ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the developments and status of telecommunications in Africa and a selection of African countries. Prior to the development and deployment of mobile technologies, telecommunications were in an under developed state in most African countries. In telecommunications, regulation has become a core issue to ensure an effective development of the industry globally and within national economies. Regulation plays a dual role of ensuring sanity in the markets as well as serving as catalyst to attract investments. Before the 1990s, the telecommunications services available in Africa were basic telephony, telegram, and telex. Technological developments in microelectronics, however, resulted in the development and deployment of many telecommunications technologies, which contributed to changing the landscape of the global industry including those in Africa. The rapid growth of mobile telephony has addressed the huge access gap in the telephone market.
