The arrival of the undersea fiber cables in Kenya in 2009 has revolutionized the technology and economic sectors. Kenya is one of very few countries in Africa with a comprehensive framework set up in this regard. Average national download speeds have increased from 670.89 kbps in 2009 to 3,806.03 Kbps in 2011. Further, mobile broadband speeds have also drastically increased while cost of Internet access decreased. Mobile broadband is the ability to access data, voice and video at high speeds over an Internet connection through a portable modem especially a mobile phone. Recently, Safaricom and Orange announced download speeds of up to 21Mbps on their 3G networks .
Network operators such as Safaricom are relying more and more on data to generate massive revenues. According to statistics, mobile broadband providers are making up to 19% of their revenue from mobile data services. It is predicted that mobile broadband can potentially increase national productivity and growth by up to 15%.
Subscribers are now opting to access Internet and other web based services on the go from their cell phones and other portable modems due to the convenience provided by a wide coverage of GSM/3G networks in Kenya. The low bundle rates being offered are also a motivating factor. 1Gb of data cost about Kshs. 2500 last year compared to the current rate (calculated using cheapest combinations) of Kshs. 998.
Innovation is at an all-time high with many local apps for phones being produced and sold on app stores every other day. Social and informative sites like Facebook, Twitter and the blogs are increasingly getting more mobile traffic than desktop traffic while marketing campaigns are slowly being taken to the mobile phone.
It is however disappointing to see the little attention mobile broadband services are being given in terms of research (m-research.) New focus ought to be given to mobile broadband with regards to m-commerce, apps, and other online solutions and more so, on the potential of growth and impact on the country as a whole.
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Well a small correction on average download speed.According to this http://chartsbin.com/view/2484.We are doing 138kbps nationally more similar to our East African counterparts.Your statistics may be true only in some parts but nationally the average is far much lower.Ooh this is the national average internet speed.Google has the download.It will be interesting to look at that stat too.great insight there on how the rest of the world compares.
Internet prices have gone down and speeds have increased; that’s true to an extent but in the global context, internet prices in Africa are still the highest whilst speeds the lowest. So who’s to blame for this; I believe it’s governments. Telco licenses are really expensive and such costs are transferred to consumers. Our governments should try the Finish model of free licensing for low tariff guarantees by players. Wait, I think this borders on dreaming… Foregoing short term lost revenues from licensing would create serious benefits to our economies right away.
I love the theoretical speeds of Kenya mobile broadband — 21mbps would be awesome. I needed a backup mobile device, so when Orange introduced their 3G+ modem at around KSh 3,000/=, we bought it. They looked up coverage on their map and our location was within the coverage and they confidently assured us that we would see 21mbps. Well, I didn’t really believe I would see that kind of speed, but I did hope for somewhere in the 5-10 mbps range. I got home, plugged in the modem, and checked the speed on speedtest.net. Wow! I got a blazing 0.12mbps! A couple of days later, I tested it again in a different location in the house and speedtest.net showed 2.89mbps. Better, but nowhere near 21mbps. And, I NEVER see download speeds anywhere near 2mbps — usually runs 25-75kbps.
Theory is great. I would prefer, however, for the companies to be up-front and say what we should reasonably expect in actual use. I would also prefer that they beef up their infrastructure to give the consumer really good internet access at reasonable prices.