Why Africa pays more to stay online: Video
Africans know that their internet access is slow and unreliable. But they also pay among the highest rates in the world, according to research by Global South World.
The most expensive African country is Ghana, according to an analysis of costs by We Are Social and DataReportal, with an average price of US$2.58 per Mbps.
Other expensive countries include Cameroon, where broadband costs hover around $57 to $58 per month, largely driven by major network providers like MTN.
Kenya and South Africa follow at about $48, while Morocco averages $35 and Nigeria about $22, with names like Maroc Telecom and Spectranet leading the charge.
The high cost of internet services in Africa is mostly attributed to several interlinked factors, including weak infrastructure, limited competition among service providers, and heavy reliance on imported bandwidth.
This challenge, some analysts believe, could be subdued by Elon Musk's Starlink's presence in Africa.
"Due to Africa’s geographical size and the still weak terrestrial infrastructure, the company could play a prominent role in providing last-mile access to communities across the continent," Diplo states in its Status of Internet Access and Connectivity in Africa report.
Unlike continents with dense fibre-optic networks, much of Africa relies on satellite connectivity and undersea cables, both costly to build and maintain.
In countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Malawi, local internet service providers (ISPs) must pay high wholesale prices to access international bandwidth, costs that are inevitably passed down to consumers.
Monopolistic tendencies within certain markets also prevent healthy competition. In other words, in many countries, just a handful of major network providers in Africa control the market, keeping prices high and competition low.
In comparison to the West, people in Switzerland pay about $68 with Swisscom; Australians $52 with OC Broadband. Germany’s average is $36, Canada’s $58, and the UK sits around $39, all for much faster, more reliable connections.
Additionally, the World Population Review reports that "Residents of the United Arab Emirates pay the highest average internet cost at $98.84 per month worldwide, followed by nearby Qatar at $92.04 monthly. There’s a substantial drop to third place, Oman, where people spend an average of $76.99 per month on the internet. Honduras takes fourth place ($72.28), followed by Saudi Arabia ($70.75). The United States sits in sixth place at $67.57 per month. Of the ten most expensive nations, half are located in the Middle East."
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
