South Africa broadband vs the world

·23 Sep 2014

South Africa has gained a few levels in the United Nations’ global broadband rankings, climbing to 80th place in the organisation’s latest annual report.

The latest report, which measures the penetration rates of fixed and mobile broadband in over 190 countries, shows that in 2014, 48.9% of South Africans had access to the Internet, up from 41% (92nd) in 2013.

Across the developing nations, this places South Africa 37th, up from 44th a year ago.

In terms of fixed broadband penetration, South Africa also improved, climbing from 2.2% (111th) in the 2013 report, to 3.1% penetration (106th) in 2014.

Mobile broadband penetration rates for South Africa were not tracked in the 2014 report. In 2013, the figure was at 26%, ranked 62nd overall.

South Africa

Category	Rank	%
% Internet users (Developing)	34	48.9%
% Internet users (Global)	80	48.9%
Fixed broadband penetration rate	106	3.1%
Mobile broadband penetration rate	n/a	n/a

The UN commended South Africa’s broadband policy – South Africa Connect – calling it an “excellent example of a policy which focuses on both supply-side and demand-side considerations”.

However, the report emphasised that the real drive should be behind implementation and moving from plans to action.

The South Africa Connect policy aims to create an enabling environment for investment in the roll-out of broadband infrastructure and for the production of content, applications and services to drive demand in the country.

A universal average download speed of 100 Mbps by 2030 has been set, while progressive targets have also been set for an average user experience speed of 5 Mbps to be available to 50% of the population by 2016, and to 90% by 2020.

Quality of service and prices are to be monitored by the regulator, Icasa.

“The price of broadband access is critical in expanding access to broadband in developing countries,” the UN said, noting that broadband is becoming more affordable around the world.

However, huge discrepancies in affordability persist in developing countries, where access can account for as much as 32.2% of average monthly incomes – compared with just 1.5% in developed countries.

Global broadband

If you want proper broadband access, Europe is the place to be, with the continent having the highest internet penetration rate across the world.

The top 10 countries by Internet users are all in Europe, with Iceland taking top spot with a penetration rate of 96.5%.

Entrea – an East African nation – has the worst Internet penetration rate in the world, where only 0.9% of its over 6 million citizens have access to the Internet.

Top 10 countries by % of individuals using the Internet

#	Country	Penetration rate (%)
1	Iceland	96.5
2	Norway	95.1
3	Sweden	94.8
4	Denmark	94.6
5	Andorra	94.0
6	Netherlands	94.0
7	Liechtenstein	93.8
8	Luxembourg	93.8
9	Finland	91.5
10	Monaco	90.7

Top 10 countries by % of households using the Internet

#	Country	Penetration rate (%)
1	Korea (Republic)	98.1
2	Qatar	96.4
3	Singapore	86.0
4	Macao, China	82.6
5	Bahrain	82.0
6	Oman	80.1
7	Hong Kong, China	79.9
8	United Arab Emirates	76.1
9	Brunei Darussalam	75.8
10	Saudi Arabia	72.7

According to the report, fixed broadband penetration is also highest in Europe, led by Monaco which has a penetration rate of 44.7%.

Switzerland (2nd) follows with a rate of 43%, with Denmark (40.2%), the Netherlands (40.1%) and France (38.8%) completing the top 5.

Top 10 countries by fixed broadband penetration

#	Country	Penetration rate (%)
1	Monaco	44.7
2	Switzerland	43.0
3	Denmark	40.2
4	Netherlands	40.1
5	France	38.8
6	Korea (Republic)	38.0
7	Norway	36.4
8	United Kingdoms	35.7
9	Iceland	35.1
10	Germany	34.6

Mobile penetration is strongest in Singapore, where penetration rate of 135.1% leads the globe. The top 8 countries for mobile penetration are all over 100%

Mobile broadband is yet to make a mark in nations such as Cuba, Algeria, Chad and Cameroon, according to the UN.

Top 10 countries by mobile broadband penetration

#	Country	Penetration rate (%)
1	Singapore	135.1
2	Finland	123.5
3	Japan	120.5
4	Australia	110.5
5	Bharain	109.7
6	Sweden	108.7
7	Denmark	107.3
8	Korea (Republic)	105.3
9	Hong Kong	95.4
10	United States	92.8