Joburg mobile: high speeds, high prices
Joburg’s mobile tariffs are high when compared to the average income level in the city – but it also enjoys some of the highest mobile speeds amongst the biggest cities in the world.
This is according to the 2013 Ericsson Networked Society City Index, which ranked Joburg – South Africa’s biggest city – 22nd for ICT use, amongst 31 of the world’s largest cities.
Stockohlm, Sweden, was ranked number one in the world for proper socio-economic use of ICT, in terms of affordability, usage and infrastructure – as well as in wider social, economic and environmental indicators.
London, England was ranked second best out of the 31 cities, while Singapore ranked third.
According to Ericsson, the study aims to provide insights into how cities could use ICT to improve their socio-economic and environmental impact, and to inspire the development of networked cities worldwide.
Top 15 cities for ICT
| # | City |
| 1 | Stockholm, Sweden |
| 2 | London, England |
| 3 | Singapore |
| 4 | Paris, France |
| 5 | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 6 | Oslo, Norway |
| 7 | Hong Kong, China |
| 8 | New York, USA |
| 9 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 10 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 11 | Los Angeles, USA |
| 12 | Miami, USA |
| 13 | Seoul, South Korea |
| 14 | Taipei, Taiwan |
| 15 | Sydney, Australia |
Out of all the African cities studied for the Index, Johannesburg ranked highest, with Egypt’s Cairo (27th) and Nigeria’s Lagos (29th) being the only other African cities listed.
Johannesburg has a population of 3.2 million and the metropolitan area has more than 7 million inhabitants, making it the largest city in South Africa, as well as being the economic and financial hub of South Africa, producing 16 percent of the national GDP.
In summary, the study found that:
- Smartphone penetration rate is average compared to other cities, but computer usage is modest.
- Tariffs are high in relation to the income level.
- Fixed broadband speed and fixed broadband penetration are low.
- Mobile broadband speed is above average and faster than in many other top-performing cities.
- All of the biggest operators in Johannesburg can offer high-speed mobile broadband.
Joburg ICT
In terms of social and economic performance, Joburg was rated quite poorly, with high rates of unemployment, homicide and low rates of literacy and education comparing unfavourably to other cities studied.
A moderate economic performance and environmental focus in the city just added to a below-average performance in ICT usage, and below-average use of Internet and electronic payments.
“The mobile phone tariffs are high in relation to the income level in the city, but despite the high tariffs there is still a high penetration of mobile phones and smartphones,” the report said.
“The fixed broadband tariffs are also above average in relation to income levels and IP transit prices are rather high.”
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