Internet

SA Internet amongst most affordable in Africa

Staff Writer

 ·10 Dec 2013

South Africa ranks highly for Internet affordability in Africa, according to the first annual Affordability Report, compiled by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI).

In the report, A4AI indexes 46 emerging and developing countries across the world in terms of communication infrastructure and Internet access and affordability (equally-weighted).

Out of the 46 countries, South Africa is ranked as the 12th most affordable country for Internet access – 3rd in Africa, behind Mauritius (1st) and Morocco (2nd).

Malaysia is ranked the most affordable, overall, with and index score of 68.6, while Yemen is ranked as the least affordable market, with an Index score of 0.0 – below Malawi (45th at 3.1) and Zimbabwe (44th at 3.6).

According to the report, top-ranked Malaysia launched a National Broadband Initiative in 2010, with the aim to increase both supply and demand for broadband.

As a result of its drive, more than four in five people in the country now has access to 3G coverage, and more than 63% of households have an Internet connection.

Top 10 EM/DM countries for affordable Internet access

Top 10 EM/DM African countries for affordable Internet access

When looking at Internet affordability in relation to income, A4AI pointed out that in the 46 countries studied, the cost of entry-level broadband was, on average, more than 40% of the monthly income for people living on US$2 per day – going as high as 135% for fixed broadband access, in Zambia.

Things are even worse for women, the report said.

“If one considers the gender gap in incomes across all countries studied, the affordability picture would be even bleaker,” A4AI said, noting that in several countries in Africa, women earn on average 30-50% less than men.

Cost of broadband

Making Internet more affordable

According to A4AI, three in five people in the world are not connected to the Internet, while in developing countries only 31% people find themselves online – and less than 10% of people in the 49 least developed countries in the world have access to the Internet.

“Broadband markets that price Internet access out of reach for the majority of people are neither socially nor economically efficient.

However, the organisation insists that “liberalising” the telecommunications industry is not enough.

“The state also has an important role to play – through facilitating or underwriting strategic investments, subsidizing access for under-served communities and implementing effective and transparent regulations, such as open access to subsidised infrastructure.”

Methodology

The Affordability Index is a measure of Internet affordability in various countries, specifically looking at two key aspects, namely communications infrastructure and access and affordability.

According to A4AI, two types of data were used to compile the data – existing data from data providers and a original content data gathered through a multi-country expert survey.

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