Tony Mechin
As the leaders of the Zimbabwean Internet industry entered the Harare International conference centre in January for the opening of Internet@frica98, the country’s first Internet show, looming in their minds was the thought that the show billed as the “biggest Internet, intranet, cyber conference and exhibition in Southern Africa” was going to be an isolated intranet – for the first day at least.
Zimbabwe’s Internet link to the rest of the world had already been down for 10 hours and the country’s cyberspace was isolated for the rest of the day. The breakdown of the service was just another hiccup in the early growth of Zimbabwe’s Internet.
Coming late to the party, Zimbabweans have quickly become enamoured of the Internet. Villagers are scanning weather forecasts on the Net. Office workers are communicating with friends everywhere. Students, political parties and gay people are using the Net to make their views heard. And at the post and telecommunications parastatal, technical staff are struggling with understaffing and an increasing demand for services.
Between 1990 and 1995, the only access for the general public to the Internet was via Mango, a basic e-mail system set up by a Canadian aid organisation. While South Africa, Zambia and other African countries installed dedicated lines to hosts in Europe and the United States, the Zimbabwean business community and government hesitated.
In April 1995, the first Internet service provider (ISP), Data Control, opened its doors in Harare, running on a dial-up line to Johannesburg. Part of the UUNet group, the company attracted 500 users within a few months. By mid 1996, there were four privately owned ISPs in Harare, operating on dial-up lines to hosts in Johannesburg.
The Internet in Zimbabwe was enhanced in 1997 when the Post and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) installed a 256-kilobyte link to the outside world. This was increased to one megabit and is now due to be doubled once again.
The infrastructure installed by the PTC was provided by the giant US-based Internet bandwith supplier, Global One/Sprint. The ability to provide local access to the PTC backbone has made Zimbabwe’s Internet even more accessible than South Africa’s.
The system, an elegant solution to the geographically widespread demands for Internet access in Africa, allows users anywhere in the country to dial into the national backbone at the cost of a local call (with a 20% surcharge).
However, the 141 number, the connect number to the PTC backbone, has serious problems. Hackers quickly found that the system lacked simple access controls. As a result, blackmarket trading in user names and passwords became widespread. Some ISPs are believed to be selling the same “slot” into the PTC more than once.
Prices are high for 64/128-kilobyte access and the installation of dedicated lines is slow. However, technological advances, including satellite communications and the possibility of the electricity company being able to provide Internet access through power lines, raises the possibility that the monopoly of the Zimbabwean PTC is a short-lived one.
A new shake-up began with the arrival of AfricaOnline in Harare. A subsidiary of US online giant Prodigy, the company has installed the most sophisticated equipment of any ISP in Harare. It is upgrading its link to the PTC backbone to 128 kilobytes and is leading the way in its service and marketing techniques.
Estimates of the number of Internet users in Zimbabwe are difficult to make as no organisation has undertaken a census. However most people in the industry believe there are between 10 000 and 15 000 users at present. Although most users are medium- sized companies, small businesses in every sector are online.
Bringing Internet access to all of Zimbabwe is restricted by a number of factors. The telephone system is limited and computer use is minimal. Despite the fact that everyone speaks English and rural people desperately need access to cheap, effective communication, the Internet is unlikely to solve these problems in the short term.
However the basic problem of a lack of infrastructure and manpower is unlikely to be solved unless the government is able to raise levels of investment into the country.
Perhaps the major impact of the Zimbabwean Internet has been on people outside the country. Information about tourism, business and life in Zimbabwe is now more available to investors, visitors and scholars. There are about 20 websites dedicated to the country, most of which are built and stored on computers outside Zimbabwe.