Kenyans have cited affordability as main barrier to mobile broadband adoption with many fearing it might lock them out of essential government services now shifting online.
- •Currently over 5000 services have been moved online through the ecitizen platform, plans for more digitization is on the pipeline.
- •The impact of increasing excise duty from 15 per cent to 20 per cent in the 2022 Finance Act has been a reduction in data traffic and an increase in the cost of purchasing a device and using mobile internet.
- •GSMA in the 2024 Kenya Digital Economy Report notes that the 20 per cent excise duty on airtime was the largest imposed in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Sector-specific taxes on consumption account for a higher proportion of mobile ownership costs in Kenya than in other countries in the region. This means it is likely that the cost of broadband services is higher in Kenya than in other countries in the region. This disadvantages Kenyans in the digital economy as they are not able to compete effectively in this era of digital trade,” notes GSMA in the report.
The survey indicates that Kenyans use mobile internet for a wide range of purposes. The most popular are messaging and communications, followed by video streaming, gaming and news. Access to government services is also growing among the activities for mobile internet usage.
From the several low- and middle-income countries surveyed since 2017 to understand the barriers to broadband adoption among the unconnected, including Kenya. For those who are aware of broadband services but are not using them, affordability has been persistently cited as the most important factor stopping them from using mobile internet.
In 2021, 44 per cent of the unconnected sampled from several low- and middle-income countries which Kenya is included reported affordability as the most important barrier, followed by 24 per cent reporting skills and literacy.
According to GSMA, issue of affordability also locked out 57 per cent from broadband access in 2022 compared to the year 2023 where 52 per cent of the sampled population was locked from access due to high connectivity charges.
“Additionally, the cost of mobile broadband in Kenya remains above the international target for the price of an entry-level broadband subscription, set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) at less than 2 per cent of the GNI per capita and less than 2 per cent of average income for the poorest (bottom) 40 per cent of the population.”
“Based on a monthly data plan of 2GB, affordability in Kenya remains above the international target at 3.1 per cent. Mobile connectivity is less affordable for the poorest 40 per cent of the population at 7.6 per cent of the average income. For the poorest 20 per cent of the population, the cost is more than 10 per cent of the average income.”
Speaking during report launch, Ministry of Information, Communications and The Digital Economy (MICDE) Cabinet Secretary Dr. Margaret Ndung’u underscored opportunities presented by digitalization of the economy as a way of addressing many challenges.
“The government is equally keen to ensure that the legal and regulatory environment is responsive to the prevailing realities of our fast-changing environment.”
