African Bandwidth

Return to main article:

Disruptive innovation works in developing economies, too—even where there is no established market leader to disrupt. Africa, the world’s poorest continent, has very little access to the outside world through telecommunications, especially the Internet. “How could you make it affordable and simple for a larger population to access these things that are now only available to the rich and skilled?” asks Clayton Christensen. “The traditional way would be to wire the place with wires like those for telephone and cable TV. That is very expensive. It would be cheaper to do it all with wireless technology—but that’s also expensive: you’ve got to build the towers, and the towers need electricity, so you need access to electricity.” So the market has not developed—meaning that there is no existing industry to disrupt.

“But how about this?” Christensen continues. “How about, every morning at 5:00 a.m., I launch an unmanned aircraft, with a footprint about the size of a kitchen table, that has satellite access to the Internet? And this drone just circles around this community all day long, giving the people wireless access via plane and not tower—at very low cost. The technology to do this exists now. You are competing with non-consumption. I’m certain that the bandwidth and the reliability of access are not as good as what we enjoy here. But it’s infinitely better than nothing.”

Click here for the July-August 2014 issue table of contents

Read more articles by Craig Lambert

You might also like

This Astronomer is Sounding a Warning on 'Space Junk'

As debris accumulates in low Earth orbit, the danger of destructive collisions continues to rise.

Isaac Kohlberg to Step Down as Head of Harvard Technology Development

Partnerships and licensing office could become more critical as funding cuts loom

Can Citrus Stave Off Depression?

A research study digs into the gut microbiome.

Most popular

See Their Faces

Confronting “some of the most challenging images in the history of photography”

From the Archives: The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead

 A Harvard botanist investigates mystic potions, voodoo rites, and the making of zombies.

Harvard Plans Contingencies for International Students

The Kennedy School and School of Public Health are developing online options.

Explore More From Current Issue

Walter Wick’s I Spy Series

I Spy Creator Walter Wick at the Norman Rockwell Museum 

Can an Orange a Day Stave off Depression?

A research study digs into the gut microbiome.