ITU says USD 55 billion committed to connect Africa

A summit on improving Africa’s information technology infrastructure wrapped up in Rwanda with investment commitments amounting to over USD 55 billion. ITU head Hamadoun Toure said in a statement that African leaders had committed themselves to creating the right regulatory environment, and private sector leaders had pledged to invest in the continent’s ICT sector. The summit decided to bring forward ICT connectivity goals to 2012 to enable the achievement of the broader Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Commitments were made to interconnect all African capitals and major cities with ICT broadband infrastructure and strengthen connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012. By 2015, broadband and ICT services will be extended to all African villages. The summit also set out to meet the World Summit on the Information Society goals for capacity building, establishing an enabling environment for investment, and e-government services. Toure said telecom companies were making profits, farmers were getting the information they need, and teachers were receiving educational aid. “Mobile phones even have an impact on democracy. During elections, people have used mobile phones to get election results fast and in a transparent manner.”

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