Low internet usage presents investment opportunity
Keikantse Lesemela | Wednesday September 10, 2014 12:19
While the mobile density is gradually increasing in Botswana, currently standing at 158 percent, internet usage is still low with less than 50 percent of the population utilising the service.
Speaking during the ICT Pitso recently, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Tsaone Thebe said Botswana’s achievements in wireless voice telephony are unparalleled but this has not been replicated in fixed voice and internet connectivity.
She said this challenge could be attributed to a number of challenges such as local access inadequacy, digital illiteracy, lack of local content and affordability.
“Currently most of the content accessed in Botswana is from outside. Not only does this deny us the opportunity to develop our local knowledge, but it also has the effect of making internet connection expensive and slower relative to countries that access content locally.
“Instead of saying 51 percent of Batswana do not use the internet, lets say there are 51 percent of Batswana who are potential customers to the internet services,” she said.
Thebe noted that the local content development is also a potential market for investors. “I would like to urge the technology savvy, especially the youth to explore the needs of the average Motswana and offer them ICT solutions,” she said.
In some African countries like Kenya, they have developed ICT solutions such as M-pesa and Ushahidi.
Thebe also explained that over the years, government has made significant investments in a number of infrastructural development projects in the quest to bring services closer to people and to create an enabling environment for the economy. The national optic fibre backbone, the rural Telecommunications Development programme (Nteletsa II) and the international connectivity projects, are some of the key development projects that were undertaken.
The establishment of Botswana Fibre Network (BoFiNet) has contributed to internet wholesale prices reduction by up to 70 percent earlier this year.
“As a sector we should strive for improved end user experience and increased business volume on economies of scale,” said Thebe. She also pointed out that investments in international connectivity and other communications services cannot be fully optimised without addressing the insufficiency of the local loops.
Although BoFiNet has an expensive optic fiber network cable, (WACS) which it shall maintain and operate to provide wholesale services to licensed operators, Thebe said there are still some gaps to be addressed. “As a ministry we will not rest on our laurels, we will continue to engage key stakeholders to connect those parts of the country which are not connected to the high speed information highway,” she said.
BoFiNet has embarked upon a rollout of optic fibre reticulation of the local access network to further improve on Internet connectivity in strategic areas of Gaborone, Francistown, Maun and Kasane. Mascom wireless has embarked on a project to build their own fibre cable linking the northern side of the country to the Southern part along the Eastern side of the country.