86
Africa’s ICT Infrastructure
Figure 3.4 Ownership of Fiber–Optic Backbone Networks 40 35 30 percent
25 20 15 10 5
ow oth ne er s d ta en te tit y
s cit tate y c -o om wn pa ed ny tri el
co le te operational
ec
m sta m te un -o i w op cati ned er on at s or
m pr un iva t i op cati ized er on at s or m co le
te
te
le
co
m
m
un p i ri op cati vat er on e at s or
0
under construction
Sources: Hamilton 2010; World Bank staff analysis.
networks, with the remainder owned by state-owned electricity companies. The pattern of new public investment in fiber-optic infrastructure is, however, quite different. Of the total publicly funded fiber-optic infrastructure currently under construction, 54 percent is being implemented directly by governments (as in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda); 29 percent via the conventional vehicle—the state-owned telecommunications operators (as in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Zambia); and the rest by state-owned electricity companies. Despite being newcomers to the telecommunications market in Africa, these electricity companies are having a significant impact: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia are all examples of countries in which electricity companies have upgraded their networks to include fiber-optic networks and used them to provide backbone telecommunications services. They are usually wholesale-only businesses, which means that they are able to provide backbone services to many downstream operators. They also have technical advantages because their networks are typically more secure than networks buried underground.