Jacques Habib Sy holds a Ph.D in Communications Arts and Sciences (howard University, Washington, D.C.), a Masters Degree in Communications (French Institute of Press and Information Sciences, University of Paris II/Sorbonne) ans a B.A. in Journalism (CESTI, University Cheick Anta Diop, Senegal). He held various positions as a Senior Programme Specialist at the International Development Research Centre.

He taught as an associate professor or assistant professor in Communications in several universities in Senegal and in the United States. He was head of the Plan African News Agency’s International Cooperation and Legal Division.
He is the author of several publications on African communications systems and policies.


Using a multidisciplinary approach this book’s major contention is twofold:
1)Telecommunications technology has been used in colonial times as a way to keep Africa in the framework of the unequal international division of labour. In the post-colonial period, telecommunications technology has been used by multinational corporations to control the African telecommunications market and to strengthen their economic activities through the creation and maintenance of outward-oriented national networks; 2) The underdevelopment of Sub-Saharan African countries in matters of telecommunications technology use and manufacture are rooted in the decisive impact of the telecommunications planning strategies and methods implemented in Africa by the African states. Suggesting that telecommunications should become a major tool for national liberation and regional integration, the author contends that new avenues should be explored so that Africa can build her own dedicated regional satellite system and promote her salvation through economic and technological self-reliance.