By Martin Ekpeke
The Internet Society’s 2025 Internet Development Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has outlined ten key policy recommendations to boost internet connectivity across Africa. Focusing on regional collaboration, digital infrastructure investment, and progressive policy changes, the conference aimed to create a stronger and more inclusive internet ecosystem, particularly within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region.
The ten calls to action are:
- Strengthen Regional Collaboration and Integration: Promote cross-border infrastructure projects, harmonize policies, and establish regional regulatory bodies to streamline connectivity and economic growth.
- Prioritize Infrastructure Development and Sharing: Accelerate investment in internet infrastructure, including backbone and last-mile connectivity, promote carrier-neutral data centers, and encourage infrastructure sharing.
- Expand IXP Deployment: Support the growth of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) to improve local traffic routing, reduce latency, and lower internet costs.
- Bridge the Access Gap through Targeted Interventions: Implement universal access policies and targeted subsidies to connect underserved and rural areas, addressing both connectivity and device affordability.
- Develop Digital Skills and Literacy Programs: Invest in comprehensive digital skills training to empower citizens to effectively use the internet.
- Harmonize Digital Strategies and Regulations: Harmonize regulatory frameworks across the continent and streamline bureaucratic processes to encourage investment and cross-border connectivity.
- Promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Foster a supportive environment for local content development, tech startups, and digital innovation.
- Support Open Data Standards for Infrastructure Mapping: Promote open data standards for telecommunications infrastructure to improve transparency and inform investment decisions.
- Encourage Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Utilize private sector expertise and investment through PPPs to expand internet access and infrastructure.
- Measure and Monitor Internet Connectivity: Use data-driven tools to monitor internet performance, identify outages, and track progress toward universal access.
These recommendations underscore the critical role of a resilient and accessible internet in Africa’s social and economic development.
The Internet Society’s Pulse tool shows Africa’s overall internet resilience score at 34 in 2023, a slight improvement from 2022. Western and Middle Africa saw the largest regional gains, with East Africa also demonstrating progress.
“While we see promising growth in Internet resilience across Africa, challenges remain in connecting the unconnected and ensuring equitable access for all,” said Dawit Bekele, Regional Vice President for Africa at the Internet Society. “This conference has reinforced the importance of infrastructure development and paves the way for deeper regional collaboration on Internet infrastructure, regulatory advancements, and digital innovation.”