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Over the last few years Internet penetration has continued to grow in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the access gap remains significant in most countries, policy makers and the public now know that it's not just a question of getting more Africans online, but also about the economic benefits that the Internet can bring. For example, last year a study in South Africa showed that the Internet economy contributes up to $7.1 billion/R59-billion (or 2 percent) to South Africa's gross domestic product.
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Driving & Walking directions are useful for planning for that weekend get-away or finding directions to a new restaurant. But sometimes you miss a turning, or pull over to verify that you really are on the right road, even though you have the directions. So how cool would it be if your phone could tell you when your turn-off was coming or what to do if you miss it?
That's why we've worked to improve the comprehensiveness and usefulness of Google Maps through advanced features like voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation. From today, these handy features are now available in Kenya, Ghana, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
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(Cross-posted from the Google Policy Europe Blog)
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(Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog)
Most of us have a bucket list of the places we want to visit in our lifetime. If you're like me, the list is pretty long--to be honest I'd be lucky to get to all of mine. Google Maps has a bucket list too, and today we're checking off a couple of our favorites so we can make our map more comprehensive and share it with you. And if tall mountains are your thing, you're in luck.
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The quest to create comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use Google Maps in Africa started about 4 years ago. From basic maps of major roads to detailed maps in many African countries, cities and towns, these maps have since evolved to include local domains, driving and walking directions, traffic information, Street View imagery in South Africa and Botswana, and turn by turn GPS navigation in South Africa, Algeria and Tunisia. By sourcing information from local businesses, governments, partner providers and of course, our volunteer Map Maker community, our road coverage has increased from 20% in 2008 to 75% in 2012, and the the number of towns and villages mapped has grown by 1000 percent.
We've also been hard at work with various companies in Nigeria, and now we're pleased to announce ...
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En Français
White spaces are unused channels in the broadcast TV spectrum. They offer the potential to improve Internet connectivity where they are most needed - in the developing world. Today we're announcing the launch of a trial with ten schools in the Cape Town area, which will receive wireless broadband over a white space network.
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En Français
It's that time of the year again, when we select students from universities across Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) to be part the Google Student Ambassador program. The second year of the program saw tremendous growth as it expanded from 6 to 12 countries, and grew from 28 to 97 universities with 160 Ambassadors within 1 year. The program also held its first training summit in Nairobi.
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One in three Internet users suffers from restricted access to the web due to government censorship, filtering or online surveillance, according to the free expression advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Around the world, bloggers and cyber-dissidents are jailed for expressing their views. Reporters Without Borders makes sure their struggles are not forgotten.
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En Français
People are constantly finding new ways to use the Internet to address our biggest challenges: global education, health care, clean water, effective government. But we've only scratched the surface on the potential of the Web. Today, 5 billion people still don't have access to the Internet and the opportunity it provides.
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