Afghanistan has the potential to serve as a major IT Hub in Central Asia. According to Afghanistan’s Minister of IT and Telecommunication Amirzai Sangin, contributes roughly 10 percent, or $200 million of the government’s annual revenue through taxes and fees, along with creating 140,000 jobs. Afghanistan has been rocked by civil unrest for 35 years, but despite the challenges,it is slowly entering the Information Age. In an image quite at odds with what most Westerns think of Afghanistan, the country now has a dynamic information technology industry, which, according to Afghanistan’s Minister of IT and Telecommunication Amirzai Sangin, contributes roughly 10 percent, or $200 million of the government’s annual revenue through taxes and fees, along with creating 140,000 jobs. Now eighty-six percent of Afghanistan’s 30 million people have access to cellular networks, 22 million Afghans are mobile phone users and mobile banking is on the rise. In 2012 Afghanistan launched 3G s high-speed wireless service that facilitates mobile Internet usage with Sangin noting, “Currently 20 of the 34 provincial capitals have 3G access that equates to roughly 1 million 3G users, and the number is growing rapidly.” These developments are the result of a long series of legislative reforms. In March 2011 President Hamid Karzai signed a Telecommunications Law, and two years later a related Information Communication Technology Law was passed by Parliament. The Afghan government has led the way by building the nation’s IT infrastructure, most notably the “Fiber Ring,” a high-speed fiber optic network that links Afghanistan to neighboring Pakistan, Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The price of an Internet connection has tumbled from $4,000 per month in 2002 to $20 today. Silicon Valley-based Founder Institute, the world’s largest tech incubator, recently opened an office in Kabul. Director of the Founder Institute in Kabul and president of TechNation Omar Mansoor Ansari said, “The Founder Institute recognizes that, with its budding IT sector and entrepreneurial spirit, Afghanistan has the potential to serve as a major IT Hub in Central Asia.” Lest all this sound like the beginnings of a Silicon Khyber Pass however, thirty-six percent of Afghanistan’s population still lives below the poverty line amidst massive unemployment, and there is a rising wealth disparity between city and countryside, where services have dramatically improved since 2001. Now 90 percent of Afghan urban households have access to electricity, versus 29 percent of rural homes. Education is another area in dire need of improvement, as only 34 percent of Afghans, mostly men, are literate. In contrast, during the five years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, their technophobia was such that even music, along with television, was banned. If religious police spotted a music cassette in a driver’s car, they would pull him out onto the street, beat him and destroy the tapes and there were public burnings of music tapes. Since the U.S. pushed the Taliban from power following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, music has once again become a staple of life. Afghanistan has its own version of “American Idol,” and the leading TV stations routinely play risqué music videos. The proverbial sky’s the limit: On May 10 Afghanistan started using its first satellite, contracted from European satellite operator Eutelsat. AFGHANSAT 1 will support a wide range of services, including broadcasting, telecommunications, and international connectivity. After noting that Kabul is renting the satellite for $4 million a year and expects it to earn $15 million annually, Sangin called AFGHANSAT 1 a “historic move” to boost Afghanistan’s national broadcasting and telecommunications infrastructure. Afghanistan has one of the youngest populations in the world, making quality education for rapidly growing numbers of school-aged boys and girls a top national priority. Bright young Afghans seeking IT careers can now attend the American University of Afghanistan, the country’s only private, independent, nonprofit university. Established through the efforts of the United States Government via the USAID in conjunction with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Higher Education, Afghan business leaders, and private donors in Afghanistan, AUAF, chartered in 2004, offers four-year undergraduate degree programs information technology and computer science. USAID also helped develop Afghanistan’s first Information Technology associates degree, which is at Kabul Polytechnic University, to link students with growing industries. Afghan students interested in computer science also have the option of enrolling in India’s Ministry of External Affairs ITEC Fellowship program, which provides short term advanced courses in software and hardware training, including Red Hat certification, CCNA associate degrees, Cloud competing and ITIL. Any barriers remain to foreign companies wishing to enter the Afghan market; the World Bank’s 2013 “Doing Business Report” ranks Afghanistan 168th out of 185 economies for the ease of doing business. The U.S. embassy in Kabul on its website, under “Frequently Asked Questions: What are the opportunities for doing business in Afghanistan?” notes, “The information technology and telecommunications sectors are growing and represent significant upside potential” before adding, “Corruption is a serious challenge to doing business in Afghanistan.” Despite the obstacles, companies are coming, attracted by the opportunities. Foreigners are also wading into Afghanistan’s telecommunications market. On Aug. 9 Azerbaijan’s Space Agency Azercosmos signed a contract with the Afghan Payvastun (APMC) media and communications company to establish a TV channel called Batur Channel, which will be broadcast via Azerspace-1, Azerbaijan’s first telecommunication satellite. But the Internet has a dark side as well. On July 17 U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall sentenced 40 year-old British engineer Babar Ahmad, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists, to 12 1/2 years in prison. Ahmad was convicted of using a network of London-based Internet sites that he had established, along with co-defendant, Syed Talha Ahsan, to urge Muslims to send money, volunteers and equipment to the Taliban in 2000 and 2001, during the time that Osama bin Laden was in Afghanistan, planning and carrying out the Sept. 11 terror attacks while under Taliban protection. For Sangin, Afghanistan’s future looks bright. After noting that a decade ago an Afghan had to travel to Pakistan to make a phone call abroad the minister noted, “Overall, I believe Afghanistan is leading in telecoms and the IT sector in the region. If I look around our living room in Kabul, everyone in my family is using a mobile device.” Karzai is equally optimistic. On July 12 during his biweekly radio speech he said, “The rapid development of Information Technology has increased usage of social media like Facebook, Twitter and internet sites and the exchange of information. Today large numbers of young people have Facebook and weblogs plus extensive access to internet sites. Using this equipment, they not only become aware of events but share their opinions and ideas. Information in different fields of sciences is increasing. They express their ideas about social, economic and political issues and freely criticize things. In our opinion young peoples’ access to these facilities is an important component in improving our young peoples’ mental and ideological insights and makes them communicate better with one another.” Accordingly, Kabul’s sole impediment to embracing the Information Age remains the Taliban insurgency. silkroadreporters/2014/08/18/despite-turmoil-afghanistan-enjoys-renaissance/
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 07:20:40 +0000
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