Icann’s chief executive, Rod Beckstrom said: "A new drought has emerged in Africa — an Internet access drought. We would like to help African leaders to end it, as online commerce is becoming important around the globe."
Mr Beckstrom singled out Kenya as an example of an African state that has embraced emerging online networks, with its growing fibre optic system and its potential for expansion across the continent.
"Africa’s young generation is already embracing the Internet any way it can, and they want more. This can be seen from the fact that 77 per cent of Kenyans want to spend more time online while 63 per cent want more and better access to the Internet," said Mr Beckstrom. In harmony with its Vision 2030 economic blueprint, the Kenya government intends to increase the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP from 3 per cent to over 10 per cent in the next three years.
Mr Beckstrom urged other African nations to end telecoms monopolies which, "increase the price of Internet services, trapping the poor in a technological drought." He said that despite Africa making up for about 15 per cent of the world’s population, the continent accounts for less than 7 per cent of Internet users globally.
Icann, formed in 1998, is a non-profit organisation that was incorporated in the United Sates to keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable, by promoting competition and developing policies on its unique identifiers.
Icann has representation from all over the world.
Source: Allafrica