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By David Ajao

Moderator’s note: We welcome our latest TeleRead contributor, Oluniyi David Ajao of Mobile Africa.

Mobile AfricaE-books written for mobile phones are not to be downplayed if your target audience is Africa.

The majority of telecom subscribers in Africa are connected to the rest of the world via mobile phones.

Mobile phones are common because most incumbent (and in many cases the erstwhile monopoly) telecom operators have failed to extend telecommunications services outside the urban areas. That’s left millions unconnected by wires.

Gerhard May, the CEO of Celtel Kenya Ltd summarizes my point when he opens a recent article with this sentence:

“In Africa, mobile communications systems are playing the role fixed-line networks are playing in developed countries.”

Cellular networks are gradually reversing the trend of poor connectivity. Basic telephony and text messaging are now available to many across the vast African continent as a result of the market-driven and highly competitive telecom sub-sectors in many of the African countries. Many cellular networks now offer some form of mobile Internet technology or the other. Name it: GSM data (CSD), HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, 3G (UMTS) and even HSDPA!

The growth of mobile telephony is huge, and sub-Saharan Africa is widely regarded as the fastest growing mobile telecom market in the world.

The BBC recently reported that the majority of the traffic to its WAP site comes from Nigeria, and the rest of Africa. It did not come as a surprise to me. I have since outlined some of the reasons why I think this is so.

If you are an e-book author and your target audience is Africa, it is only wise that you have a format for mobiles—a huge audience out there will thank you for your thoughtfulness.

 
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