Imagine the obstacle Africa's vast and dynamic landscape would be to setting up fixed-line internet to the entire population. 60% of rural settlements have no internet and fixed-line will not fix this fast. A solution; apply internet to mobiles.
This is exactly the way the continent is headed. Mobile internet's lead over fixed-line has gradually been rising since the end of 2009, and although the number of handsets with such technology has only reached 4.2million by the end of 2010's first quarter, the potential for growth is there.
SMS is still the killer application in Africa, and to those 80% of Africans who cannot afford Smartphones, SMS is so far the be-all and end-all of messaging by handsets. Companies like ForgetMeNot Africa's Message Optimiser service are providing online messaging and email. Another plus is that it's easy and cheap to apply to even the most basic mobile.
Reaching remote locations is something fixed-line internet will struggle with but the Message Optimiser manages to bridge the rural-urban digital divide with such ease. The service hints towards an even bigger growth in mobile internet's popularity, and fast. Fast is necessary; many people are in desperate need of being connected to internet services and cannot wait for the prices to start getting lower.
To see what else ForgetMeNot has created for the African mobile internet industry, visit http://www.forgetmenotafrica.com/
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