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African States Aim To Improve Internet Interconnections

Posted by samzenpus on from the clearing-the-tubes dept.

jfruh writes A rapidly growing percentage of Africans have access to the Internet — and yet most of the content they access, even things aimed specifically at an African audience, is hosted on servers elsewhere. The reason is a bewildering array of laws in different nations that make cross-border cooperation a headache, a marked contrast to places like Europe with uniform Internet regulations. At the Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum in Senegal, a wide variety of Internet actors from the continent are aiming to solve the problem.

27 comments

  1. but can the Internet kill terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    American education teaches that technology is useless unless it can be used to kill terrorists.

    1. Re:but can the Internet kill terrorists? by qbast · · Score: 0

      Are you the same AC that posted similarly idiotic anti-American first post in previous story?

    2. Re:but can the Internet kill terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Depends on your definition of "kill". Current killing methods, using physical means, results in breeding more terrorists. On the other hand, easy access to knowledge and first person shooters will kill terrorists by making sure they're not born in the first place. Knowledge has this effect on beliefs: it kills them and builds a nice wall of reason to resist them reviving in the 3rd day. When you no longer live (solely) for the afterlife, you usually aren't inclined to martyr yourself as easily.

    3. Re:but can the Internet kill terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depends on your definition of "kill". Current killing methods, using physical means, results in breeding more terrorists. On the other hand, easy access to knowledge and first person shooters will kill terrorists by making sure they're not born in the first place.

      What a load of naive simplistic bullshit.

      The US is disliked in some parts of the world because the US interferes with local
      governments and because the US military-industrial complex employs violence to get what it
      has decided it needs. This has been happening since the 1800s, and if you had studied a bit of
      history you'd know how utterly absurd your notion that internet access will reduce what you call
      "terrorism".

      Let's take your childlike logic closer to home, within the US. There is good internet access in the
      southeastern United States. Yet millions of the people who live in the southeastern U.S. persist
      in believing in things which DO NOT EXIST, such as the god their flavor of religion claims exists.

      People are going to be who and what they are regardless of available information. This is because
      few people actually think, and many people operate on emotions rather than logic. You are a good
      example of this.

    4. Re:but can the Internet kill terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, i am that AC, fuck you shit nigger american hamburger.

    5. Re:but can the Internet kill terrorists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Internet kills terrorists. The terrorists do it for themselves. The Internet and sms services can kill a whole lot more, as the events in various African countries show.

  2. bs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Aftrican internet has issues, mainly because they can't afford to run much fiber, nor to secure it against various threats.
    "Lack of uniform regulations" is almost certainly not the issue.

    1. Re: bs by cyber-vandal · · Score: 1

      They have the money it's just being spent on weapons and palaces or stolen by foreign corporations or stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

  3. Great idea! by Katatsumuri · · Score: 1

    Africa, unite!

    1. Re:Great idea! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No rush, Uhura isn't due to be born in United Africa for another 200 years at least.

  4. wrong priorities by xushi · · Score: 0, Troll

    Shouldn't they focus on human rights, eradicating corruption, poverty, disease, getting rid of the so called debt they `owe` to Europe and the west? Instead, they want to improve their internet connection.. They really have the wrong priorities set at the moment...

    1. Re:wrong priorities by dirtyhippie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oh, yes, "they" should. Because infrastructure doesn't help with any of the problems you listed, and there is no middle class in Africa (definitely not a rapidly growing one). Furthermore, there is no variation at all in a continent of over 50 countries and a billion people - every last person in Africa is constantly ducking snipers whilst starving in the middle of the desert and coughing up blood on account of ebolavirus AT THE SAME TIME.

    2. Re:wrong priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... and until Europe has addressed their debt problems, we shall have no more football. Priorities!!!!

    3. Re:wrong priorities by nukenerd · · Score: 1

      Just as I thought then.

    4. Re:wrong priorities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Oh, yes, "they" should.

      Maybe you should go over there and help them know what is best for them.

      And maybe while you are there you will contract the Ebola virus and die,
      and in so doing you truly will have made the world a better place.

    5. Re:wrong priorities by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't they focus on human rights, eradicating corruption, poverty, disease, getting rid of the so called debt they `owe` to Europe and the west? Instead, they want to improve their internet connection.. They really have the wrong priorities set at the moment...

      Are you the guy who is always bitching about research projects? The one who can't see past your own prejudices? Maybe one of the people who want every problem on earth fixed before we went to the moon?

      So how does your system work?

      No internet for them until they improve human rights, end corruption, poverty, disease, and debt?

      For immediate purposes, how might the internetz be helpful in eliminating poverty?

      Maybe the farmer might be able to get a good idea of what the weather is going to be. Maybe information about diseases that will help people. Not only cures, but preventative measures. Maybe understand the relationship between mortality rates and population growth.

      Maybe more people wanting to learn how to read, in order to use teh intertoobz.

