Broadband in SA: another scathing report

New United Nations report shows what consumers have been saying for years: SA is lagging behind in broadband

Numerous reports over the last few months have shown something which many consumers have been saying for years: That South Africa’s broadband services are expensive and that local speeds are not up to scratch when compared to international standards.

A recent Department of Communications (DoC) international peer benchmarking study on telecoms costs and service quality revealed that South Africa had the slowest broadband speeds of all surveyed countries.  It was further found that the country’s Internet tariffs were consistently high, that uncapped broadband plans were not commonplace and that the level of local Internet access is relatively low and shows slower growth than in the other countries.

A broadband quality study by The University of Oxford and the University of Oviedo’s Department of Applied Economics released in October found that the quality of South Africa’s broadband services is well below international standards.  The study further revealed that local Internet users are not well equipped to take advantage of the most common web applications available on the Internet.

The latest publication to slate the state of broadband and Internet access in the country is the United Nation’s Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAC) Information Economy Report 2009.  The report monitors global trends in information and communication technologies (ICTs) as they affect developing countries.

The UNCTAD revealed that there are now more than 10 times as many mobile subscriptions as fixed lines in Africa, and more than 20 times as many in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most African nations are however failing to keep up with global trends in the use of broadband Internet, which is critical for meeting many economic and social development objectives.

Mobile telephony most widespread

The past few years have witnessed a remarkable growth in mobile telecommunications in Africa. Between 2003 and 2008, the continent saw the number of mobile subscriptions surge from 54 million to almost 350 million - an increase of close to 550%.

In 2008, Gabon, Seychelles, and South Africa boasted almost 100 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. In North Africa, the average penetration stood at almost two thirds of the population, and for Africa as a whole, it was over one third. Growth is expected to remain robust.

Africa needs better broadband connectivity

In contrast, African countries are lagging behind other developing regions in Internet use and even more in broadband connectivity. This is partly due to the lack of fixed telecommunications infrastructure. Most other developing regions boast a broadband penetration ten times higher than Africa´s.

Moreover, broadband use in Africa is highly concentrated, with five countries accounting for 90% of all broadband subscriptions (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia). These economies are also among those that have achieved the greatest improvements since 2003 in broadband connectivity.

There is furthermore a huge gap in broadband speed. The report says urgent attention is needed to address this situation and bring the continent more fully online. To make things worse, there is also a "broadband price divide": the cost of using fixed broadband tends to be the highest in low-income countries.

Of the 20 countries with the world´s most expensive broadband access fees, 14 are in sub-Saharan Africa. Even within Africa, the price divide is huge. While monthly access to broadband services cost on average more than R10,000 in Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic and Swaziland, subscribers need to pay less than R100 in Egypt and Tunisia.

Critical for connecting Africa with the global economy are international fibre-optic cables. Sub-Saharan Africa has been largely excluded from the mesh of such cables. A number of initiatives are finally coming to fruition, however. For example, SEACOM, a cable linking the east coast of Africa with Europe and India, became operational in July 2009, and the East African Marine System (TEAMS) cable, which will link Kenya with the United Arab Emirates, is on track for completion later in 2009.

South Africa

According to the report South Africa has the third highest penetration of mobile subscriptions in Africa behind Reunion and Gabon.  South Africa was also third in terms of ‘increased penetration of broadband subscribers’, but did not feature in the top 10 when it came to overall Internet users. 

South Africa showed a compound mobile subscriber growth rate of 21.45% per annum from 2003 to 2007/2008, with a mobile penetration rate of 97.54% in 2008.  This is well within world standards and compares favorably with most developed nations. 

When it came to Internet penetration rates South Africa did not fare well.  According to the report the country showed a compound Internet subscriber growth rate of 12.98% over the last five years and has only 3.22 million Internet users.  This constitutes an Internet penetration rate of 6.59%, well below developed economies and lower than many developing economies.

South Africa did not fare much better in terms of fixed broadband subscribers.  South Africa only had 1.3 million fixed broadband subscribers in 2008, and with a broadband penetration rate of 2.67% the country does not compete favourably against the developed world.

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