Info and Communications Technology - An Afghan Success Story

The news coming out of Afghanistan lately has been dismal. The security situation is worse with the Taliban threatening to take over district centers (Sangin), corruption handicapping international aid efforts, the Afghan election is a mess, and the lack of a signed Bilateral Security Agreement. It is hard to find positive news about Afghanistan.

However, there is one sector of the economy that is doing remarkably well - the information and communications technology sector. Dr. Catherine Warner, of the ISAF Telecommunications Advisory Team, says that the telecommunications and info technology fields have come a long way since 2001. In 2001 there were 15,000 telephone lines with only local dialing access. In 2014 there are 22 million mobile phone subscribers and some three million Internet users.

Read more in Information and communications technology sector Afghanistan's second largest revenue source, ISAF News, September 10, 2010 at this link.