Although this duopoly was supposed to end in
2002, in 2003 there were still reports of the
national phone company “turning off the lines of
those suspected of” using VoIP. 113
Conclusion
It is striking that a region with such high levels of
speech and media restrictions would have only
two countries that have engaged in Internet content filtration. The explanation lies partially in the
low Internet penetration rates in sub-Saharan
Africa; filtration strategies are likely judged to be
too expensive, given the limited impact of Internet
on access to information. Even if content restrictions were seen to be desirable, there are not
enough people online to warrant the expense.
Moreover, the governments most likely to institute
filtering lack the technical, administrative, and
financial resources necessary for implementation
(Zimbabwe, for example, fits this mold). However,
as the Internet spreads, the balance of costs to
benefits may shift, yielding a situation in which a
growing number of countries in the region actively filter the Internet. This is by no means
inevitable, however. As we see in the experiences
of countries around the world, there are no easy
answers to the dilemmas that arise with the
spread of the Internet—along with its potential as
an engine for human and economic development, the Internet is profoundly disruptive, both
socially and politically. Filtering is a likely
response, but one fraught with many challenges.
Authors: Evan Croen, Jehae Kim, Katie Mapes
NOTES
1. Our finding of limited Internet filtering is based primarily on secondary sources. The ONI tested only in
Ethiopia and Zimbabwe during the past year. Sudan,
an active Internet filterer as confirmed by ONI testing, is included in the MENA overview.
2. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
3. Botswana Telecommunications Authority, “Internet in
Botswana,” http://www.bta.org.bw/internet.html.
4. Rebecca Ghanadan, “Negotiating reforms at home:
Natural resources and the politics of energy access
in urban Tanzania,” Center for African Studies, 2004,
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1010&context=cas.
5. Fibre for Africa, “Satellite vs. fibre: Different costs for
different things,” http://fibreforafrica.net/main.
shtml?x=4051583&als%5BMYALIAS6%5D=Satellite
%2520vs%2520fibre:%2520different%2520costs%25
20for%2520different%2520things&als%5Bselect%5D
=4051582.
6. Eric Osiakwan and Ethan Zuckerman, Media
Berkman, Africa’s Internet Infrastructure Video Part I
and Part II, April 19, 2007, http://blogs.law.harvard.
edu/mediaberkman/.
7. Fibre for Africa, “Satellite vs. fibre: Different costs for
different things,” http://fibreforafrica.net/main.shtml?
x=4051583&als%5BMYALIAS6%5D=Satellite%2520v
s%2520fibre:%2520different%2520costs%2520for%2
520different%2520things&als%5Bselect%5D=
4051582.
8. Government of Rwanda, An Integrated ICT-led Socioeconomic Development Plan for Rwanda, 20062010: The NICI-2010 Plan, http://www.rita.gov.rw/
docs/NICI%202010.pdf.
9. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators Update, Country
Profile: Uganda, April-May-June 2000,
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/uganda/material/
CountryProfileUGA.pdf.
10. Eric Osiakwan and Ethan Zuckerman, Media
Berkman, Africa’s Internet Infrastructure Video Part I
and Part II, April 19, 2007, http://blogs.law.harvard.
edu/mediaberkman/.
11. World Bank, Africa: Data and Statistics, 2005,
$830 GDP per capita for Sub-Saharan Africa,
http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?
SelectedCountry=SSA&CCODE=SSA&CNAME=
Sub-Saharan+Africa&PTYPE=CP.
12. Reuters, “Zimbabwe’s Net crawls due to unpaid
debt,” September 20, 2006,
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6117553.html.
13. Wangui Kanina, “Kenya concerned at slow growth of
Internet market,” Yahoo News, March 28, 2007,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070328/wr_nm/
kenya_telecoms_dc.
14. UNECA, Botswana: NICI Infrastructure, 2002,
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/NICI/country_profiles/bots
wana/botsinfra.htm.
15. UNECA, Malawi: Internet Connectivity,
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/malaw
i/malinter.htm, (last accessed April 20, 2007).
16. Jackie Mackenzie, “The SNO is finally here,”
August 31, 2006, http://business.iafrica.com/
news/984828.htm.
