ICITD's Research Abstracts

Over-dependence of Africa’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on the West has been reflected in various socio-economic dimensions.  Such dependence has also been reflected in the telecommunications industry of Africa’s LDCs in their quest to improve their historically low teledensity (number of main telephone lines per one hundred inhabitants).

African LDCs lag other regions of the world in utilizing information and telecommunications technologies.   The resulting digital divide has hitherto left African LDCs far behind other regions of the world in various aspects of economic development. Many technology-oriented constraints account for the low levels of teledensity in Africa.

The fact that the trend should not be allowed to worsen has led to calls for a debate on what strategies can be adopted to turn things around.   Possible options include the following:  (a) self-sufficiency approach by each country, (b) African Regional/Foreign Alliance approach to solve the regional technology-oriented constraints to teledensity, and (c) the ‘viagra’ approach of total and perpetual dependence on the West to come in and apply a band-aid fix to the problem, and leave behind an infrastructure with little or no local expertise to manage it.  In this paper, the term ‘viagra’ is used to imply a quick prescription in a guise of a “solution”.

Using Friedman’s test, factor analysis, and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) statistical procedures, this study examines the perspectives or beliefs of telecommunications stakeholders of Africa’s LDCs on strategies for solving the technology-oriented constraints that have been documented in the literature.  The findings suggest that Africa’s LDCs should adopt a self-sufficiency approach and also create regional alliances for sustainable development of telecommunications infrastructure to spur the much needed teledensity growth in the region.

Mbarika, V., Byrd, T. A., McMullen, P., and Musa, P. (2002). Teledensity Growth Constraints and Strategies for Africa’s LDCs: ‘Viagra’ Prescriptions or Sustainable Development Strategy. Journal of Global Information Technology Management, Vol. 5, # 1.

Investments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have been a major issue of concern in academia and industry.  How much a country should invest in its telecommunications infrastructure so as to improve their levels of teledensity is a major challenge.  This research examines investments in the telecommunications sector of low and middle-income developing countries.  The findings suggest that increased investment in telecommunications infrastructure without the involvement of other socio-economic factors may not improve growth of teledensity in developing countries.

The study, however, suggests a positive relationship between teledensity and other variables such as GDP per capita, telecommunications staff and length of wait times to acquire and maintain telephones.  Some strategies are suggested as steps to take in order to improve the teledensity levels of the countries used in this study.

Mbarika, V., Kah, M., Meso, P., Musa, P., and Warren, J. (2003). Predictors of Growth of Teledensity in Developing Countries: A Focus on Low and Middle Income Countries.  Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries, Vol. 12, #1, pp. 1-17.

The Internet made in-roads in Mali since early 1992. However, the diffusion of the Internet has been dawdling up to now as recent statistics show that only 60,000 Malians actively use the Internet. Moreover, most of the users live in the capital city, Bamako, where cyber cafés are the preferred Internet access locations. These Internet centers provide multiple services such as Voice over IP (VOIP), fax, and foods; a cheaper and affordable means of access while offering citizens an opportunity to socialize. The monopolistic environment in Mali appears to be the primary reason of the current condition. In this study, we will use the Global Diffusion of the Internet (GDI) Framework to assess the diffusion of the Internet in Mali. The six GDI dimensions: Pervasiveness, Dispersion, Sectoral Absorption, Connectivity Infrastructure, Organizational Infrastructure, and Sophistication of Use will allow us to share a clear picture of the Internet diffusion process while identifying the most significant barriers.

Beyond the assessment of the diffusion of the Internet, we strive to investigate the socio-economic impacts of the diffusion. That is, Malians are using the Internet to promote education, reduce poverty, prevent illnesses, and communicate with the world. Finally, we will elaborate on the policy implications and the role of the local government in promoting a responsible diffusion of the Internet in line with socio-economical and cultural realities.

<hr/>Mbarika, V., Samake, K., Akpan-Obong, P., Bradley, R., & Anthony Byrd, T. (May 2007). The Internet: an engine for socio-economic change in Mali. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, São Paulo, Brazil.