Kenyans Work 92 Times More Compared to Israelis to Afford Internet: “Not Affordable by Global Standards”

• Kenya’s internet access and affordability were ranked 78th globally in the 2022 Digital Quality of Life Survey.
• The report showed that Kenyans have to work 92 times more than Israelis to access affordable internet
• Mobile internet in the country ranked higher at 94th globally compared to fixed broadband internet service

Kenyans have to work more to access affordable internet, according to the 2022 Digital Quality of Life Index.

The report released by Surfshark showed Kenyans work 92 times more compared to Israelis to access quality digital life.

Kenya internet affordability

Internet affordability in Kenya ranked 93rd globally after improvements in 2021.

“Residents can buy 1GB of mobile internet in Kenya for as cheap as 7 minutes 34 seconds of work per month, 13 times more than in South Africa.

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“However, compared to Israel, which has the most affordable mobile internet on the planet (5s per 1GB), Kenyans work 92 times more to afford the same mobile internet,” read the report in part.

The survey stated that fixed broadband costs Kenyans around 8 hours and 12 minutes per month off their working time.

“To afford it, Kenyans must work 25 times more than Israeli citizens, for whom the most affordable package costs only 19 minutes of work monthly,” continued the report.

In 2021, broadband became more affordable in Kenya, making people work 4 hours 36 minutes less to afford the service.

Digital wellbeing in Kenya

The September 2022 survey ranked Kenya 78th up from 79th position recorded in 2021, in terms of digital wellbeing.

A total of 117 countries were evaluated based on the fundamentals of digital wellbeing, internet quality, e-infrastructure, e-security, and affordability.

In Africa, the country ranked 5th in terms of digital well-being, after South Africa at position one, followed by Mauritius, Morocco and Tunisia.

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“Out of the five fundamental digital life pillars, Kenya’s worst score is for internet quality, ranking 106th globally. While the best is for e-infrastructure (61st). Kenya’s e-security comes 74th, as well as e-government and internet affordability 93rd.”

The rising global inflation affected the cost of fixed broadband internet, making it less affordable.

Internet speed

The report further stated that Kenya’s mobile internet ranked higher than fixed broadband globally, operating at 24 Mbps/s (94th globally).

Fixed broadband internet clocked 19.4 Mbps/s in the global ranking.

Kenya’s mobile internet speed improved by 14.5% (3.1 Mbps), as fixed broadband speed grew by 8.5% (1.5 Mbps).

Internet prices in Kenya

In related news, TUKO.co.ke reported internet prices could go down amidst increased supply by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as witnessed in the first quarter of 2022.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) data showed Kenyans used 3,386.19 billion bits per second (Gbps) of internet bandwidth from March 2022.

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Over 7,505.46 Gbps bandwidth remained unutilised as companies scrambled for the booming market as work at home and more businesses continue to sprout.

Source: TUKO.co.ke