Expanding Internet access to the rural poor in Africa*

At present, the Internet is little used in Africa. However, it has the potential to play a significant role in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development, especially in rural areas. This paper examines two important elements of increasing rural Internet access: reducing costs of Internet service provision and increasing the number of rural access points. The paper argues that liberalization of the telecommunications sector combined with targeted, auctioned subsidies to local entrepreneurs are both likely to have a significant impact on rural Internet access rates. Notes The views expressed in this paper are those of the author, and do not reflect those of the World Bank or its executive directors. This paper is based partly on results presented in The Economic Toolkit for African Policy Makers, an Africa Internet Forum/UN Economic Commission for Africa project sponsored by the World Bank's infoDev program (ID 950920–10).