Africa eCommerce Week: Expanding access to affordable and reliable ICT Infrastructure and services

For the panel on Expanding Access to Affordable and Reliable ICT Infrastructure and Services at the UNCTAD Africa e-commence week being held in Nairobi, RIA executive director, Dr Alison Gillwald, looks at the linkages between affordable access and  prices, quality of service, and network investment in Africa:
  • Accuracy of Internet penetration data/ devices data
  • Barriers to take up vs use
  • Problems with assessing affordability of price of GB as percentage of GNI per capita
  • Problems of assessing price without licence obligations/coverage/quality of service
  • Awareness of cost drivers and urban rural differentials
  • Need to support operator transition from voice to data  with financial service revenues
  • Embracing OTT in mobile ecosystem and achievement of national objectives
  • Certain environment for network investment, regulation of dominance in markets with out killing golden goose.
  • Dangers of instrumental competition regulation in complex adaptive Internet environment.
  • Alternative access strategies.