and coastal countries.

The White Paper said that in terms of the population connected to the internet in Africa, there is a territorial digital divide between urban and rural areas of over 140 per cent, compared with 95 per cent globally. Internect connectivity disparity between the two sexes in African countries is over 40 per cent, which is five times greater than the global rate.

Implementation of the White Paper would reduce the divide between urban and rural areas and between landlocked and coastal countries by increasing the geographic coverage of broadband and ultra-broadband access networks (fixed and mobile), reduction of web service costs, improved price affordability, reduced sex and age disparities in internet usage, and resolving electricity availability issues.