The price of one gigabyte plan of data in Nigeria is 1.7 per cent of the average monthly income of Nigerians as 1GB cost about $2.78(N1, 004) and this makes the country one of the top 10 with the most affordable Internet prices in Africa.
Other countries on the continent with a low cost of accessing and using the Internet are Egypt, Sudan, Gabon, Mauritius and Tunisia, according to the Mobile Broadband Pricing report released by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4Ai) recently.
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.
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 incomeA4Ai 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 bi
It has also been revealed that Nigerians are set to enjoy cheaper Internet services after Google said its Equiano subsea cable which had just landed in the country would reduce the retail cost of Internet prices by 21 per cent after its full deployment.
Google said this as it also announced the landing of its Equiano subsea cable in conjunction with its cable landing partner, WIOCC, in Lagos recently.
The firm added that its cable would increase Internet speed by six-folds and penetration by six per cent while boosting Gross Domestic Product by $10.1bn in 2025 and creating 1.6 million jobs within the same time period.
It said the cable would save 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum when fully operational.
According to it, the Equiano cable starts in Portugal in Western Europe, running more than 12,000km along the West Coast of Africa and initially lands in Lomé, Togo; Lagos, Nigeria; Swakopmund, Namibia; Rupert’s Bay, Saint Helena, and Melkbosstrand, South Africa.
This, according to Google, will establish a valuable new high-capacity connection between Africa and Europe.
Speaking at the event, the Director, Google West Africa, Juliet Ehimuan, said, “Google is committed to supporting Africa’s digital transformation and we are excited to see the impact of the landing of Equiano in Nigeria.
“We have worked with established partners and in-country experts to guarantee that Equiano has the greatest potential effect in Nigeria and throughout Africa.
“Equiano is set to make an enduring contribution towards the development of Nigeria’s communications infrastructure and today marks another major step in its development. We look forward to honouring our commitment to be parof Africa’s digital transformation.”
The Chief Executive Officer of WIOCC, Chris Wood, added, “We are proud to have been selected by Google as the landing partner for the Equiano cable in Nigeria, landing the cable directly into the OADC Lagos data centre. From there it will be extended to other data centres across Lagos.
“The Equiano cable will deliver improved Internet quality, speeds, and affordability to the people of Nigeria. However, for the benefits to be fully felt throughout Nigeria, hyper-scale connectivity needs to be extended from the Lagos area to the rest of the country. To make this happen, WIOCC is also deploying a comprehensive, hyper-scale national fibre network.
“The network will go live in phases, starting in June and continuing through to the end of the year. When combined with the Equiano cable this network will deliver transformational benefits across the country.”
“I am told that this new Equiano cable system, landing today, will deliver twenty times as much network capacity as any of the existing systems serving Nigeria.”
While speaking at the event, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the cable would deliver 20 times as much network capacity as any existing systems serving Nigeria.
This, according to him, means faster Internet speeds, reduced cost, and greater access to individuals leading to the creation of jobs and economic growth.
He said, “We say it often, that wherever Lagos goes, Nigeria and West Africa follow. With this in mind, as the government of Lagos State, we are more than ever determined to deliver on our promise to make and maintain Lagos as a safe, livable, innovative, and prosperous megacity.
“This new cable system is the latest element in the transformation of our physical infrastructure landscape. It joins a host of new roads, bridges, jetties, factories, municipal and national rail lines, and so on, being delivered by our administration and a host of partners and stakeholders across public and private sectors.”
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