Africa, Web Access: What Google's Doing Right

You probably also know, if you have followed this column for any time, that I have pretty strong feelings about what Africa (and the rest of the underdeveloped world) needs to pull itself up into the 21st century. A technology infrastructure was just one of those factors, and thanks to Google et al, we may finally be starting to solve that one. The other three -- and all four interact to create either a virtuous or vicious cycle -- are education, trust (meaning political stability, reduced corruption and the rule of law) and capital.

Related

All the World in a Wristwatch

To the Wild West, Cell Phone in Hand

What Is Microsoft So Afraid Of?

I don't know enough about the rest of the developing world to make any predictions about the impact of the O3b Network. But I can talk about sub-Saharan Africa. And there's two things I know about the region: 1. It is ready, like no time in the last half-century, to make the leap to the world economy; and 2. All victories in Africa are small ones, and all change is two steps forward and (if you are lucky) one step back.

The other thing we often forget about Africa is that it is not monolithic, even though we often treat "the Dark Continent" as a single entity. No matter how many satellites you park in geosynchronous orbit over it, Africa will not all change at once, but country by country, region by region. In Africa at least, the "Other 3 Billion" should be more properly named, "A Million at a Time."

For example, I'll make the prediction right now that the adopt curve for O3b will be very quick for southern Africa, and very slow for the countries across the continent's midsection. South Africa, for example, may be a place of crime, rape and refugees these days, but it is also unquestionably a modern economy. You can already get broadband in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Capetown and all of the other big cities. Where O3b will have an impact is in the countryside and in the poor townships. Many of those folks already have cell phones -- or access to one by the minute from a corner shop -- so adoption should be almost instantaneous.

Much more interesting is that tier of countries that cross the continent just above South Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and up the eastern coast to include the old English colonies of Tanzania and Kenya. With the exception of Mozambique (which is racing to recover) and Kenya (with its recent problems), every one of these countries has been pretty much at peace for a generation or more. Every one of them is undergoing massive reconstruction and development, much of it funded by oil and natural resource land rushes taking place in their much wilder (and much less likely to benefit from O3b) neighbors like both Congos and Angola.