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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Across the developing nations, this places South Africa 37th, up from 44th a year ago.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Mobile broadband penetration rates for South Africa were not tracked in the 2014 report. In 2013, the figure was at 26%, ranked 62nd overall.<\/p>\n
Category<\/strong><\/td>\n| Rank<\/strong><\/td>\n | %<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | % Internet users (Developing)<\/td>\n | 34<\/td>\n | 48.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | % Internet users (Global)<\/td>\n | 80<\/td>\n | 48.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Fixed broadband penetration rate<\/td>\n | 106<\/td>\n | 3.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | Mobile broadband penetration rate<\/td>\n | n\/a<\/td>\n | n\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n | 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”.<\/p>\n However, the report emphasised that the real drive should be behind implementation and moving from plans to action.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Quality of service and prices are to be monitored by the regulator, Icasa.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Global broadband<\/h3>\nIf you want proper broadband access, Europe is the place to be, with the continent having the highest internet penetration rate across the world.<\/p>\n The top 10 countries by Internet users are all in Europe, with Iceland taking top spot with a penetration rate of 96.5%.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Top 10 countries by % of individuals using the Internet<\/h3>\n
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