India targets Africa

Last week Telcoflash reported that the Indian government was awarding millions of dollars in grants to African countries for a cross-continental communications network. The $1bn joint initiative with the African Union is to build a Pan-African e-Network (PAN) linking some 53 countries with satellite, fiber, and mobile connectivity, and offering a range of applications, including online education, telemedicine, e-commerce, e-governance, and infotainment. But this initiative can also have some non-altruistic rationales. It is also a good opportunity for Indian telecom manufacturers (ITI, TCIL) to boost their business and displace Chinese manufacturers which are very active in Africa. Geopolitics is never very far from business intents.