The Africa Subcommittee is holding the hearing on the subject of "Bridging the Information Technology Divide in Africa," to update the U.S. Congress on the status of information technology in Africa and the barriers to its implementation.

The Subcommittee sees information technology as being critical to bringing sustainable development to Africa.

In his testimony, Mr. Samara will touch on three aspects of information technology in Africa: the crucial importance of information to development, the inability of the Internet to serve all of Africa and the proven effectiveness of the WorldSpace system's infrastructure to deliver information to the entire continent.

"If you listen to Africa, you will hear a continent calling 911, but this call is not getting through," Mr. Samara says in his testimony. "The only thing that stands between 600 million people becoming a true market for American goods and services is information."

Mr. Samara compares information technology systems to a nation's central nervous system, saying that because of Africa poor infrastructure it lacks the "wherewithal to provide even basic levels of health, education and stability to its inhabitants."

Mr. Samara asserts the Internet is not a universal solution for Africa. "To put it bluntly, the Internet does not and cannot reach all of Africa. WorldSpace can and does via the least costly satellite receiver available. Our new receivers are expected to cost around $50. This price is expected to drop significantly."

According to a recent survey from the Association for Progressive Communications the average cost of Internet connectivity in Africa is $50 per month (around $600 per year), which typically provides consumers with a monthly allotment of only five hours. These charges, far higher than the cost of Internet connectivity in the United States, are borne by people who, on average, earn far less than consumers in industrialized countries.

In closing, Mr. Samara urged greater involvement by the U.S. Government in providing abundant information to Africa's people. "By doing this, we empower Africans, serve the strategic interests of the U.S.A., and create a more stable world."

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