"Twenty of the 54 African countries are already connected to fiber-optic cables but they are still charging monopoly rates, which make the objective of spreading broadband access to rural areas unachievable," Taher said.

Vendors attending the conference offered alternative technology to come up with cost-effective rural broadband networks. While submarine fiber-optic cables provide key infrastructure for broadband networks in Africa, there are other means to achieve wide access or support available networks, said company officials.

Fiber-speed satellite networks, for example, can provide broadband-grade connectivity to rural communities in Africa, said Daniel Schapiro, the senior consultant at 03b Networks, based in the Netherlands.

The ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine communications cable connecting the west coast of Africa with Europe will soon be operational, he noted, but added that it cannot be the only source of broadband connectivity for the country.

"Our satellite system has ultra-low latency comparable to the speed of the fiber cable," Schapiro said. "We are presently talking with companies and telecom operators and ISPs [Internet service providers] in Sierra Leone and other African countries to introduce our solution that would be launched in the beginning of next year."