Left behind

With any international telecommunications event, there`s always going to be an emphasis on the European, North American and Asia-Pacific regions. Markets in hi-tech industries in the rest of the world, as we all know, are too small for big global companies to really focus on.

But at the European leg of the Broadband World Forum, in Berlin, recently, one of the breakaway panel discussions was titled "Broadband for developing nations".

Great, I thought, it will be an opportunity for me to hear the views of some truly important global ICT experts on matters pertaining to South America, developing Asia, and of course Africa.

Unfortunately, I came away dismayed at the unfathomable ignorance of most of these supposedly-learned men, when it comes to the needs of developing nations.

The speakers were from countries like France and Italy - two of the most connected nations you`ll find. One was from Hong Kong. He said they have 137.5% cellular penetration there.

Of course, that`s impressive, but what is he doing discussing broadband in developing nations, about the situation for millions of Africans in jungles and deserts thousands of kilometres from anything? Hong Kong`s seven million people live in just 1 000 square kilometres. It`s a slightly different situation.

"What did you think of those speeches?" I asked Andrew Rugege, COO of MTN Rwanda, at lunchtime.

He was similarly critical. "What they may be talking about, when they refer to developing countries, is China. It`s not about Africa. And you can`t equate China with Africa. Most of this conference has certainly flown above Africa`s head."

Two to three weeks? That would be wonderful. I`ve heard of people waiting six or nine months before a Telkom van comes their way.

Dave Glazier, journalist, iWeek

Like anything, people`s interest levels in a particular issue tend to correlate positively with the opportunity to make money out of it. In the case of the unique Internet challenges of African nations, this is undoubtedly the case. Big telecoms companies are, after all, not charities.

But really, you would expect them to know a little more about our situation. In the "developing countries" talks, we had people going deep into IPTV and advanced interactive services, and other similar issues.

"Is IPTV something of great concern in Rwanda?" I asked Rugege. He offered a short laugh.

WiMax won`t work because if you have too many users, you won`t be able to have video-on-demand or online gaming, said one speaker.

I don`t think that`s really a developing world issue.

"There are many problems in developing nations," announced Roland Montage, head of broadband practice at IDATE. "Sometimes you have to wait as long as two or three weeks to get your broadband service connected."

Two to three weeks? That would be wonderful. I`ve heard of people waiting six or nine months before a Telkom van comes their way.

Stephan Scholtz, global CTO of Nokia Siemens Networks, said he wants five billion connected by broadband to the Web by 2015. Without the billion Africans on board, there`s no way this will happen.

Developing nations constitute 69.4% of the world`s population, according to common definitions, explained ZTE`s European marketing guru Christophe de Saint Martin. The 30% of the world that is developed makes up nearly three-quarters of all broadband subscribers, he added.

Disparities like this, despite what all the multinational telecoms firms will say, seem to be becoming increasingly magnified. As the developed world races away with fourth-generation "super-broadband" like LTE advancements and PON networks, hundreds of millions of Africans wouldn`t know what an e-mail is, even if they could receive one.

The global telecoms leaders are leaving us behind. Their collective consciousness is detached from our plight. They have no idea what is going on in the bottom half of the globe. All we can do is wave, and say good luck.

But they won`t hear us.