A report from UK-based price comparison website — Cable, has shown that Nigerian telecom companies supposedly offer some of the cheapest mobile data subscription rates in Africa.
According to the report, Nigeria rank 11th out of 57 African countries, with an average price of $2.22 for 1 Gigabyte (GB).
Cable gathered the data for 6,313 mobile data plans in 230 countries of the world.
Highlights of the report
- Rwanda has the cheapest average price of $0.56 for 1 GB data. Hence, it ranked 1st.
- Sudan and Congo (Democratic Republic) rank second and third respectively with an average price of 1 GB data sold for $0.68 and $0.88 respectively.
- Nigeria ranks 11th on the list of 57 African countries, with an average price of $2.22 for 1GB.
- Zimbabwe has the highest average price of $75.20 for 1GB and thereby rank 57th.
- Saint Helena and Equatorial Guinea rank 55th and 56th as one of the highest average prices of 1 GB data. In both countries, 1 GB of data go for an average price of $55.47 and $65.83 respectively.
High data prices in some large African economies
- Contrary to what one might expect, South Africa has one of the most expensive data subscription rates in Africa. According to the ranking, the country occupied the 41st position because South Africans pay an average price of $7.19 for 1 GB. Note that South Africa is one of the most developed countries on the continent.
- Similarly, Algeria has an average price of $5.15 for 1 GB data, which is why the country was ranked 32nd on the list.
- Also, in Angola, 1 Gb of data goes for an average price of $7.95. The country is ranked 42nd.
Other African countries with low data prices
- Data shows that Egypt has one of the lowest average prices of $1.49 and the country is ranked 4th on the list.
- Similarly, Ghana is ranked 6th with an average price of $1.56 for 1GB.
- Likewise, Morroco as one of the biggest economies in Africa is ranked 7th on the list with an average price of $1.66 data for 1GB.
- Nigeria is ranked 11th with an average price of $2.22 for 1GB.
- Other African countries within the top 10 of low average prices of data include Sudan ($0.68), Congo Dr ($0.88), Western Sahara ($1.66), Cameroon ($1.71), Guinea ($1.94) and Burundi ($2.00).
What the statistics imply
Low data subscription rate will encourage more people to to buy and be connected to the internet. Recall that an earlier analysis by Nairametrics suggested that the more people are connected to the internet, the greater the chances for the ICT sector to contribute to the country’s GDP.
Moreover, cheap data rate is good for the Nigerian economy, especially now that many companies use the internet as a veritable for a whole lot of functions. For instance, access to internet avails small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) immense opportunities and useful information.