1 / 22

Overview of Internet in The Gambia

Overview of Internet in The Gambia. By: Muhammed Jah QuantumNET Company Limited. What is covered?. History of Internet in The Gambia Current Situation: Achievements Issues & Constraints Recommendations & Strategies. Brief History of the Internet in The Gambia.

Roberta
Télécharger la présentation

Overview of Internet in The Gambia

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Overview of Internet in The Gambia By: Muhammed Jah QuantumNET Company Limited

  2. What is covered? • History of Internet in The Gambia • Current Situation: Achievements • Issues & Constraints • Recommendations & Strategies

  3. Brief History of the Internet in The Gambia • 1992-1993 : GAMTEL offered X.25 Network Services in GBA • 1993 : BICI pioneered X.25 WAN in GBA • 1995: GAMTEL introduced CompuServe Services with limited internet access through X.25 with BT Info Services • 1996: Delphi Internet services introduced

  4. Brief History (contd.) • Mar. 1997: Abuja Meeting - UNDP Internet Initiative for Africa • Oct. 1998:2MBps Full Internet backbone nationwide , with 512K gateway bandwidth • Nov. 1998: 2 ISPs operational, Gamtel & QuantumNET

  5. Reference Point • Population ~ 1.3 million • Literacy: 37% • 24 Senior Sec. Schools • 3 Higher learning institutions • UOG being established • Access to PC’s limited

  6. Current Situation - Connectivity • Basic Infrastructure: • Countrywide Internet backbone with 12 PoPs. • No. 3 in Africa, after S.Africa and Egypt, • ISPs connect directly to backbone, no int’t access

  7. Current Situation - Connectivity 512K

  8. Current Situation - Connectivity • Dialup Users: • 1997: <150 • 2000: Total may be 3000 - 5000 people with access (due to sharing), <100 in rural; 120 access lines

  9. Current Situation - Connectivity • Senior Secondary Schools with access: • 6 -10 in GBA, 2 in Provinces, all dialup • Higher Educational Institutions: • 2 with full connectivity: GTMI & MDI • Others on dialup like UoG, Gambia College, GTTI, RDI

  10. Current Situation (connectivity contd.) • Research Centers: • 1 with full connectivity: MRC (Fajara & Farafenni) • NGOs: • Virtually all on dialup, UNDP on full link. • Hotels and Travel agents: • All, on dialup. • Gov. Mins & Depts.: • All in GBA, on dialup. • Cyber-Cafes: • about 10 in 18 months, all in the GBA! 40% Gambians

  11. Current Situation - Cost • Investment: • Before:~$50, 000 for X.25 • After:Total Invest probably >US$2M mainly by UNDP< GAMTEL & QuantumNET. • Dialup Charges: • Before: ~10cents/minute + traffic • After: $17 unlimited access + ~2 cents/minute telephone charges • Leased Charges: • Before: Not applicable • After: $1,500/month for 64K $3000/month for 128K

  12. Current Situation - Capacity building • Training: • Before: few indigenous personnel with knowledge • After: Over 20 personnel from potential ISP's trained on Internetworking through IIA • Equipment: • Before: X.25 switch • After: Cisco routers, access servers, Suns, etc

  13. Current Situation - Key players • Gov. Dept. of State for Works & Comm. • UNDP • GAMTEL • Private ISP • Private Sector - small businesses especially • NGOs, EDU sector, include research institutions

  14. Issues & Constraints • KEY ISSUES: • Policy and Regulation • Connectivity & Costing • PARTNERSHIP & Advocacy - awareness (I-Week) • Innovation & good choice of ICT deployment • ICT Curriculum and Fast Track programs

  15. Issues & Constraints • Very Low PC penetration: • figure not known • Low telephone density: • provinces especially • Very low Computer literacy level: • determined by school literacy • Electricity problems: • especially outside GBA: many fear to install PC’s

  16. Issues & Constraints • ISP operational cost too high: • 64k connection at ~$16,000 pa and Licensing fee ~US$4,000 pa, running costs (electricity, salaries, security). • Low Market base, Revenue Collection, No customer roaming • High PC costs: • due to import tax, etc. • Non-ISP Host Connection too high: • Gamtel charges same rate applied to ISP at $16,000 pa, Special concession 60% discount given to EDU • Low Digital resources: • little online data.

  17. Recommendations & Strategies • Gov. DOS W&C finalize Internet policy issues in NACIP currently in draft • Reduction in Tariffs • Advocacy: more for Internet on public media (I-WEEK 2000, ISOC Gambia Chapter) • Introduce IT education in schools

  18. Recommendations & Strategies • DOS W&C set clear-cut deliberate policies: • DOS W&C institute different boards and working groups for ICT development. • Policy on digitalization of Gov. offices and public data in key institutions: health, finance, etc • Academic institutions be empowered to take charge of Internet administration • 0% tax on IT imports for EDU purposes

  19. Recommendations & Strategies • Differential tariff structure, to encourage more host connection and thus demand. • Deploy inexpensive sharing technologies e.g. Proxy routers, Domain Mail software for schools and training centers, etc. all free with Linux and other packages. • ISDN connection: alternative, can be cheaper for Small businesses.

  20. Recommendations & Strategies (Cont’d) • Our current facility came as a result of UNDP GoG. Partnership in IIA project • ISPs work in partnership with NGOs: to deliver services in rural areas, both benefit. • Technology Programs on GRTS and radio stations • Creation of working groups who can co-ordinate these kind of activities and help build capacity especially for CONTENT development

  21. Conclusion • The way forward • Commitment & dedication of all key players to ensure that Internet is accessible and affordable to everyone

More Related