Strengths:
� Extra connectivity would reduce Africa�s dependence on the SAT-3 cable and on
expensive satellite links.
� EASSY would provide reliable, fast, and widespread access to international
communication (including Internet). It is expected to bring the costs of
international telecommunications and Internet connectivity down to competitive
levels, similar to those found in other developing countries, such as India.
Weaknesses:
While governments claim that only a state project would serve the common good and
prevent the risk of a consortium monopoly, the operators assert that their project,
although necessary to Eastern Africa�s development, has been halted by the public
sector. According to them, governments want to claim paternity for a crucial
development project, although the private sector has responded to pressures from
the World Bank and seems to respect its development criteria.
Meanwhile, consumers on Africa�s East Cost still pay up to 300$ a month for
Internet access. Moshen Khalil, Director for the ICT department of the World Bank
Group emphasizes following facts:
The EASSy is already a truly African initiative ( most operators are African) ;
Regulated prices were already imposed on operators as a condition for $30 million
in loans by the World Bank. This was the first time the IFC has asked private
companies to adopt developmental principles for financial support.
Accordingly, critics charge that the governments' position has undermined the EASSy
project without justification.
he EASSy Project responds to a need:
The EASSy project offers a solution to infrastructural Internet access problems in
Eastern Africa. It responds to a critical need for an effective and affordable
Internet connection in a large region of Africa. The EASSy project intervenes in a
sub-developed market. There are few direct high-capacity Internet links between and
within African countries, and high-capacity transmission lines are mainly
concentrated in the US, Europe and Asia. As a result, about 75% of Internet traffic
in Africa first goes through Europe or the US, and is then routed back, a very
costly process. For example, while Benin and Burkina Faso are neighbors, Internet
traffic between them passes through France or Canada.
Strengths:
� Extra connectivity would reduce Africa�s dependence on the SAT-3 cable and on
expensive satellite links.
� EASSY would provide reliable, fast, and widespread access to international
communication (including Internet). It is expected to bring the costs of
international telecommunications and Internet connectivity down to competitive
levels, similar to those found in other developing countries, such as India.
Weaknesses:
While governments claim that only a state project would serve the common good and
prevent the risk of a consortium monopoly, the operators assert that their project,
although necessary to Eastern Africa�s development, has been halted by the public
sector. According to them, governments want to claim paternity for a crucial
development project, although the private sector has responded to pressures from
the World Bank and seems to respect its development criteria.
Meanwhile, consumers on Africa�s East Cost still pay up to 300$ a month for
Internet access. Moshen Khalil, Director for the ICT department of the World Bank
Group emphasizes following facts:
The EASSy is already a truly African initiative ( most operators are African) ;
Regulated prices were already imposed on operators as a condition for $30 million
in loans by the World Bank. This was the first time the IFC has asked private
companies to adopt developmental principles for financial support.
Accordingly, critics charge that the governments' position has undermined the EASSy
project without justification.