Does Somalia have Internet?
Somalis have experienced a real revolution in technology since the creation of private telecommunication companies in the late 1990s, which changed the way of life of Somalis, providing all kinds of telecommunication services in the midst of increasing wars. civil and bloody wars that took place in different parts. the country.
The irony is that Internet services have become widespread despite the bloody events that have been known in the country since the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991. - its use by Somalis to communicate with their families. the diaspora.
Statistics from the International Organization for Migration indicate that five million Somalis have been displaced by civil wars, which explains the widespread use of the Internet to keep in close contact with family and relatives abroad
The Internet is widely used to browse Somali language news websites, and electronic media has come into its own in the absence of a near-perfect newspaper, and has played a significant role in opinion polling. public and publishing political news, if it is national. or international.
According to a study conducted by the International Telecommunications Union, the use of the Internet began in Somalia in early 2000, when the number of users did not exceed 200 people, and then reached 102,000 users at the beginning of 2009.
The study also stated that the number of people using the Internet in Somalia is increasing by 15% every year, as Somalia has developed in terms of Internet use in the neighboring country of Ethiopia.
Also, the owner of an Internet cafe in Bosaso city - Ahmed Ali - said that the number of customers exceeds 150 customers every day, except on weekends when the number doubles.
Ahmed Ali insisted that the Internet business is very profitable, as his economy greatly helps in paying the requirements of daily life, such as education, health and others.
Abdul Wahed Ali, the owner of another internet cafe in Karado town, 240 km south of Bosaso, confirmed that the number of his customers reaches seventy people every day, and he noted that on Thursdays and Fridays, the number reaches one hundred people.