Ethiopia goes broadband
p2pnet.net News:- Ethiopia, one of the world’s poorest countries, plans to use broadband to improve the lot of its people.
Yesterday it launched Phase I of a three-year plan which, while “not cheap” and available only to about 100,000 people in Addis Ababa, the capital, will, “harness information communication technology to fight the crushing poverty that afflicts most of its population of 70 million,” says Agence France-Presse.
"ICT generates incomes through learning, improve productivity, and promote good governance and democracy," infrastructure minister Kassu Ilalla is quoted as saying, going on:
"Unfortunately, over 85 percent of the population leaves in rural areas where access to telecom services is almost non-existent and this shouldn’t continue any more.
Broadband was the most efficient way to provide internet connectivity, says AFP, adding:
“Before Thursday, Ethiopia had just 30,000 Internet connections but under the nationwide web access plan intends to expand that to 500,000 by October.”
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
See:-
Agence France-Presse - Impoverished Ethiopia launches broadband internet service, May 5, 2005
May 8th, 2005 at 7:55 pm
Our country is facing another famine,
and our “bright leaders” think that what
rural ethiopia needs right now is access
to the internet. Am i missing something
here.
May 10th, 2005 at 5:52 am
Thank god too, cause all those attempts at providing food and clean water to the Ethiopians was getting really old.
September 7th, 2005 at 9:21 am
What you are missing is the amount of food you can buy then you can tax people that work with Internet and earn 1,2 or 3 000 US $ a month.
Brian