Connectivity in Africa

Text message phone apps now help African people check market prices, transfer money, learn languages and alert authorities to the need for food or other aid in the event of a disaster. And this all comes despite Africa's reputation as the "least wired" continent in the world.

Mobile phone subscriptions in Africa are growing at a rate of about 50 percent per year in recent years, faster than that of any other continent, according to the International Telecommunication Union. A 2009 ITU report found 28 percent of people in Africa have a mobile phone subscription. By contrast, only 5 percent of people there use the Internet, the ITU says.

Must Read on African Mobile Phone Progression

Also:

EASSy, Seacom and TEAMS cables are going to provide Africa with much needed bandwidth. The possibilities from this point on are tremendous. The days of low bandwidth, smartphone and internet penetration on the continent are finally coming to a close.

EASSy landed in Tanzani recently. It's benefits include:

• Connectivity into and between 20 African countries

• The most flexible contracts in the region:
  
  » leased capacity contracts from just 1 month up to 10 years
  » long-term rights of use (IRUs) for the 25-year lifetime of the system
  » capacity from as little as 2Mbps up to multiple 10Gbps wavelengths
  
• Direct, assured connectivity into Europe

Read more about EASSy here