Kenya praised for internet growth

Kenya is among African countries where the broadband Internet is fast taking root, according to a new report. The new system has grown rapidly in Africa over the past four years. Before then, only the slower bandwidth was available for Internet connections. In a survey of 100 selected operators in Africa, the report, by the London-based Balancing Act, an Internet content advisory firm, says access to higher-speed downloads of, for instance, music and voice over Internet (VoIP) phone calling has intensified. Between 2001, when the first broadband access was rolled out, and now, a wide range of both wireline and wireless broadband technologies have been deployed across Africa. The pace started picking up in 2003. The technology has changed over time. The most recent trend has been implementation of networks which can deliver broadband over a 75-kilometre range. According to Mr Paul Hamilton, one of the report's authors: "Broadband uptake is accelerating in the most developed Internet markets ... The survey indicates that there are four tiers." The markets of Egypt, Madagascar, Re-union, and South Africa have tens or hundreds of thousands of broadband subscribers. There is a middle tier, such as Senegal, with between 1,000 and 10,000 subscribers. More: http://allafrica.com/stories/200512140395.html

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