The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) 2018 Report, has grouped Nigeria amongst 61 low- and middle-income countries where over 60 per cent have unaffordable Internet.
Whereas statistics show that majority of Nigerians live below $2.0 per day, the average cost of $3.62 means that it is not affordable in Nigeria after all.
Even thought the September subscriber statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) weekend put Internet users in the country at 105 million, however, by penetration, it is about 50.2 per cent of the estimated 195 million populations, thus meaning poor access to internet.
The A4AI report showed that out of the 61 countries studied, only 24 had affordable Internet, where 1GB of mobile data costs less than two per cent of average income. Across the countries analysed, just 1GB of data costs over five per cent of average monthly income; this price skyrockets to around and upwards of 20 per cent of average income in a handful of countries. Growth in people using the Internet has slowed.
A4AI noted that the pace of policy change to drive Internet prices down marked its slowest improvement to date, adding: “Measures of the policy frameworks in place to enable greater affordability increased by just 1 per cent on last year, despite growing recognition of the critical relationship between online access and economic growth. Island archipelago nations face the highest costs to connect.
The report added further that “One-of-a-kind analysis on the industry costs incurred in the provision of Internet service shows that the cost to provide one subscriber with mobile broadband data for a year in an island archipelago nation, like the Philippines, is nearly five times the cost to do the same in a coastal nation like Nigeria.”
In her remarks on the report, Sonia Jorge, A4AI Executive Director said: “While we have seen a few bright spots of the policy leadership needed to advance affordable Internet access, we are deeply concerned to see that policy progress has largely stagnated.
“Failure to prioritise needed broadband policy reforms has left billions of people offline, and has contributed to a significant slowing in the rate of people coming online. Every moment that these billions are unable to participate in digital development is a lost opportunity for economic, social, and political growth. Policymakers, the private sector, and civil society must come together to take immediate action to develop and implement the policies needed to connect everyone and accelerate internet growth.”
The report found that policies to expand infrastructure to underserved locations and populations have particularly faltered, resulting in stubbornly high costs for Internet providers and consumers alike.
For example, in Nigeria, not enough efforts had been made by the government in deepening internet affordability as licenced Infrastructure Companies (Infracos) who are supposed to Fibre Optic Cables (FOCs) to drive broadband penetration are stocked in states due to exorbitant taxes on Right of Way (RoW).
Checks showed that none of the Infracos has made appreciable headway in its zone of operations even as a licencee has dumped its licence which NCC is currently looking for investors.
The report was quick to call on nations like Nigeria to prioritise the time and resources needed to support the development of infrastructure critical to reducing Internet costs.
