Research Shows Nigeria’s Internet Affordability Remains Poor

Nigeria has one of the most expensive broadband in Africa, says a research conducted by online car marketplace, Carmudi.com.ng. The study, which showed Nigeria with deep internet penetration of up to 200 per cent, noted that the country still lags behind when it comes to affordable internet as broadband gulps up to 30 per cent of household income.

According to Vanguard report, “Carmudi Nigeria’s research showed an increase in 2013 when Nigeria’s internet penetration grew by 200 per cent overtaking South Africa’s 60 per cent to become the country with the largest number of internet users in Africa. South Africa’s internet penetration became the second highest for all African countries and in third and fourth places is Morocco with 55 per cent and Egypt, 44 per cent. This is well above the figure of 16 per cent for Africa as a whole, and is comparable with 31 per cent for developing countries worldwide.”

On the real cost of broadband access across surveyed countries, the report also noted that, “A survey on price range of internet service distributed by Carmudi across African countries showed that unlimited fast and reliable internet in Togo cost as low as N5000 for a month while the same quality of internet in Ghana cost less than N100 daily. In February 2015, a Rwanda 4G internet provider slashed its tariff by 70 per cent automatically becoming the cheapest internet service in Africa.” The report further noted that Nigeria ranks seven when its internet tariff is gauged on a scale of one to ten in the affordability index, making it more expensive than most African countries.

Recall that in 2013, Nigeria ranked 142 out of 169, on affordability rating for fixed internet broadband and it seems not much has changed.

Speaking on the report, Managing Director of Carmudi Nigeria, Amy Muoneke, said: “There are now more than 35 mobile network operators in Africa busily extending their base station networks to improve coverage and it is our hope that in the near future, broadband in Nigeria will become more affordable so as to contribute more revenue to the country’s GDP and also the ever growing e-commerce industry.”