Continent closing internet gap as data goes mobile

A man with his smartphone in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Mobile data is growing fast, especially in countries with poor fixed-line availability. Issouf Sanogo / AFP

Bandwidth cost is high but online penetration is rising

Africa still lags behind the rest of the world in interconnectivity, but it is closing the gap with stunning speed.

The Internet Society (IS), a global research organisation, notes that in 2005, internet penetration in Europe was 19.6 times greater than in Africa. By 2014, it was only 3.9 times ­greater.

In just five years – between 2009 and 2014 – Africa’s international bandwidth increased 20-fold and its terrestrial network more than doubled, according to the IS.

Two significant developments have driven Africa’s internet revolution: the drastic increase in undersea cables to the continent and the proliferation of mobile data use. At least half a dozen cables now run up and down the east and west coasts of Africa, making landfall at various countries along the way.

Additionally, mobile data is growing fast, especially in countries with poor fixed-line availability.

Consumers who do not have a fixed-line network provider can now access the internet with a USB dongle or modem plugged into devices such as laptops. Others can use 3G or 4G mobile data plans for tablet or smartphones. Internet cafes are plentiful and probably one of the most used resources.

The IS says that last year alone, Africa’s total inbound international internet bandwidth increased by 50 per cent, while Africa’s total inventory of ­terrestrial transmission networks has doubled in the past five years. More than 1 million kilometres of lines now exist between African countries, says the IS.

The expansion has put more than 176 million people in range of high-speed connectivity. By the middle of last year almost half of Sub-Saharan Africa’s entire population, or 436 million people, were within 25km of an operational fibre optic network node.

It is not all sunshine and roses, though. Bandwidth cost remains high. African consumers pay up to 40 times more than a customer in the United States, the IS says.

The International Telecommunication Union reports that entry-level fixed broadband can consume a quarter of average incomes in developing countries. Despite the growth of the internet across the continent, Africa as a whole makes up only 6 per cent of worldwide web ­users.

Distribution also favours countries on the coast, while landlocked states depend on terrestrial links that have been slow in coming.

Even the poorest shack-dweller in a large city such as Nairobi or Lagos can usually get internet access, but those living in rural areas are often out of luck. Access drops sharply the further away people are from the urban centres.

Worldwide there are 3 billion internet users, says the IS, helping to support a global online economy of about US$20 trillion. Africa’s share of the business-to-consumer market is only about 2 per cent.

The potential, though, is vast. According to McKinsey, online connections could add as much as $300 billion a year to the continent’s GDP through internet transactions. Already these generate nearly $20bn in GDP for Sub-Saharan Africa.

* Gavin du Venage