West Africa Internet Access Increases

Photo:  Place de cineaste at night, Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, West Africa 

According to the Associated Press, for decades West Africa's main Internet connection has been a single fiber-optic cable in the Atlantic, described as both tenuous and expensive. A second cable -- a new $250-million MainOne cable -- along the West African coast, ending at Lagos, Nigeria, aims to create a five-fold increase in Internet capacity. Bandwidth availability in West Africa should be significantly increased by the summer of 2012, according to the U.N.'s International Telecommunications Union. This investment in Africa's communications infrastructure will have a positive impact on the continent's trade growth in the coming years.

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Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement Nearly Complete

     Signatories

     Signatories also covered by signature of the European Union

     Non-signatories covered by signature of the European Union

     Other countries eligible for signing the convention

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations are close to a final agreement. The ACTA aims to create international rules on how copyright infringement is treated by signatory countries. After the August 2010 talks in Washington D.C., a new version of the agreement emerged that looks less like the stricter U.S. copyright laws, which may be the reason that it is closer to becoming an international reality among the parties.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided here may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. This profile may constitute attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Any correspondence with this blog does not constitute a client/attorney relationship. Neither the content on this blog nor transmissions between you and the blogger through this blog are intended to provide legal or other advice or to create an attorney-client relationship.