Understanding affordable Internet sevices

During the recently concluded global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Bali, some discussions centred around increasing Internet uptake by making services more affordable.

It was observed that out of 7 billion global citizens, only 2.5 billion use the Internet regularly, with the majority belonging to the developed North and Asia.  Africa's contribution is the lowest, with only 7 per cent of its population being online - meaning that a whopping 93 per cent remain offline. 

Many reasons exist for this stark reality, but the obvious one is that the cost of accessing Internet services is way beyond average incomes across Africa.

The current  Internet study titled "Measuring the Information Society" published annually by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), shows that the cost of accessing broadband Internet in many African countries is more than 50 per cent  of average monthly incomes.

Being online takes the same share of the monthly income as that taken by rent or food. Put differently, getting online would require they forgo buying food or paying rent - making Internet a luxury they might as well ignore.

Kenya is one country in such a position.  Our cost of accessing one month of broadband internet is at 50 per cent of average incomes - behind Uganda and Tanzania at 32 per cent and 42 per cent respectively.  

In comparison, other African countries such as Egypt, South Africa and Botswana are enjoying Internet costs as low as 3.5 per cent, 4.8 per cent and 9.2 per cent of their respective average incomes.

It is tempting - particularly to seasoned Netizens - to dismiss these figures unless one puts them into perspective.

However, according to the World Bank, our national average monthly income is only US$100 (Sh8,500), while the typical cost of high quality (1Mbs) fixed Internet link for one month is between three and four thousand shillings.

This is approximately the 50 per cent of average income that the ITU study establishes as the cost of broadband Internet services in Kenya.

Broadband Internet  is considered "productive" Internet, meaning it can be used to simultaneously carry or stream multimedia content - voice, data and video - and with guaranteed quality. 

Kenyans must ignore the illusion that Internet is cheap simply because they can buy data bundles on their mobile phones at Sh10, often capped at ridiculous data volumes.

Data volumes limit users to rudimentary activities such as updating of social media sites.  More demanding tasks like taking online studies, teleconferencing, or downloading e-Government documents and research journals would be too expensive and unsustainable.

For our society to meaningfully participate in the digital economy, we must search for ways to make affordable,  fixed broadband internet available to the masses .

For developing countries, a target of broadband internet sold at 5% the average income, achievable within five years was considered a useful guideline.

Within the Kenyan context, this implies that a good quality (1Mbs) fiber link to your house should cost as low as Sh450 per month - down from the current Sh3000 - 4000 offers  available from service providers.

In other words, broadband Internet is a utility whose cost and quality should be comparable to your monthly water supply - but not your monthly rent.  

Since the government came into power on a "digital" platform, this objective should be somewhere very high on its priority list.

The author of this blog was originally named as Steve Biko. This has now been corrected.