Africa races to fill telecoms ‘not spots’

The economics of rolling out connections to the most rural parts of Africa presents a hefty challenge for the hopes of many in the telemedicine world. Data compiled by M-Lab, an open source project backed by Google and various universities, shows that Madagascar is the only African country with broadband speeds anywhere close to those available in Europe and Asia, as a submarine cable lands on the island. Most other African nations rely on 3G and 4G signals, or long-distance WiFi technology Wi-Max. Six of the 40 African countries included in the M-Lab data connect at average speeds of less than 1 Mbps compared with 54 Mbps in the UK. Slow connection speeds and “not spots” — areas devoid of mobile coverage — are significant barriers for telehealth in the developing world. Regulation and problems transporting data over wireless networks designed for public use also pose problems.