The Internet

Since 1997 when government commissioned Global One to erect a national and international Internet backbone, the number of dial-up subscribers has always been increasing. According to the Zimbabwe Internet Service Providers (ZISPA), Zimbabwe has more than 35 000 dial-up subscribers who are subscribed with various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country. This is about 3% of Africa’s dial-up subscribers. However, it must be remembered that a lot of people use company accounts and Internet cafes and Internet use in Zimbabwe must be obviously higher than that.

Although 35 000 is a very small number compared to the 2.5 million Internet users in South Africa, the Internet is gradually rising to be the medium of hope for many Zimbabweans. The hope can be seen in the number of Internet cafes sprouting all over the place, especially in major cities of Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare. It is a medium of hope because so far it has not faced as much censorship as the mainstream media do. In view of mounting public criticism and discontent, government passed the Public Order and Security Act in 2002. The law makes it an offence punishable by at least 5 years imprisonment or Z$100 000 for anyone who communicates or publishes anything that is deemed prejudicial to the state interests. The definition of state interests is too wide and all- catching thus leaving the media without any room to maneuver in the discharge of their duties.

Internet Service Providers have also mushroomed to boost Internet availability and accessibility to the public, government institutions and the corporate world. Currently the total number of ISPs in the country is more than five. The major ones are Data Control, Africa Online, M-Web Zimbabwe, Samara and Inter Data while the small and upcoming ones comprise Telco, Zimsurf and Icon Internet.

Zimbabwe's eight major papers are all now published on the Internet and news is delivered timely mainly to a very small but extremely influential urban audience. Consequently, the Internet has removed the constraints of time and space in the distribution of news in Zimbabwe. The state-controlled media's agenda setting efforts do not go unchecked because of the Internet’s augmentation of the free flow of information in major cities.

The Internet has also grown to epitomize a platform where people of various walks of life in Zimbabwe have found expression, from the gays and lesbian associations, political parties, to human rights activists. In fact, government, civil society and the opposition in Zimbabwe have taken full advantage of the Internet as a tool for advocacy and lobbying.

There are however, still some serious obstacles that the Internet faces. First, its biggest obstacle seems to be the growing poverty. The average price for a computer in Zimbabwe is about Z$250 000 and Internet installation costs are also prohibitive. Poverty forces people not to prioritize their informational needs. Emphasis is given to their daily material needs. In 2002 charges for a service at the Internet cafes ranged from Z$150 per 15 minutes to Z$350 per hour. These costs are too high for many Zimbabweans. This has culminated in an information class structure where the majority of the people are info-poor while only a few are info-rich. This has invariably made the Internet just another elitist public sphere in Zimbabwe.

The poor telephone national grid is another impediment to Internet accessibility, availability and affordability. The national grid is far below giving a complete and national coverage as it consists of only about 212 000 lines. There are about more than a 100 000 outstanding requests for connection in the country. The government- owned Tel One is failing to meet fixed line telephone demands but remains the sole provider of the landline service.