To further improve broadband penetration in Africa, World Bank has pledged $215M to span 10 years, a deal signed with African Development Bank.

Africa is currently the fastest growing telecom market in the world yet cost of broadband internet  access is exorbitant.

The program will cover the following countries in the initial phase of $26.2 million; Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic, while Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sudan are also open to participate in the program.

“Ultimately, our goal is to develop regional and national broadband backbones and significantly reduce the cost of ICT services in Central Africa,” Mohsen Khalil, Director of Global Information and Communications Technologies at the World Bank Group, said in a statement.

In Africa, there are 10 undersea cables either under construction or in the planning stages, which could push down international bandwidth rates and increase the number of broadband users.

U.S.-based advisory firm AfricaNext Investment Researchexpects Africa’s broadband market to grow more than fourfold in five years to 12.7 million users from 2.7 million in 2007.

Broadband allows for faster internet access which is good for services like, Video Streaming, SaaS, and other high bandwidth grabbing web services.

Giving the role played by broadband, entrepreneur and general internet stakeholders should expect a boost in the market, making room for more businesses and better life for Nigerian and other African countries.

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