Nigeria has been named among the top 10 countries with the most affordable Internet prices based on the monthly average income in the country.
Other countries on the continent with a low cost of accessing and using the Internet in Africa are Egypt, Sudan, Gabon, Mauritius and Tunisia, according to the Mobile Broadband Pricing report released by the Alliance for Affordable Internet on Tuesday.
The alliance said it examined the average cost for 1GB data as a percentage of average monthly income in 100 low and middle-income countries from April to June this year.
The A4Ai said the price of one gigabyte plan of data in Nigeria was 1.7 per cent of the average monthly income of Nigerians as 1GB cost about $2.78(N1, 004).
Consumers in Egypt, according to the report, pay the least on the continent as 1GB data plan, which cost $1.18 representing 0.5 per cent of the average monthly income of Egyptians.
In Sudan, the same data plan, which cost $0.98, represented 0.75 per cent of the average monthly income of the country’s residents while Mauritius’s $5.96 for 1GB of data represented 0.59 per cent of the country’s average monthly income.
Tunisia and Gabon residents can easily access Internet as 1GB represented 1.21 per cent of both countries’ average monthly income.
A4Ai said the cost of mobile data for consumers in low and middle-income countries had fallen across all regions studied as the average cost for 1GB data as a percentage of average monthly income declined from 5.76 per cent to 4.69 per cent.
It said the fall in costs brings Internet access within reach for millions more people and indicated progress in the effort to make Internet access affordable for everyone.
“Across Africa, where Internet data remains unaffordable for millions, particularly women, there was a particularly steep decline, with the cost of 1GB data dropping from 9.0 per cent to 7.1 per cent of average monthly income,” the report added.
It said while Internet access was still unaffordable in most low and middle-income countries, seven countries – Algeria, Bangladesh, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Namibia, and Paraguay – passed the affordability threshold for the first time in 2019.
The alliance called on more governments to take urgent action to achieve the Internet affordability target in order to speed up the rate of people coming online and connect the next billion.
Source: Punch
