According to a new report, Somalia currently offers the most affordable mobile internet in Africa and seventh worldwide this year, beating its eastern Africa neighbors including Kenya.
“Somalia has the cheapest data in Africa where 1GB of data costs Sh53 on average from Sh662 last year, it is seventh in the world. In East Africa, Tanzania is the leading country with citizens paying Sh78 per GB for the service,” the study reveals.
The survey conducted by British technology research firm Cable which established the average cost of 1GB of mobile data in 228 countries in 2020 attributed the low cost of mobile data on improved regulation of the country’s communication sector.
“The National Communications Act, which was passed in 2017 paved the way for further development and increase of investment for the telecom industry. A unified licensing framework was also developed which protects the competitiveness of the market and encourages more investment in the sector,” Abdiaziz Duwane Issak, the Director-General at the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Technology in Somalia said.
Kenya, which was termed ‘Silicon Savannah’ for the longest time ranked ninth in Africa and 41st globally, trailing its eastern Africa neighbors.
The study revealed that Kenya registered a drop in internet costs to only Sh112 this year up from Sh114 last year.
In Africa, Somalia is followed by Sudan at position 13, Algeria 15th, Reunion 22nd, Tanzania 23rd, Ghana 34th, Western Sahara 36th, Morocco 37th, Kenya, Mayotte 44th, Egypt 45th while Djibouti closed the top 50 indexes at position 48.
Citizens in these countries pay Sh68, Sh70, Sh77, Sh101, Sh106, Sh106, Sh112, Sh116, Sh117, and Sh121 for every 1GB of mobile data on average, respectively.
South Africa, which has the highest upper middle-class population in Africa falls short in the rankings, appearing at position 148 as 1GB of data costs Sh464 while Nigeria charges Sh150.
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