President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt inaugurated TELECOM AFRICA 2008, which opened to the public on Monday, 12 May in Cairo, Egypt. ITU TELECOM AFRICA is aimed at presenting a unique forum for brainstorming as well as a networking platform for both governments and the private sector to chart the future course of the ICT industry. The event also includes an exhibition showcasing communication technologies.

Some 200 companies from 45 countries, including several from outside the African region, are exhibiting products, applications and services. Around 70 heads of international companies and 50 ministers along with key regulators and investment bodies are attending the event from 12 to 15 May. ITU TELECOM AFRICA has already attracted over 5000 participants from 93 countries, marking a record since the event was opened to countries from outside the region, and includes 600 Forum participants and 200 media.

A highlight of the formal opening was the Press launch of ITU's regional report, "African Telecommunication/ICT Indicators 2008: At a Crossroads". Following booming growth in the mobile telephony sector - which saw 65 million new subscribers in 2007- and an encouraging investment climate spurring economic development in the region, Africa is a continent on the move: the theme for ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008.

Launching the ITU African Telecommunication/ICT Indicators 2008 report, Mr Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, said Africa presented several growth opportunities in the ICT sector.

Growth in Africa's mobile sector has defied all predictions. Africa remains the region with the highest annual growth rate in mobile subscribers and added no less than 65 million new subscribers during 2007. At the beginning of 2008, there were over a quarter of a billion mobile subscribers on the continent. Mobile penetration has risen from just one in 50 people at the beginning of this century to almost one third of the population today. Mobile subscribers are also now more evenly distributed. In 2000, South Africa accounted for over half of all Africa's mobile subscribers, but by 2007, almost 85 per cent were in other countries. Mobile success, driven largely by competition, is also spawning new services such as micro-payment prepaid recharging, single rate inter-regional roaming and the uptake of m-commerce applications.

While mobile services have become more accessible and affordable, Internet access has not kept pace. It is estimated that there were some 50 million Internet users in Africa in 2007, translating into around one person among 20. Over half of the region's Internet users are estimated to be located in North African countries and South Africa. In Sub Saharan Africa, only three per cent of the population is online. The scarcity of international Internet bandwidth and lack of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) drives up prices. As a result, Africa is the most costly for Internet access. The average monthly Internet subscription is almost USD 50 in Africa, close to 70 per cent of average per capita income.