Mobile Phone Is The New Car Of The Ordinary African
2007-01-31 07:41:33 | Viewed 2175 times
The former UN Secretary General, Dr. Kofi Annan has identified the rapid growth in mobile phone use as one of the positive economic indicators Africa has recorded in recent years. Delivering his first public speech after leaving the UN in December last year, Dr. Annan disclosed that between 1998 and 2003 mobile phone use in African grew by 5,000 percent.
He was however sad that despite the phenomenal increase in phone connectivity, 50 percent of Africans are yet to receive or make a call, let alone using an internet.
In a recent report on mobile phone use, the respected Economist newspaper said the fastest growth rates of mobile phones in the world are found in Africa, where subscriber base is rising by the day.
Not surprisingly, more and more people in Ghana are connecting to mobile phone. The primary obstacle to wider use of mobile phones is the cost of the handsets. Lower prices will put mobile phones, and their attendant economic benefits, into the hands of millions of people. Mobile phones let fishermen and farmers check prices in different markets before selling produce, make it easier for people to find work, allow quick and easy transfers of funds and boost economic development. Little wonder that mobile phone snatching has become big business in Ghana.
The increase in mobile phone use in Ghana is a reflection of the growing trend of the industry in Africa, due to the fact that many people are unable to obtain landlines because of corruption involved in the process. A recent survey by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) found that Africa has become the world's fastest mobile phone market.
The report said over the last five years, the continent's mobile phone use increased at an annual rate of 65 percent, twice the global average. Africa gained more than 13 million new subscribers in 2003 alone, bringing the total to more than 52 million.
The survey estimated that there would be 60 million mobile phone users in Africa by the end of 2005, more than double the 27 million people who use landlines.
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