he EASSy Project responds to a need:

The EASSy project offers a solution to infrastructural Internet access problems in

Eastern Africa. It responds to a critical need for an effective and affordable
Internet connection in a large region of Africa. The EASSy project intervenes in a
sub-developed market. There are few direct high-capacity Internet links between and
within African countries, and high-capacity transmission lines are mainly
concentrated in the US, Europe and Asia. As a result, about 75% of Internet traffic
in Africa first goes through Europe or the US, and is then routed back, a very
costly process. For example, while Benin and Burkina Faso are neighbors, Internet
traffic between them passes through France or Canada.

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada estimates that

Africa spends at least $400 million each year on the use of international bandwidth
for national or regional data. In fact, in many cases, e-mails sent between two
Internet service providers in the same country are sent abroad and then rerouted
back because domestic Internet Exchange Points (IXP) are lacking. Africa is
currently dependent on the SAT-3 cable, and on expensive satellite links, the only
option in some Eastern African countries. These satellite connections have inherent
delays and do not offer competitive pricing conditions. The slow pace of Internet
development on the continent is reflected in low levels of use.
Low-speed transmission lines also mean that Internet users in Africa find it much
faster and cheaper to download material rather than to post their own onto the
Internet. These conditions consign Africans to serve primarily as consumers instead
of producers of web content. (See Africa Overview: ICT Trends)

Strengths:

� Extra connectivity would reduce Africa�s dependence on the SAT-3 cable and on
expensive satellite links.
� EASSY would provide reliable, fast, and widespread access to international
communication (including Internet). It is expected to bring the costs of
international telecommunications and Internet connectivity down to competitive
levels, similar to those found in other developing countries, such as India.

Weaknesses:

A dispute between governments and operators has been stalling EASSY�s

implementation. Some African governments, including South Africa, want the
consortium to be owned by a majority of African companies and to respect regulated,
i.e. low, prices. They threaten EASSy�s operators that they will block the project
if those conditions are not respected. On the other side, the operators argue that
this is an attempt to hijack an existing commercial project and make it a part of
the NEPAD ICT broadband Infrastructure Network, a states- led project benefiting
from the UN support.

While governments claim that only a state project would serve the common good and
prevent the risk of a consortium monopoly, the operators assert that their project,
although necessary to Eastern Africa�s development, has been halted by the public
sector. According to them, governments want to claim paternity for a crucial
development project, although the private sector has responded to pressures from
the World Bank and seems to respect its development criteria.

Meanwhile, consumers on Africa�s East Cost still pay up to 300$ a month for
Internet access. Moshen Khalil, Director for the ICT department of the World Bank
Group emphasizes following facts:
The EASSy is already a truly African initiative ( most operators are African) ;
Regulated prices were already imposed on operators as a condition for $30 million
in loans by the World Bank. This was the first time the IFC has asked private
companies to adopt developmental principles for financial support.
Accordingly, critics charge that the governments' position has undermined the EASSy
project without justification.
he EASSy Project responds to a need:
The EASSy project offers a solution to infrastructural Internet access problems in
Eastern Africa. It responds to a critical need for an effective and affordable
Internet connection in a large region of Africa. The EASSy project intervenes in a
sub-developed market. There are few direct high-capacity Internet links between and
within African countries, and high-capacity transmission lines are mainly
concentrated in the US, Europe and Asia. As a result, about 75% of Internet traffic
in Africa first goes through Europe or the US, and is then routed back, a very
costly process. For example, while Benin and Burkina Faso are neighbors, Internet
traffic between them passes through France or Canada.

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada estimates that

Africa spends at least $400 million each year on the use of international bandwidth
for national or regional data. In fact, in many cases, e-mails sent between two
Internet service providers in the same country are sent abroad and then rerouted
back because domestic Internet Exchange Points (IXP) are lacking. Africa is
currently dependent on the SAT-3 cable, and on expensive satellite links, the only
option in some Eastern African countries. These satellite connections have inherent
delays and do not offer competitive pricing conditions. The slow pace of Internet
development on the continent is reflected in low levels of use.
Low-speed transmission lines also mean that Internet users in Africa find it much
faster and cheaper to download material rather than to post their own onto the
Internet. These conditions consign Africans to serve primarily as consumers instead
of producers of web content. (See Africa Overview: ICT Trends)

Strengths:

� Extra connectivity would reduce Africa�s dependence on the SAT-3 cable and on
expensive satellite links.
� EASSY would provide reliable, fast, and widespread access to international
communication (including Internet). It is expected to bring the costs of
international telecommunications and Internet connectivity down to competitive
levels, similar to those found in other developing countries, such as India.

Weaknesses:

A dispute between governments and operators has been stalling EASSY�s

implementation. Some African governments, including South Africa, want the
consortium to be owned by a majority of African companies and to respect regulated,
i.e. low, prices. They threaten EASSy�s operators that they will block the project
if those conditions are not respected. On the other side, the operators argue that
this is an attempt to hijack an existing commercial project and make it a part of
the NEPAD ICT broadband Infrastructure Network, a states- led project benefiting
from the UN support.

While governments claim that only a state project would serve the common good and
prevent the risk of a consortium monopoly, the operators assert that their project,
although necessary to Eastern Africa�s development, has been halted by the public
sector. According to them, governments want to claim paternity for a crucial
development project, although the private sector has responded to pressures from
the World Bank and seems to respect its development criteria.

Meanwhile, consumers on Africa�s East Cost still pay up to 300$ a month for
Internet access. Moshen Khalil, Director for the ICT department of the World Bank
Group emphasizes following facts:
The EASSy is already a truly African initiative ( most operators are African) ;
Regulated prices were already imposed on operators as a condition for $30 million
in loans by the World Bank. This was the first time the IFC has asked private
companies to adopt developmental principles for financial support.

Accordingly, critics charge that the governments' position has undermined the EASSy
project without justification.