Feasibility Study on the AfricaConnect Initiative :
To be able to fulfil their missions, African research and higher education institutions need access to the global research and education network infrastructure. Unlike their peers on other continents, most African institutions do currently not have such an access.
Within the partnership on Science and Technology, the African and European Union Commissions have
given highest priority to the AfricaConnect initiative as an early deliverable with the objective to support the African research and higher education institutions in their effort to get access to this resource, which is a requirement for the development of knowledge societies. An emerging terrestrial broadband communication infrastructure seems to offer opportunities for African institutions to join.
This one-year feasibility study for AfricaConnect, FEAST, was commissioned by EC late 2008 to explore
the feasibility of deploying a regional backbone connecting dedicated National Research and Education
Networks (NRENs) in Africa to each other and to their peers on other continents via GÉANT, the pan-
European research and education network backbone. The study has been carried out by KTH as main
contractor and DANTE and TERENA as subcontractors. The research leading up to the findings has been conducted via physical visits, workshops and email discussions involving policy makers, regulators, communication operators, infrastructure owners as well as faculty members, students and research and education network communities in about 30 African countries. Many of the contacts come from long-standing institutional and individual cooperation in the areas of research and education.
URL : http://www.feast-project.org/documents/FEAST-Final-Report-2010-03-22.pdf