Disruptive innovation and wireless technology in Africa

Disruptive innovation might boost telecommunications in Africa.

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.”

Read more articles by Craig Lambert

You might also like

Harvard Economist Wolfram Schlenker Is Tackling Climate Change

How extreme heat affects our land—and our food supply 

In Sermon, Garber Urges Harvard Community to ‘Defend and Protect’ Institutions

Harvard’s president uses traditional Memorial Church address to encourage divergent views.

How Do Single-Celled Organisms Learn and Remember

A Harvard neuroscientist’s quest to model memory in single-celled organisms

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts's Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Harvard Professor Michael Sandel Wins Philosophy’s Berggruen Prize

The creator of the popular ‘Justice’ course receives a $1 million award.

Harvard’s Endowment, Donations Rise—but the University Runs a Deficit

The annual financial report signals severe challenges to come.

Explore More From Current Issue

Map showing Uralic populations in Eurasia, highlighting regional distribution and historical sites.

The Origins of Europe’s Most Mysterious Languages

A small group of Siberian hunter-gatherers changed the way millions of Europeans speak today.

Aisha Muharrar with shoulder-length hair, wearing a green blazer and white shirt.

Parks and Rec Comedy Writer Aisha Muharrar Gets Serious about Grief

With Loved One, the Harvard grad and Lampoon veteran makes her debut as a novelist.

Wadsworth House with green shutters and red brick chimneys, surrounded by trees and other buildings.

Wadsworth House Nears 300

The building is a microcosm of Harvard’s history—and the history of the United States.