Broadband access to boost Agenda 2063: AU

COMMITMENT by African countries to provide broadband access to all their citizens and increased investment in information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure will see the continent attaining e-society status, in line with Agenda 2063, the African Union (AU) has said.

Agenda 2063, which is the AU’s master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse, is in sync with Zimbabwe’s vision of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

Last year, Zimbabwe approved the Zimbabwe National Broadband Plan (ZNBP 2023-2030), which is the bedrock of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The plan is aimed at enhancing global competitiveness, job creation, increased productivity, improved national security, as well as performance in education, agriculture, health and governance, among other areas.

In her remarks at the Broadband Africa Forum here yesterday, the AU’s director of the Management Information Systems Directorate, Ms Magalie Anderson, said efforts being made by African countries to improve access to broadband are encouraging.

She said access to broadband on the continent would make citizens active contributors to their countries’ development.

Zimbabwe is already angling to tap into the US$2,2 trillion global revenue from 5G technology by 2034.

“Access to broadband by households on the continent will open up the possibilities of them being active actors in the development of Africa,” said Ms Anderson.

“We salute the countries that have made access to broadband a priority. We also encourage the many other countries that are striving to achieve the same level of coverage.

“We have seen optimistically greater investments by governments into ICT infrastructure as a priority in many of the strategies.”

Africa’s accelerated development, said Ms Anderson, was dependant on ICT adoption by all countries.

“As a result, countries should prioritise development of broadband infrastructure and engage in accelerating adoption of broadband. One of the flagship projects in the Agenda 2063 is the Pan-African e-Network.

“This flagship project will require solid broadband infrastructure to come to fruition. Transforming Africa into an e-society will require broadband access at all levels, especially access to broadband for all its citizens,” she said.

Speaking at the same forum, Omdia’s senior consulting director Mr Martin Creaner said although progress registered in Africa was encouraging, digital inequalities remained a challenge.

“By 2027, nearly nine out of 10 people in Africa will not have any fixed broadband at home. Challenges to roll out and run broadband networks include cost to deploy, price restrictions, access to power supply and a slow regulatory process,” he said.