11 African countries selected for $16.2 million ITU Broadband mapping project

11 African countries have been selected as beneficiaries of a $16.2 million National Broadband Mapping Systems Project.

Details
This announcement was made at a recently concluded Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR-24) hosted in Kampala, Uganda by The International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The project, supported by the European Commission will help establish broadband mapping systems to foster investment and digital transformation in Africa.

Digging Deeper
ITU said in a statement that the project will use the data from the mapping systems to identify internet connectivity gaps in coverage, quality, and affordability in countries covered by the project.

It will initially benefit 11 countries: Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The ITU said the programme will “enable data-driven decision-making for investments in digital infrastructure”, which in turn will “foster investment and digital transformation in Africa”.

At the symposium, African regulators also endorsed a set of guidelines to maximize the benefits of transformative information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The “GSR-24 Best Practice Guidelines​” agreed by ICT regulators include a series of considerations for balancing innovation with regulation to create a positive impact on societies and economies from emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Tech Labari