CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been a remarkable success in Africa. Across the continent, the availability and quality of service have gone up and the cost has gone down. In just 10 years—dating from the end of the 1990s—mobile network coverage rose from 16 percent to 90 percent of the urban population; by 2009, rural coverage stood at just under 50 percent of the population. Institutional reform has driven this radical change in telecommunications. Markets have been liberalized, and regulatory bodies have been established. The resulting increase in competition has spurred investment and dramatic reductions in prices. The speed at which the sector has evolved, the nature of the policy changes that have triggered the reforms, and the way in which investment has been financed all make telecommunications unique among the infrastructure sectors in Africa. Despite the successes of recent years, however, several major challenges remain for policy makers. The first of these challenges is to continue the expansion of the mobile networks, bringing basic voice services to as much of the population as possible. To do this, policy makers need answers to key questions: What have been the drivers of past expansion? Why do some countries in the region consistently outperform others? How far will the current model of 1