1.3% ERITREANS Have Access to Internet !
Posted: 06 Apr 2024, 17:18
Unplugged Yet Undeterred: Eritrea’s Digital Prospects in a World Wired for Progress
by Marcin Frąckiewiczin Artificial intelligence, Mobile, Newson
6 April 2024
A high-definition, realistic representation of a metaphorical scenario: a digital future for a land very much rooted in tradition. The scene involves Eritrea's landscape in juxtaposition with elements symbolizing the digital world. Picture traditional Eritrean houses on a rugged landscape under a beautiful, vast sky while the foreground teems with digital symbols like internet browser icons, coding language symbols, and virtual reality headsets. The image serves as a representation of Eritrea's digital prospects in a world progressing rapidly thanks to technology.
In the shadows of the digital revolution, Eritrea stands, somewhat paradoxically, both isolated from and impervious to the worldwide web that connects and defines the global community today. Dial-up speeds in an era of fiber-optic superhighways, state-controlled gateways where elsewhere the internet knows no bounds; this may appear as a narrative of digital despair for a country. Yet, within these very constraints lie tales of tenacity and tales yet to be spun about a future that could shimmer with screens alight with opportunity.
Let’s unravel Eritrea’s connectivity conundrum, where roughly 1.3% of the population taps into the internet’s limitless libraries and marketplaces—a statistic standing in stark contrast against a backdrop of a world racing along the information superhighway. Eritrea’s digital odyssey is less about lagging and more about the pivotal crossroads between control and liberation, poverty and potential.
Picture the scattered landscapes of rural Eritrea, where sun-parched earth meets structures reluctant to promise the marvels of modern connectivity. Here, infrastructure doesn’t whisper of Wi-Fi— it’s a land yet to be crisscrossed with the veins that carry the lifeblood of high-speed internet. It’s a heart-wrenching testament to the divide that technology has rendered in the land—a modern chasm between the haves and the have-nots.
When addressing the country’s connectivity, one cannot overlook the stern gaze of the Eritrean government, à la Big Brother, ensuring that the internet does not become an unbridled stallion but remains a tamed creature of the state. EriTel, the state’s telecom sentinel, bears the emblem of absolute control—where whispers of dissent are muffled before they can echo across the web. Organizations such as Freedom House cast a disapproving eye, ranking Eritrea among the least internet-free bastions, marred by censorship and sly surveillance.
Yet, what of the average Eritrean, yearning to be part of the digital discourse? The prohibitive price of 1GB of mobile data standing at a towering $13.60, in comparison to the $4.07 global average as reported by A4AI, is a steel door slammed shut in the face of affordability. In an economy where financial threads are stretched thin, such costs are a decree, declaring the internet a luxury few can lay hands on.
Now let’s pivot—turn our gaze from the grim present and set our sights on the silver linings, the potential narratives of a future replete with social media buzz and digital dialogues in cafes that dot Asmara’s art deco landscapes. Imagine a loosening of the reins, a slice of the sky for private investments to nest and nurture an embryonic telecom market. The market competition thrives, prices plummet, and the gateway to the web creaks open wider.
Let’s envision a chapter where Eritrea, having inked a peace agreement with Ethiopia, entwines its fate not with isolation, but with regional integration, with fibers crossing borders and policies. International cooperation could be the gust of wind that propels Eritrea’s digital dhow out of stagnant waters and into the open seas of connectivity and progress.
In the end, the narrative of Eritrea’s internet landscape need not be one that languishes in the annals of digital darkness. It may yet be punctuated with ellipses that speak of change, hope, and interconnectivity. As the pages turn and the story of this nation’s online odyssey unfolds, we anticipate the transformation that can usher its people into the light of a digital dawn. A dawn where Eritrea emerges, not only as a feature in the discourse on global digital inequality but as an active, vibrant participant in the era of information, innovation, and inclusion.
