Telecom’s fastest way to connect more

At the tail end of last year, Africa’s largest telecom trade show popularly known as Africom took place in Cape Town, South Africa. It brought on board various captains of the industry and key sector players.

As much as it highlighted the pr ogress and other technological advances taking shape in Africa, it also revealed the glaring challenges hampering the acceleration of connectivity, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

For instance, Africa Telecommunications Union president, John Omo, revealed that Africa still lies far below the global average when it comes to broadband connectivity.

As though substantiating what Omo said, Transform, a globally acclaimed tech magazine recently reported that mobile broadband access remained low in the sub-Saharan Africa where 60 percent of people live in rural areas. About 36 percent of the population is still not covered by 3G network and only 21 percent subscribe to mobile Internet services.

Even though those statistics are in broad strokes and do not directly make reference to Malawi, it is still easy to see that Malawi shares in those challenges and most of the unconnected live in rural areas.

The 2021 Malawi Economic Monitor noted that connectivity remains sporadic and unaffordable for many Malawians, contributing to the wide urban-rural divide in terms of access and use of digital technology.

An overwhelming majority—approximately 82 percent of Malawi’s 19.91 million inhabitants—live in rural areas, with only 18 percent of the country being urban dwellers. Furthermore, a 2022 study shows that Malawi has only 4.03 million Internet users as of 2022 and an Internet penetration rate of 20.2 percent.

These figures indicate that major progress must be made for Malawi to be at par with more tech savvy nations. Therefore, the delay in jumping on the digitalisation train is costing the country millions of dollars.

To accelerate the implementation of the ambitious MW2063, there are interventions that have to be considered, especially for rural connectivity.

On the other hand, there seems to be many opportunities for Malawi to turn around its connectivity challenges. Last December, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a grant to Malawian Internet service provider Converged Technology Networks Limited (CTN) for a feasibility study to expand digital connectivity to underserved communities in Malawi.

CTN selected California-based Connectivity Capital LLC to conduct the study. USTDA and CTN signed the grant agreement during a ceremony held at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit. These and many other interventions seek to accelerate the bridge in terms of rural-urban digital divide.

Not all is bleak because there are indicators that urban areas seem to be ahead in terms of connectivity in all aspects. For instance, several government institutions are using digital systems in one way or another to deliver their services.

The office of the Registrar General uses the Malawi Business Registration System to improve efficiency and avoid business registration bottlenecks that contribute to Malawi’s poor rankings in the Ease of Doing Business Index.

The Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services, too, has been using the Malawi Traffic Information System for a number of years to process drivers licences, certificates of fitness and vehicle registrations.

Digital technologies have also been embraced by the public sector in terms of increased use of digital banking apps, mobile money and cashless payment methods. Although it cannot be said that these systems always run perfectly, their implementation and use is nevertheless a step in the right direction.

Another positive development is the increase in network coverage in Malawi. According to the United Nations agency for ICT, in 2020, the International Telecommunications Union, at least 84 percent of the population was covered by at least 4G network. This is commendable progress towards the objective of connectivity for all.

The value of becoming a digitalised nation cannot be overemphasised. As World Bank country manager for Malawi Hugh Riddell has expressed, developing Malawi’s digital economy will diversify and strengthen job creation, innovation and economic growth.

The adoption of digital technologies can result in reduction in the cost of social and economic transactions for individuals, private businesses and the public section. Furthermore, digitalisation may improve public service delivery as well as transparency for better fiscal management.

Digitalisation would also allow Malawians to benefit from e-learning, online healthcare and diagnosis, online trading and e-commerce and greater sharing of information. Huawei remains committed to collaborate with the government to ensure that mobile and Internet connectivity spreads to rural areas through cost-effective means. n