Connectivity Providers Database

From: Paulo Pizarro <paulo@ANGONET.GN.APC.ORG> To: Multiple recipients of list AFRIK-IT <AFRIK-IT@IRLEARN.BITNET> Date: Fri, 2 Jun 1995 12:23:12 +0000 Hi everybody, I am Paulo Pizarro and I am Angolan. I am responsible for the telephone switching systems and networks area at TECNOSERVE, which is a private Angolan telecomunications company. I have been also working with HF data communication equipment at TECNOSERVE. I am about to finish my university course on telecommunications engineering. I sure that IT plays a very important role in Africa development. But for this being true the African governments must undertake a policy of restruturing the whole telecommunications system starting from changing their old public telephone switching systems (still electromecanic in a lot of African countries) to privatisation, and widespread the telecommunications infrastruture to the whole country and not only to the main cities. The actual characteristics of the telecommunication infrastruture in most African countries are: - Most of the telephone lines in Africa are bad so they cannot accomodate hi speed modems. - The power fluctuations are very hi and constant, affecting all telecommunication equipment. - The communications infrastruture is not widespread to the whole country, and even inside the main cities there are many people that do not have a telephone facility. Another problem is that there is just a few research from the inside, everything comes from the outside, maybe because of low investments in education at university level. So if everything comes from the outside - developing world - how can then we sustain any project going well without having to call people from the outside? The IT providing wide information for everybody and long distant studies must be a good thing for Africa, if well implemented. It is all for now, Best, Paulo