Versatile Amphibian

As Ory Okolloh recently put it: if mobile phones are the computers for Africa, why do all the journalists who write about them do so on laptops? I wholeheartedly agree. The smartphone is a great handheld entertainment and communication platform, but it isn’t a good device for the creation of much more than a drunken text message. No, the truth is that that laptop computer - or some variation of it - is almost certainly the utility computing platform for a connected Africa. It can do pretty much everything a smartphone, TV, desktop or tablet can do, yet costs less than any one of those devices. It isn't perfect, but it is the best utility computing device available today. In my view the device challenge is not to identify the computer for Africa, but to create a supply chain that reduces unit costs to a point that is affordable to the middle class (in the first instance). So if the computer for Africa probably isn't a phone, why should it'd connection be designed for a ph...

$1,418Mn of investment in African telecoms infrastructure was announced in January, down very marginally on the same month last year, but up 15% on 2010. As ever, cellular network upgrades dominated proceedings, with large capex commitments being made in Nigeria, Tanzania and Liberia. Staying with mobile for a moment, the launch of 3G networks continue to make headlines, with HSPA being switched on by operators in Zambia and Kenya. There also seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for Vodacom in DRC, where resolution to their dispute with their local partner appears close, potentially unlocking nearly $500Mn of much needed investment into Africa's 3rd most populous country. Also worth mentioning is the continued success of alternative wireless broadband access network solutions, such as wifi (Burkino Faso), WiMAX (Namibia), satellite broadband (South Africa) and TD-LTE (Nigeria). These are generally quite small investments, but are meaningful in that they extend data provision ...