Read more on YTech News
Marcin Frąckiewicz
Marcin Frąckiewicz is a renowned author and blogger, specializing in satellite communication and artificial intelligence. His insightful articles delve into the intricacies of these fields, offering readers a deep understanding of complex technological concepts. His work is known for its clarity and thoroughness.
https://ytech.news/en/unplugged-yet-und ... r-progress
by Marcin Frąckiewiczin Artificial intelligence, Mobile, Newson
6 April 2024
A high-definition, realistic representation of a metaphorical scenario: a digital future for a land very much rooted in tradition. The scene involves Eritrea's landscape in juxtaposition with elements symbolizing the digital world. Picture traditional Eritrean houses on a rugged landscape under a beautiful, vast sky while the foreground teems with digital symbols like internet browser icons, coding language symbols, and virtual reality headsets. The image serves as a representation of Eritrea's digital prospects in a world progressing rapidly thanks to technology.
In the shadows of the digital revolution, Eritrea stands, somewhat paradoxically, both isolated from and impervious to the worldwide web that connects and defines the global community today. Dial-up speeds in an era of fiber-optic superhighways, state-controlled gateways where elsewhere the internet knows no bounds; this may appear as a narrative of digital despair for a country. Yet, within these very constraints lie tales of tenacity and tales yet to be spun about a future that could shimmer with screens alight with opportunity.
Let’s unravel Eritrea’s connectivity conundrum, where roughly 1.3% of the population taps into the internet’s limitless libraries and marketplaces—a statistic standing in stark contrast against a backdrop of a world racing along the information superhighway. Eritrea’s digital odyssey is less about lagging and more about the pivotal crossroads between control and liberation, poverty and potential.
Picture the scattered landscapes of rural Eritrea, where sun-parched earth meets structures reluctant to promise the marvels of modern connectivity. Here, infrastructure doesn’t whisper of Wi-Fi— it’s a land yet to be crisscrossed with the veins that carry the lifeblood of high-speed internet. It’s a heart-wrenching testament to the divide that technology has rendered in the land—a modern chasm between the haves and the have-nots.
When addressing the country’s connectivity, one cannot overlook the stern gaze of the Eritrean government, à la Big Brother, ensuring that the internet does not become an unbridled stallion but remains a tamed creature of the state. EriTel, the state’s telecom sentinel, bears the emblem of absolute control—where whispers of dissent are muffled before they can echo across the web. Organizations such as Freedom House cast a disapproving eye, ranking Eritrea among the least internet-free bastions, marred by censorship and sly surveillance.
Yet, what of the average Eritrean, yearning to be part of the digital discourse? The prohibitive price of 1GB of mobile data standing at a towering $13.60, in comparison to the $4.07 global average as reported by A4AI, is a steel door slammed shut in the face of affordability. In an economy where financial threads are stretched thin, such costs are a decree, declaring the internet a luxury few can lay hands on.
Now let’s pivot—turn our gaze from the grim present and set our sights on the silver linings, the potential narratives of a future replete with social media buzz and digital dialogues in cafes that dot Asmara’s art deco landscapes. Imagine a loosening of the reins, a slice of the sky for private investments to nest and nurture an embryonic telecom market. The market competition thrives, prices plummet, and the gateway to the web creaks open wider.
Let’s envision a chapter where Eritrea, having inked a peace agreement with Ethiopia, entwines its fate not with isolation, but with regional integration, with fibers crossing borders and policies. International cooperation could be the gust of wind that propels Eritrea’s digital dhow out of stagnant waters and into the open seas of connectivity and progress.
In the end, the narrative of Eritrea’s internet landscape need not be one that languishes in the annals of digital darkness. It may yet be punctuated with ellipses that speak of change, hope, and interconnectivity. As the pages turn and the story of this nation’s online odyssey unfolds, we anticipate the transformation that can usher its people into the light of a digital dawn. A dawn where Eritrea emerges, not only as a feature in the discourse on global digital inequality but as an active, vibrant participant in the era of information, innovation, and inclusion.
Read more on YTech News
Marcin Frąckiewicz
Marcin Frąckiewicz is a renowned author and blogger, specializing in satellite communication and artificial intelligence. His insightful articles delve into the intricacies of these fields, offering readers a deep understanding of complex technological concepts. His work is known for its clarity and thoroughness.
https://ytech.news/en/unplugged-yet-und ... r-progress
