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Internet Connectivity in Nigeria
Nigeria is getting online
Nigeria boasts the largest number of Internet users in mainland Africa, with 10 million users online as of the most recent available data in March 2008. However, as the continent’s most populous country, this number translates to 7.2% Internet penetration, well below North African countries like Morocco and Tunisia, with their 21.3% and 17% penetration, but comparing favourably with the Sub-Saharan powerhouse of South Africa, which has Internet penetration of 11.6%. The rate of penetration should be understood in the context of the giant progress it represents – before the introduction of Nigeria’s Information Technology Policy in 2001, Internet penetration rates were just 0.1%.Most Nigerians access the Internet either at work or in cybercafes or shared access centres. While Internet connectivity is expanding, broadband uptake remains low, despite the government’s designating 2007 the Year of Broadband. But between them, the government and the private sector are engaged in efforts to raise connectivity still further, in order to help Nigeria take its place in the global knowledge economy. ...
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