The greatest barrier to extending internet use in South Africa, and indeed in most African countries, is the cost of data.<\/p>\n
In South Africa one gigabyte of data on mobile networks \u2013 the only means of accessing the internet for most \u2013 is R149 (pre-paid).<\/p>\n
This means that for millions of people in the country data is a luxury.<\/p>\n
So when mobile operators start giving some of this valuable commodity for free it warrants attention.<\/p>\n
From July, the country\u2019s third-largest mobile services provider Cell C started offering some services such as Facebook and Wikipedia for free<\/a> without paying for the data. In the telecoms industry this is called zero-rating<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is not the only example of zero-rating in South Africa. In September, the country\u2019s second largest operator MTN announced a deal<\/a> for its on-demand internet video service FrontRow<\/a>. MTN now allows streaming of videos without data charges.<\/p>\n This is not insignificant, as an hour-long television programme can use over 300 megabytes of data.<\/p>\n Getting something for free is generally a good thing \u2013 at least for MTN Front Row and Cell C customers.<\/p>\n And some of the proponents of zero-rating see it as a way of addressing the high data costs for the poor.<\/p>\n Cell C\u2019s free internet services package is the result of a global initiative<\/a> launched in 2013 by Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, which aims to connect \u201cthe next five billion\u201d.<\/p>\n Ebele Okobi, Facebook\u2019s London-based head of public policy in Africa, says that zero-rating is a response to a crisis in Africa where growth in internet access and use is far too slow<\/a>.<\/p>\n But could it also be a bad thing? Yes, it could. Facebook\u2019s initiative has already caused controversy<\/a> in other countries.<\/p>\n The internet is and has always been a network of networks. Delivering the content and services involves thousands of organisations.<\/p>\n They are usually private businesses, in a complex collaboration that allows digital data to travel between the billions of devices that connect to the internet.<\/p>\n One of the internet\u2019s design principles is that carriers of this data don\u2019t discriminate between different messages or content they carry.<\/p>\n More than ten years ago the term \u201cnetwork neutrality\u201d<\/a> was coined to describe this principle.<\/p>\n As a concept, it is older than that. Postal services have embodied similar principles for more than a century and phone services also do.<\/p>\n In communication networks, addresses, phone numbers and envelopes are generally treated equally by those who own or control the physical or virtual networks \u2013 without discrimination as to the content of the letters or calls, or who sent them.<\/p>\n Zero-rating involves allowing data from some sources to pass through the system without charge while other sources have to pay. MTN is zero-rating its own service.<\/p>\n Cell C is zero-rating Facebook and a few others. In both cases, the mobile operators \u2013 part of this network of networks that deliver the internet \u2013 are breaking with the principle of net neutrality.<\/p>\n In some countries<\/a> \u2013 the US, Chile and the Netherlands for example \u2013 this would not be allowed because net neutrality is enshrined in law or regulations.<\/p>\n Even where it has not been regulated, it has been a norm on the internet.<\/p>\n This norm is now under attack, often by the telephone and mobile companies that are reluctant to remain the \u201cdumb pipes\u201d carrying content for other providers.<\/p>\n What happens if those who control or own key networks in the internet break with the principle of net neutrality?<\/p>\n There are three things that could happen once the principle is abandoned, all of which should be of concern to internet users.<\/p>\n First, it could lead to a much less diverse and open internet. One of the most obvious features of the internet is its diversity and this rests on the equal access to users that websites share.<\/p>\n Even so, researchers have demonstrated<\/a> that there may be a powerful \u201cwinner-takes-all\u201d tendency online that abandoning net neutrality would only exacerbate.<\/p>\n Discriminating between services leaves mobile and fixed-line operators picking winners among internet products and services.<\/p>\n In Nigeria, MTN has a service called GoodyBag<\/a>, offering customers social networking services in different packages.<\/p>\n This discriminates against other similar services and also makes it harder for a new (and possibly better) service to compete.<\/p>\n Second, it could mark a substantial shift in power to the telcos and other owners of the pipes that carry the internet from those that provide internet services.<\/p>\n In South Africa there are few telcos and many internet services providers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to imagine that VIDI<\/a>, for example, a South African video on demand service very similar to MTN\u2019s Front Row, can compete against MTN since it is owned by a media company and not a mobile operator with access to pipes.<\/p>\n Third, it is not difficult to imagine a two-tier internet emerging: the general internet that we have known, remaining available for those that can afford it and an \u2018internet-lite\u2019 for the rest with a limited choice of services.<\/p>\n Even so, when we look at the problem from the point of view of an internet user on low income, an affordable \u201cinternet-lite\u201d may be better than nothing.<\/p>\n Partly because of this, some researchers<\/a> have argued that rather than worry about net neutrality<\/a> each case should be looked at separately and judged on its overall impact and benefits.<\/p>\n Free-as-in-beer is not the same as free-as-in-freedom. Affordability is still the major issue facing the internet in South African and other African countries.<\/p>\n But the freedoms of the internet \u2013 its diversity, plurality and openness \u2013 matter also. In the face of significant opposition to internet.org<\/a> in India, Zuckerberg said<\/a>:<\/p>\n These two principles \u2013 universal connectivity and net neutrality \u2013 can and must co-exist.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n African regulators and policymakers must manage that co-existence.<\/p>\n It\u2019s official: you need at least 10Mbps to be satisfied<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The best broadband connections money can buy in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nNet neutrality versus free services<\/h3>\n
Should we care?<\/h3>\n
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More on Internet access<\/h3>\n