      Now suddenly you have a much more literate populous. And literacy and knowledge are dangerous for the "bad guys".

      Then comes the disruption - your corrupt leaders aren't going to just step aside, the populous will need to fight for their rights. Seeing how other parts of the world live will be a positive influence. But all this will take many years.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:wrong priorities by Dragonslicer · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't they focus on human rights, eradicating corruption, poverty, disease, getting rid of the so called debt they `owe` to Europe and the west? Instead, they want to improve their internet connection.. They really have the wrong priorities set at the moment...

      Exactly. As we all know, organizations with millions of people are completely incapable of addressing more than one problem at a time.

    7. Re:wrong priorities by xushi · · Score: 1

      Erm, nope.. I'm just asking a simple question. No need for all this rudeness.

      I'm sure 95% of the population of Africa won't give a toss about faster or better internet, or even know or care what that is to begin with. There are more important things to work on and solve over there..

    8. Re:wrong priorities by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Erm, nope.. I'm just asking a simple question. No need for all this rudeness.

      I'm sure 95% of the population of Africa won't give a toss about faster or better internet, or even know or care what that is to begin with. There are more important things to work on and solve over there..

      Well then, let us make sure they have no internet until they solve all their other problems.

      You might think it's rude, but perhaps that is because of the way you use the internet. If I had to produce food, lest I die, Rain, and or crop information might just be of real interest to me.

      So who is the arbiter of what these people are allowed to have or not have. Should they be converted to Christianity first? Some look at that as job number one.

      Should we just give them food? Feed them forever and ever?

      Medical information - No, wouldn't want anyone to have that, would we.

      Or should you personally be allowed to determine what is or isn't allowed for these people to have access to. Are you willing to make life and death decisions for them?

      You might think I'm rude. I think you are so shortsighted that it stinks.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  5. I worked for 6 years in Mozambique by ruir · · Score: 4, Informative

    And I can add, southern Africa has a big problem and it is called Telkom. It also does not help that due to "empowering" policies, overt racism and rampant crime they managed to drive away most of the experience people on most technical and medical fields.

    1. Re:I worked for 6 years in Mozambique by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      They have an even bigger problem called niggers.

  6. LOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    "The reason is a bewildering array of laws in different nations that make cross-border cooperation a headache"

    Yes... of course it is...

    It's nothing to do with the average African IQ.

  7. Internet eXchange Points (IXPs) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Ran across the "IXP Toolkit" program a little while ago, and they have quite a few examples of how IXPs can really help the local tech industry and improve service:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pVDSY-RfIpRtGhj2Kw-Ew/videos

    They interview the folks that run a bunch of IXPs: Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, Zambia, etc.

    It can surprisingly (to me) bring about a lot of change by simply having a telco neutral exchange point.

  8. nig64 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Look at y0ur soft, serves to reinforce Geeting together to

  9. Some first class BS here. by nukenerd · · Score: 1, Interesting

    most of the content they access ... is hosted on servers elsewhere

    Since when did that matter on the Internet ?

    The reason is a bewildering array of laws in different nations

    Welcome to the World.

    places like Europe with uniform Internet regulations

    Tell us about these uniform regulations.

  10. Wrong accusations are so easy by thogard · · Score: 1

    I had a situation that appeared that a hacker had taken control of a VOIP system and ran up a full E1 worth of calls to Africa 24x7 for a weekend resulting in a $1.4 million dollar phone bill. The initial evidence showed that Sierra Leone was involved with toll sharing fraud but I looked deeper. I called a few of their embassies and found out they couldn't call home if they tried and the London embassy had some who had the job of trying to calling home all day. It turns out that someone else was playing the scam and taking the money. Sierra Leone was given millions every month for the scam but then it was taken way with fines leaving them with problems. Everyone I talked to was hesitant to talk to me until I explained that I didn't think they were the scammers. I ended up talking to Alpha (what a cool name) who was the head of their phone company and he provided just the extra details. I had a friend from The old school US telco get some of the guys who used to work in the dark room listen to the calls and they said the wobble in the busy wasn't right for modern automatic gear so calls there would be considered connected even if most people heard a busy signal. The end result was a US phone company shipped them a nice bit of kit to terminate some of their calls in a deterministic way.

  11. not BS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    most of the content they access ... is hosted on servers elsewhere

    Since when did that matter on the Internet ?

    It matters because trans-oceanic links are expensive to put traffic over. If most people access local news, local banks, local e-government, then having an IXP that connects ISPs so that national traffic doesn't have to go over international links: (a) reduces latency, (b) saves operating costs, (c) encourages local tech industries (co-lo, webdev, etc.), and (d) improves security since the IXP is less likely to be tapped than international fibre.

    Serious, it has been shown multiple times to make a meaningful difference:

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pVDSY-RfIpRtGhj2Kw-Ew/videos