Country snapshot : Zimbabwe

s part of my ongoing A-Z country snapshots highlighting the Internet and telecom characteristics of each and every country, Zimbabwe originally shared the same position as it does in our country drop-down list in terms of my keenness to write it.

But given the recent news airtime that this poor African country has recently been receiving after the presidential elections there earlier this year, I have decided to move it up the list accordingly.

For those of you who do not follow world events, Zimbabwe held a presidential election on March 21 of this year; the result of which at time of writing was still not confirmed – with many commentators believing that it was rigged by President Robert Mugabe who has held power there since 1980.

According to www.internetworldstats.com, about 1.2 million people in Zimbabwe, or just under 10 percent of its population, are currently online; with usage growth since 2000 an impressive 2,340 percent – which is almost on par with its inflation rate, which some economists predict could hit 1.5m percent!

The country – once a regional economic powerhouse – recently introduced a 200,000 dollar note so its citizens wouldn't need to carry wheelbarrows full of cash around with them.

Credit card penetration there is negligible and fraud associated with them rampant, making Zimbabwe an automatic candidate for your credit card processor's scrub list.

However, as with other developing countries, cell phone penetration levels here actually rival those in the developed ones. Furthermore, the country's backbone network is being upgraded, including fiber optic links which will also improve Internet connectivity.

So far, we have sold 1263 passwords to Zimbabwe and paid $745 in commissions to webmasters. Not huge numbers, admittedly, but they must be seen in the context of being useful extra money from a 'virgin' market who just so happens to also have English as its official language.

Remember, all the 1.2 million Zimbabweans who are currently online have access to your sites, and practically all of these will also have access to a phone or cell.

By not employing pay-per-call phone billing, you are depriving yourself of additional revenue from countries such as Zimbabwe, whose future can only get better.

Country snapshot : Israel

Being married to a Jewish princess, I have had the pleasure of travelling to Israel on more than one occasion. The first thing that struck me when I first visited there was the rampant black humor of which I am a loyal fan — I had never heard so many Jewish jokes in my entire life! The trait of not taking oneself too seriously came as a breath of fresh air, not least since we were living in Germany at the time — whose population arguably does take itself far too seriously!

Whilst having the world's hundredth largest population, with some 6.4 million inhabitants, Israel is a tech-savvy country in more ways than one. Not only was the processor in your computer probably developed there, but this is also the country that lays claim to having the highest percentage of home computers per capita anywhere in the world.

A recent study conducted by the Bank of Israel shows that in Israel the use of payment cards has surged in several sectors due to the recent economic boom there. Online shopping, thanks to a 72 percent penetration rate in household Internet access, has played an important role in this, along with the increasing number of merchants that accept payment cards.

Technological advancement has brought its own contribution, allowing for the launch of new products on the market, including prepaid cards and smart cards. The issuer of Leumi Visa credit cards recently reported that the number of valid cards at the end of last year grew by 14 percent relative to the previous year.

However, as with most developed markets, many Israelis are often reluctant to use their plastic friends online for fear of fraud, identity theft, or plain fear of being found out by an over-inquisitive wife — and believe me, I know what I am talking about!

This might help account for why our pay-per-call phone billing solution is popular with surfers from there: No forms; no paper trial; just easy and anonymous access to the forbidden fruits of your member's area for a time of your choosing.

And on the subject of phones, Jackie Mason's hilarious cell phone sketch simply reinforces what I had long suspected — the Israelis are a nation of cell phone junkies! This addiction was symbolically cast in stone back in 1998 in the shape of a cellular phone carved out of basalt rock which adorns the gravestone of Guy Akrish at the Ashkelon cemetery in southern Israel.

It therefore stands to reason that you should include phone processing as part of your billing armory in order to maximize your revenues from Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.

The Israelis' love affair with the telephone has never waned, a fact of which I am harshly reminded of every month when our phone bill arrives. I have learnt the hard way as to why Jewish mothers make great parole officers — it is because they never let anyone finish a sentence!

Country snapshot : Jamaica

The first thing that struck me about Jamaica when my wife and I decided to celebrate the millennium there was the number of people that owned a cell phone — and this was nearly a decade ago.

Despite living in what most of us would deem to be abject poverty, a mobile device was and is a "must have" for most people living there. The same is mirrored in the rest of the developing world; with cell phone penetration often rivaling or even outstripping those of more developed countries.

Jamaica has a modern, fully liberalized telecoms system, which has seen phenomenal expansion in recent years. Former monopoly full-service provider, Cable and Wireless Jamaica Ltd (CWJ) now faces competition from Digicel and Oceanic Digital.

As for Jamaica's online presence, according to InternetWorldStats.com, a surprising 39.4 percent — or just over a million — of its 2.7m inhabitants are already surfing the fixed line Internet; with no doubt many others surfing the mobile Internet using their cells.

E-commerce is of growing significance to Jamaica. For some local companies (particularly utilities) there is the option to pay bills on-line or via credit card using a telephone. Many Jamaicans who possess a credit card denominated in hard currency (U.S. dollars) frequently make online purchases from U.S. and other overseas companies.

So, when selling to Jamaicans, be sure to include both credit card and phone billing solutions as part of your processing portfolio.

As for language, no translation is needed since English remains the official language of Jamaica.

Tourism remains Jamaica's leading foreign exchange earner and is set to benefit from more than 18,000 additional hotel rooms, which will be developed in multi-billion dollar projects to be undertaken over the next five years. This will increase the job opportunities and buying power of Jamaicans — and make a great venue for an industry conference; I'll see you there :-)