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The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa

Information About The Bandwidth Initiative: Opening the Power of the Internet to African Universities

Overview

A coalition of 11 African universities and two higher education organizations, with support from four major U.S. foundations, has arrived at an agreement with the satellite service provider Intelsat that will bring vastly expanded Internet bandwidth capacity and capability, at approximately one-third the cost, to academic institutions on the continent.

The new service, to be available by the end of the year, is the result of a three-year-long effort by the universities to assess their needs and on-the-ground technical capacity necessary to manage increased bandwidth purchased in bulk and provided by satellite. The service will start with the coalition members, but is designed to allow many others to join over time.

The members of the Bandwidth Consortium

• Eduardo Mondlane University (Mozambique)
• University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)
• Makerere University (Uganda)
• University of Ghana (Ghana)
• University of Education, Winneba (Ghana)
• University of Ibadan (Nigeria)
• Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria)
• Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria)
• Bayero University (Nigeria)
• Port Harcourt University (Nigeria)
• University of Jos (Nigeria)
• Association of African Universities
• Kenya Education Network

Bandwidth capacity is what governs the speed at which information can be uploaded and downloaded from the Internet. The contract with Intelsat will provide access to 93,000 kilobytes per second (Kbps) of bandwidth each month. As recently as two years ago, the total bandwidth available to the universities was 12,000 Kbps. The unit cost will drop from an average of $7.30 per Kbps per month for the African universities to $2.33. As more institutions participate, the cost may drop further.

About the Bandwidth Initiative

The Bandwidth Initiative is one of the major collaborative projects of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, work that began five years ago to build on momentum within Africa to revitalize institutions of higher education. The foundations involved, Ford, MacArthur, Rockefeller, and Carnegie Corporation of New York, have invested more than $150 million in Partnership projects. Over the next five years the foundations will invest an additional $200 million and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will participate.

Bandwidth is a major expense for African universities, with service currently provided by a patchwork of providers. According to a report prepared by the Bandwidth Consortium of the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa, consumers in Europe and North America typically pay $100 a month for far more bandwidth than African universities obtain for $10,000 per month. In all but a handful of African countries, less than two percent of the population is online.

Planning and negotiations for the Internet work were done by the Bandwidth Consortium, comprising representatives of the 11 universities and the Association of African Universities. Groundwork for the consortium was coordinated by the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, whose research served as the blueprint for negotiations with Intelsat. The host institution for the Bandwidth Consortium is the African Virtual University, an organization skilled in providing satellite-based distance learning education through its centers around Africa.

Comment on the Bandwidth Initiative

Mamman Aminu Ibrahim, convenor of the Nigeria ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Forum of Partnership Institutions

"When African universities have the capacity to connect with the Internet at speeds approaching those available to others around the world, we will have taken one of the most important steps possible in our efforts to become a full member of the world's academic community. This is technology that is central to the transformation of higher education in Africa."

Dr. Francis F. Tusubira, associate professor and director, Directorate for ICT Support at Makerere University

"As dramatic as this change will be, the universities recognize that bandwidth delivered by satellite is only part of what the future will bring. The long-term and sustainable approach has to be connection to the international fiber optic cable networks or other future solutions. University members of the Partnership will continue working with their governments to develop national policies and strategies that promote and ensure increased and affordable access to the Internet, based always on the best technologies."

Contact:

For the Bandwidth Initiative: Ray Boyer, 312-726-8000
For Intelsat: Jodi Katz, 202-944-7835