RIA Partners IDRC, OSI, African universities

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RIA Partners IDRC, OSI, African universities
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Why Research ICT Africa!

• Lack of information and analysis about the ICT
  sector on the African continent. RIA! aims to
  fill this gap with relevant research and data
• Deep policy issues that increasingly require
  research and analysis, evaluation and ongoing
  assessment, local/international RIA aims to
  fill this gap

The challenge
To create network of African researchers that
will generate the information and analysis needed
to inform appropriate but visionary policy
formulation, and stimulate effective regulation
of ICTs across Africa and promote global
participation...
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Network members

• LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand -
  South Africa
• Eduardo Mondlane University Mozambique
• Lagos Business School Nigeria
• Namibia Economic Policy Research Unit Namibia
• Summit Strategies Kenya
• University of Addis Ababa Ethiopia
• University of Botswana Botswana
• University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania
• University of Ghana Ghana
• University of Makerere Uganda
• University of Rwanda Rwanda
• University of Yaounde Cameroon
• University of Zambia Zambia
• Need for strong research network in Francophone
  Africa

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Research so farThe Telecom Sector Performance
ReviewsThe gap between policy objectives and
telecommunications sector performance over ten
years period
Participating countries

• Cameroon
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Rwanda

• South Africa
• Uganda
• Zambia

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Primary objective
Evaluating sector performance against policy
objectives

• Secondary objectives
• Addressing the real and current challenge of
  feeding into policy review processes
• Starting debate on the relevance of indicators
• Creating capacity in policy research on the
  continent

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Source ITU World Telecommunications Indicators
2003
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FAIR Access Research

• Relationship between policy and regulatory
  frameworks, market structure, cost of services in
  15 different African countries
• Factors affecting cost, how they are affected by
  policy and the resulting market structure, and
  how improved connectivity is linked to other
  development changes.
• Tally market openness with information on the
  cost of bandwidth and Internet usage
• Regulatory openness monopoly, competition
• Incumbent teleco Monopoly, fully privatized
• Regulatory strength (dependent, independent)
• Regulation pertaining to WiFi, VSAT, VOIP
• ISP charge for 1Mbps
• Monthly subscription, telephone charges

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2004The E-usage Access Index

• Evolved out of the two baseline studies
• ICT sector performance reviews
• Fair Access to ICT Report

Most studies focus on the supply-side of the
equation, namely how the operators, regulators
and governments impact on users and consumers
E-usage will analyze demand side
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The E-usage Access Index (cont.)

• E-access Usage Index seeks to measure what is
  happening in the ICT sector from the lens of
  users, consumers and those marginalized from
  services and to analyze
• access (computers, cyber café, post, telephone,
  cell phones)
• demand ( information, Internet, communication)
• usage patterns in response to services delivered
  as a result of operators responses to policy and
  regulatory frameworks.

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The E-usage Access Index (cont.)

• Questions that must be answered are
• what factors impact on users and consumers of ICT
  technologies?
• How much are users and consumers prepared to
  allocate to a basket of communication
  technologies?
• How do consumers access communications
  technologies?
• What strategies have the poor adopted to access
  communications?

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Expand RIA Network
Next

• Define Further Research Agenda