Episode 6: The Cost of Connecting - Can Cameroon Catch up?
Cameroon really has no excuse for poor internet: Some of Africa’s biggest internet service providers operate in the country, including MTN and Orange, and the country is connected to five fiber optic submarine internet cables. Yet, internet broadband speeds in this central African country lag frustratingly. Added to that, internet costs are high, intensifying the digital divide between the poor and rich in a country where 47 percent of the population falls below the international poverty line for low-middle income countries. Cameroon’s internet affordability and quality has improved in recent years, but there’s a long way to go. In a digital world where countries are racing to deliver faster internet speeds at dirt-cheap costs, and where easy access to the internet is one measure of a nation’s development, can Cameroon catch up? Guests Judith Murungi is a lawyer, prolific legal researcher and an advocate at the High Court of Kenya. She is affiliated with several institutions, including the O'Neill Institute at Georgetown University and the NGO, Internet Sans Frontieres. Judith is currently researching AI regulations in Africa and has contributed to reports on the state of the internet in Africa, including 'Cross Border Digital Policies in Africa.' Amindeh Blaise Atabong is a seasoned freelance investigative journalist based in Yaounde. He has covered everything from conflicts to internet shutdowns in Cameroon, and has been published in Quartz and Reuters among several other reputable platforms. You can read Amindeh's coverage of the recent #ModeAvion237 protests here. Kathleen Ndongmo is a communications specialist and a digital rights campaigner based in Cameroon. A 'Pan African Good Troublemaker', Kathleen has spoken out loudly against human and internet rights violations in the country and was a leading voice in the 2017 'Bring Back Our Internet' campaign. She was also a 2018 Fellow with the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative. You can read some of her writing on digital rights in Africa here. Vox Pops - Pius Ayeni, Akoko Regina, Madame Sambo Claudette Further Readings Cameroon Doubled Internet Penetration Rate in 4 Years: https://www.businessincameroon.com/economy/0103-12986-cameroon-doubled-mobile-internet-penetration-rate-in-4-years-although-challenges-remain Cameroon Internet Shutdowns Cost Anglophones Millions: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/1/26/cameroon-internet-shutdowns-cost-anglophones-millions Camtel, Orange, MTN, Nexttel… Cameroon’s Telecoms Watchdog Doles out Fines: https://www.theafricareport.com/311211/camtel-orange-mtn-nexttel-cameroons-telecoms-watchdog-doles-out-fines/ Cameroon Is Being Sued for Blocking the Internet in Its Anglophone Regions: https://qz.com/africa/1192401/access-now-and-internet-sans-frontieres-sue-cameroon-for-shutting-down-the-internet The Number of Internet Users in Cameroon Grew by 10.6% in 2022: https://www.businessincameroon.com/banking-and-finance/2601-12940-the-number-of-internet-users-in-cameroon-grew-by-10-6-in-2022 Digital 2023 Report - Cameroon: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2023-cameroon Judith Murungi, Participant Reflection on #FIFAfrica22: Effective Engagement in the UPR Process for Digital Rights Promotion, The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), Judith Murungi, Electronic Retailing in Kenya: Addressing Consumer Protection Legal and Implementation Challenges, University of Nairobi, Contribution to the Global Digital Compact as a fellow of the South School on Internet Governance (SSIG) ,
