An Oasis in Africa’s “Internet Drought”?

A study (Hat Tip: Foreign Policy Passport) published by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics presented disappointing results regarding the “digital divide” between developing and developed nations.  Researchers tracked Internet connectivity in over 40 African countries, whose populations include more than 80 percent of Africa’s inhabitants, and found that “performances in developing regions are a factor of 5 – 20 times worse than that in developed regions.”  This video from the PingER (Ping End-to-End Reporting) project illustrates daily Internet connectivity in Africa.

However, programmers in Nairobi, Kenya, may eventually prove researchers wrong.  The New York Times sees potential in the growing digital stirrings in Nairobi.  The small, low-end devices that have flooded the digital market have forced designers to develop compact programs and light applications, which can be advantageous in wireless systems.

“The prospect of marrying low-end mobile phones with the Internet is earning Nairobi notice from outsiders, who wonder whether the city might emerge as a test-bed for tomorrow’s technologies,” the article states.

One of those outsiders is Google, who opened a development office in Nairobi in September 2007.  The company has already digitally mapped the city for Google Maps, and plans to do the same in other African cities.  However, the larger aim of Google is to develop systems and services that cater to local needs.  The obstacles are significant, but hopes are high, according to the article:

“To be truly creative in a technological backwater is to defeat geography. Even as powerful a technological force as Google might not succeed. But dreaming of greatness, Kenyans are pushing Google to expand into completely new areas.”