International connectivity and the digital divide in Sub-Saharan Africa

•This paper analyses the consequences of improved international connectivity on ICT penetration in sub-Saharan Africa•International connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa has been spurred by the laying of broadband submarine cables by the end of the 2000s•The specific contribution of the SEACOM/EASSy cables to Internet uptake in Eastern and Southern Africa is studied within a DID framework•These specific cables rollout has yielded a 3-5 percentage-point increase in internet penetration rates in this region compared to the rest of the continent. In recent decades, international connectivity has improved significantly with the worldwide deployment of some 400 fiber submarine cables (SMCs), transmitting more than 99% of international telecommunications. If sub-Saharan African (SSA) has long remained excluded from this interconnection process, the maritime infrastructure network has recently densified and spurred an African connectivity catch-up. This paper estimates the impact of SMC deployment on the digital divide in a sample of 45 SSA countries covering the period of 1990–2014. Difference in differences (DID) estimations are conducted and highlight the particular contribution of SEACOM and EASSy cables, laid in 2009–2010, to Internet penetration in Eastern and Southern Africa. According to DID estimates, the rollout of these SMCs has yielded a 3–5 percentage point increase in Internet penetration rates in this region compared to the rest of SSA. This is a remarkable advancement, since this variation corresponds approximately to the level of Internet penetration in the subcontinent prior to their arrival.