Patterns of growth Ghana has about 3000 Internet users. Often, the Internet is introduced into a country by universities, but in Africa this has been by private-sector initiative. Growth has been fastest where there is a commercial push, aided by the availability of public access, as evidenced in Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Uganda. Often, this means that the major cities get access first. The pace of growth is dictated by history, culture, language and economics.
African countries aim to use all media, including the Internet, for national development.
Why Ghanaians use the Internet Ghanaians adopt a much more serious attitude toward the Internet than people in other countries. In other words, more than 85 percent of users gave these three functions as key reasons for their subscribing to the Internet. A major issue that many African countries are wrestling with is the regulatory environment. It is becoming increasingly clear to sector ministries and also the regulatory authorities and the telecom companies that the Internet has the potential to carve away at their already lucrative long distance business by offering Internet phone and Internet fax facilities. Ghana has been fortunate to have had a well-structured regulatory environment that has made it possible for the Internet to be considered as an engine for growth and accelerated development.