Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator MTN will attempt to bring internet services to South Africa in June. The launch of third generation technology (3G) will make internet access available via mobile phones to millions of the world’s poorest people, reports CNN.com. The new service aims to deliver football scores, weather forecasts, video, and music to parts of Africa where nearly half the population has never used a phone.

“This is an opportunity to bring Africa into the information age,” said Karel Pienaar, chief technology officer at MTN.

Plans to bring third generation technology to Africa were nearly put on hold due to the high prices European operators were spending to secure government licences to start 3G services. In the UK alone, Vodafone spent almost £6 billion acquiring its 20-year 3G license. South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa where introducing 3G could make commercial sense.

Approximately 40 per cent of South Africa’s population own mobile phones, compared with an average level of 6 per cent across the rest of the continent. Although sceptics argue that high prices for bulky handsets (more than £200) and poor infrastructure mean it will be a long time before much of Africa is on the web, wireless provides the quickest means of getting there. The fact that few fixed-line operators can afford to roll out telephone lines across the continent’s rough terrain makes wireless connection the best way to deliver access.

“Given the demand for internet access, wireless technologies could provide the solution to Africa’s internet future,” said the International Telecommunication Union.

But should the internet be a top priority for Africa? Experts argue that Africans already use available technology to tackle the continent’s problems; rural HIV/AIDS sufferers in South Africa are currently monitored by SMS, and fishermen in Senegal get tip-offs on which local market is offering the best price for a haul. With the internet, more could be done, including attracting foreign direct investment. With only 1.4 per cent of Africa’s 800 million people on the web, internet access is crucial in helping it catch up with the rest of the world.

While third generation technology may improve the lives of many Africans, widespread use is predicted to be at least 5-10 years away. 3G has been slow to take off in parts of Europe and the United States, and MTN forecasts only 10-15 per cent of Africans will own 3G phones by 2010.

“In the short term it will remain a nice toy for the affluent,” said Arthur Goldstuck, head of the South African technology research company World Wide Worx.