Almost all measurable indicators point to life in rural areas of the country being harsher than urban ones. The overall incidence of poverty in rural areas remains at around 78 percent. Only 54 percent of rural households have access to a health facility within 5km. Only 43 percent of rural households have access to safe water (less than half the number in urban areas). 57 percent of children have such poor nutrition that they are classified as stunted. Maternal mortality is on the increase and is over 730 deaths per 100,000 births. Over 70% of these deaths occur in rural areas. Many teachers remain reluctant to work in rural areas, citing lack of water, power and communications. Can improved communications and connectivity make a contribution to improving this imbalance?
 
There is no doubting the enormous impact upon the rural communities, and the rural economy in general, of the advent of cellular phone technology. Communities that had traditionally had to travel long distances to communicate, whether about business or personal matters, now have instant access either via their own phone (with the price of phones now down as low as US$13) or one belonging to a friend or the community.
 
In the time of disasters, such as floods, mobile cellular communication has been able to mitigate some of the communication barriers that used to exist before. For example if an area is cut off from the rest of the country as a result of a bridge been washed out, people are able now to relay messages for relief and or other needs in the times of natural disaster.
 
The use of phones is not without its challenges, including the need to charge them when mains electric power is either intermittent or non-existent, and the relatively high cost of usage – much spending is in small units of US$0.20 – but the rural community that is now within coverage has gained ‘a voice’ for the first time.
 
On the back of this coverage information services are starting to emerge, such as the SMS-based service operated by the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) that allows small-scale farmers to ascertain the best selling price for commodities that they have just produced, localised to their District, and thus no longer be at the mercy of passing traders. Similar schemes are evolving in the health sector, and it is likely that phone-based mobile banking (along the same lines as M-Pesa in Kenya) will emerge in the near future, greatly enhancing the power of the technology. Further schemes are highlighted below.
 
However, whilst cellular access has improved there still remain significant pockets of deprivation on the voice side, and access to the Internet is still very sparse outside the main urban areas. Whilst there is a GPRS service operating wherever there is voice coverage that does not mean that it is affordable (charging being on the basis of data volume) nor that the population has the means to access it – having neither computers nor Internet-enabled phones. Speeds also remain slow, and the service less reliable than in urban areas. Whilst 40% of the population lies within the reach of ‘standard’ Internet access in some form (and 80% within GPRS coverage), and almost 30% within existing WiMAX broadband coverage, the 60% of the population in rural areas remains under-served. This especially applies to those in the so-called ‘deep rural’ areas, where it is likely that mains electricity is also scarce.
 
There are a number of projects that have been aimed at improving rural connectivity in some areas, or at least understanding the constraints to Internet expansion, and some of these are highlighted in the section that follows.
 
However, experience shows that the following are amongst the difficulties faced when introducing broadband (in this case meaning ‘always on and speeds of up to 512kbps’) in rural areas:

• High per capita cost for capital equipment (VSAT/backhaul/transmission/server/ router etc.).
• Low disposable income (even if operating in a cash economy), and high unemployment, meaning charges have to be lower than in an urban environment with some facilities for access by those with no cash.
• Need to operate a communal facility, such as an Internet cafe, due to low computer ownership.
• Low or no ICT-literacy levels. Lack of understanding of the benefits of the Internet, meaning high levels of sensitisation and training needed, which must be offered at no cost.
• Need for specifically built web portals based on locally determined information needs in each community.
• Lack of access to computers.
• Computers that are found in rural areas may be old (CRT technology) and hard to repair (no local skills or spares); are high in power consumption; and less suitable for Internet use for capacity reasons. Once they fail subscribers will cease paying subscriptions without warning.
• Major problems with electric power supply and prevention of damage from intermittent or low-voltage supplies.
• Difficulties in finding local staff to operate services and be sufficiently knowledgeable as to the benefits of connectivity.
• High cost in comparison to SMS and alternative services.
• Lack of any incentive to operate in such areas. Need to charge urban rates of tax, levies and VAT.
• Lack of eGovernment facilities and thus reasons for people, especially in government, to be online. A critical mass must first be reached.
• Government users, whilst being present in all District capitals, may be unreliable with payment for services.
• The need to buy expensive bandwidth, either terrestrial or satellite based, to reach the urban areas.
• The non-legality of VoIP services.
• Lack of access, to date, to universal access funds. 

A number of the local ISPs now have a presence in some or all of the 9 Provincial capitals, some of which are rural by international standards. Some also have presence in major district capitals. Some towns have an Internet cafe, generally VSAT based although with some dial-up as well, started by a local entrepreneur. A number of ISPs have indicated readiness to reach certain further district capitals, and it is believed that all 72 could be reached within a relatively short period of time if the UAF could find appropriate funding. Thus a ‘top down’ approach begins to emerge, with provincial and then district levels being served, and connectivity moving out in a web from there to the deeper rural areas.
 
However, there are a number of projects which are operating on a ‘bottom up’ grassroots basis and some are highlighted below. These are also amongst the first recipients of the UAF now being distributed by CAZ.