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Dumisani Nkala, TELCO ZIMBABWE

Dumisani Nkala spoke about the
politics of access as seen through the
eyes of an Internet Service Provider.
She shared an interesting study from
the Word Bank which shows the direct
link between ICT development and
economic growth. That is, for every
10% increase in a country’s high speed
internet connections, that country’s
economic growth increases by an
estimated 1,3%. This means that access
to the Internet is not an end in itself but
access to the Internet has a ripple effect
which results in economic growth.
She highlighted that since 2014, the
number of users accessing the Internet
via 3G and 4G mobile internet has
risen significantly. 3G and 4G internet
access in Zimbabwe is now the popular
choice for the majority of internet users.
ADSL and Fibre access are the second
and third choices respectively. Various
factors contribute to the popularity of
mobile internet over fixed line internet,
for example, fixed line internet usually

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Misa Zimbabwe Second Internet Governance Multi
Stakeholder Conference 21 September 2017

comes to the home either via the
landline/telephone or by fibre; both
scenarios usually require either home
ownership or a long term lease over the
property where the fixed line service is
to be installed. In Zimbabwe’s urban
areas the majority of people do not own
the properties they stay in. The initial
costs of accessing the internet through
fixed line services are also higher than
the price of an entry level smartphone
which is capable of accessing the
internet. Despite its popularity Dumisani
says that mobile will not replace fixed
line communication anytime soon,
especially in light of the increase in
fibre to home connections slowly being
rolled out around Zimbabwe.
Dumisani stated that three factors
were needed to contribute to positive
economic growth, namely policy,
investment, and technology. The policy
issues she identified included the
implementation of obsolete policies
which for example, attempt to regulate

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