Regional Overviews
221
2002, in 2003 there were still reports of the
national phone company “turning off the lines of
those suspected of” using VoIP. 113
Conclusion
It is striking that a region with such high levels of
speech and media restrictions would have only
two countries that have engaged in Internet content filtration. The explanation lies partially in the
low Internet penetration rates in sub-Saharan
Africa; filtration strategies are likely judged to be
too expensive, given the limited impact of Internet
on access to information. Even if content restrictions were seen to be desirable, there are not
enough people online to warrant the expense.
Moreover, the governments most likely to institute
filtering lack the technical, administrative, and
financial resources necessary for implementation
(Zimbabwe, for example, fits this mold). However,
as the Internet spreads, the balance of costs to
benefits may shift, yielding a situation in which a
growing number of countries in the region actively filter the Internet. This is by no means
inevitable, however. As we see in the experiences
of countries around the world, there are no easy
answers to the dilemmas that arise with the
spread of the Internet—along with its potential as
an engine for human and economic development, the Internet is profoundly disruptive, both
socially and politically. Filtering is a likely
response, but one fraught with many challenges.
Authors: Evan Croen, Jehae Kim, Katie Mapes
NOTES
1. Our finding of limited Internet filtering is based primarily on secondary sources. The ONI tested only in
Ethiopia and Zimbabwe during the past year. Sudan,
an active Internet filterer as confirmed by ONI testing, is included in the MENA overview.
2. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators 2006.
3. Botswana Telecommunications Authority, “Internet in
Botswana,” http://www.bta.org.bw/internet.html.
4. Rebecca Ghanadan, “Negotiating reforms at home:
Natural resources and the politics of energy access
in urban Tanzania,” Center for African Studies, 2004,
http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1010&context=cas.
5. Fibre for Africa, “Satellite vs. fibre: Different costs for
different things,” http://fibreforafrica.net/main.
shtml?x=4051583&als%5BMYALIAS6%5D=Satellite
%2520vs%2520fibre:%2520different%2520costs%25
20for%2520different%2520things&als%5Bselect%5D
=4051582.
6. Eric Osiakwan and Ethan Zuckerman, Media
Berkman, Africa’s Internet Infrastructure Video Part I
and Part II, April 19, 2007, http://blogs.law.harvard.
edu/mediaberkman/.
7. Fibre for Africa, “Satellite vs. fibre: Different costs for
different things,” http://fibreforafrica.net/main.shtml?
x=4051583&als%5BMYALIAS6%5D=Satellite%2520v
s%2520fibre:%2520different%2520costs%2520for%2
520different%2520things&als%5Bselect%5D=
4051582.
8. Government of Rwanda, An Integrated ICT-led Socioeconomic Development Plan for Rwanda, 20062010: The NICI-2010 Plan, http://www.rita.gov.rw/
docs/NICI%202010.pdf.
9. International Telecommunication Union, World
Telecommunication Indicators Update, Country
Profile: Uganda, April-May-June 2000,
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/uganda/material/
CountryProfileUGA.pdf.
10. Eric Osiakwan and Ethan Zuckerman, Media
Berkman, Africa’s Internet Infrastructure Video Part I
and Part II, April 19, 2007, http://blogs.law.harvard.
edu/mediaberkman/.
11. World Bank, Africa: Data and Statistics, 2005,
$830 GDP per capita for Sub-Saharan Africa,
http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/CPProfile.asp?
SelectedCountry=SSA&CCODE=SSA&CNAME=
Sub-Saharan+Africa&PTYPE=CP.
12. Reuters, “Zimbabwe’s Net crawls due to unpaid
debt,” September 20, 2006,
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6117553.html.
13. Wangui Kanina, “Kenya concerned at slow growth of
Internet market,” Yahoo News, March 28, 2007,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070328/wr_nm/
kenya_telecoms_dc.
14. UNECA, Botswana: NICI Infrastructure, 2002,
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/NICI/country_profiles/bots
wana/botsinfra.htm.
15. UNECA, Malawi: Internet Connectivity,
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/malaw
i/malinter.htm, (last accessed April 20, 2007).
16. Jackie Mackenzie, “The SNO is finally here,”
August 31, 2006, http://business.iafrica.com/
news/984828.htm.
Regional Overviews
221