L. ex Africa semper aliquid novi, Pliny, the Elder was right “There is always something new from Africa.”  Mobile phones usage in Africa continue
to break new barriers. Africa was the first continet where mobile phone users outnumbered the number of fixed telephone line (landlines).

It is estimated that where only 2% of Africans were using mobile phones in 2000, 28% have cell phones today. Although a Harvard university blog shows the mobile phone penetration in Africa to be a mere 40% , it is remarkable to note that mobile/cell phone access  may exceed access to electricity in several Sub-Sarahan Africa.

Sub-Sarahan Africa has an extimated total population of 738 million people. Out of these, 547 million have no access to electricity. Therefore, less than 26 percent of the Sub-Sarahan Africans have electricity compared to the 28 percent that have access to mobile phones.  Burkina Faso and Kenya are among the African countries where there is greater access to mobile phones than electricity.

Percentage of Population with Access to Cell Towers:
Burkina Faso – 10.9%; Uganda – 13.58%; Kenya – 30.48%; Angola – 15%; Mozambique – 15.42%; Nigeria – 27.28; Ghana – 32.39 (source).

Percentage of Population with Access to Electricity:
Burkina Faso – 7%; Uganda – 8.9%; Kenya – 14%; Angola – 15%; Mozambique – 6.3%; Nigeria – 46.0 and Ghana – 49.2% (source).

How do you get vital information to someone who is poor and is being oppressed in a far away country? How do you ensure that such information is not interruptions or jammed by governments?

Shortwave is your answer.  A shortwave radio can receive transmission on frequencies between 3 and 30 MHz. They offer the possibility to transmit over for long distances.

Shortwave broadcasting sites use Antenna Arrays supported by miles of wires suspended in the air or buried in the ground. These arrays are used to direct signals toward the ionosphere. Using calculations based on electronic directionalizing, power, and atmospheric conditions, these antennas project their signals so they will come down on specific target areas around the world.

A receiver can then tune in to listen to information being broadcast. A simple receiver able to receive some desirable frequencies is all that is need.

The shortwave radios are widely available. Repressive governments find it difficult to censor them.  In places where there is no electricity, hand-cranked shortwave radio can last indefinitely. Shortwave radio travels much farther than broadcast FM (88-108 MHz). Shortwave broadcasts can be easily transmitted over a distance of several thousands of kilometers, i.e. from one continent to another, especially at night.

Major broadcasting corporations such as Voice of America and BBC World services continue to use shortwave in their international broadcasting.