While such progress has been unquestionably considerable, significant challenges persist that if not adequately addressed threaten Africa’s ability to fully harness the potential of digital technologies.
Around 75% of Africa’s population was unconnected to the internet as of 2018, according to the ITU . The overall availability and reach of high-speed broadband networks, while improved, remains a major hurdle to more inclusive adoption of broadband, creating a growing access gap between African countries, between urban and rural areas, and between Africa and the rest of the world.
The magnitude of these access gaps is even starker if the definition of broadband is expanded to reflect technology evolution. As more countries look to 5G networks and high-speed, unlimited fiber access, the expectation of what constitutes minimum levels of download speeds is evolving, to accommodate adequate end-user experience in the use of cloud services and new applications built around blockchain, real-time analytics or AI.
On this score (and using 10 Mbps as minimum access speeds), nearly 90% of the African population was still unconnected to high-speed broadband networks as of 2018. And despite a notable increase in the number of 4G networks, slightly more than 60% of the African population was still not covered by 4G technology.
The affordability of internet connectivity is another significant obstacle to last mile broadband adoption in the African continent. Less than half of the population covered by existing 3G/4G networks is actively connected to broadband networks, largely due to the high cost of access .
While internet access prices have been in broad decline across Africa, research by the Alliance for Affordable internet shows that access to the internet remains unaffordable for most Africans. In at least a quarter of African markets, 1GB of data costs more than 10% of the monthly average income.
Such affordability constraints, combined with low levels of literacy and a lack of reliable energy to power devices have stunted the growth of more inclusive broadband in Africa and made it more difficult for the continent to fully maximize the benefits afforded by high-speed broadband infrastructure. They now pose a fundamental economic challenge, retarding government ability to diversify historically resource-based economies and create new pools of private sector jobs.
Accelerating last mile connectivity adoption has thus become a vital component of transforming African economies and connecting Africa’s unconnected has gained new urgency.
Digital tools such as AI, big data or cloud services may offer boundless potential for transformation, but at their core, they are bandwidth-hungry, low-latency applications, potentially highly dependent on the availability and reliability of the broadband pipe that enables them, and their ultimate impact a function of the scale of end-user adoption of last mile connectivity.
In effect, constrained broadband growth poses a considerable risk to Africa’s ability to fully partake in the fourth industrial revolution.
More inclusive access to broadband also creates a virtuous, nearly self-sustaining cycle that unlocks new pathways of economic activity. As more people and enterprises adopt broadband connectivity, demand for digital consumer and public services expands and is addressed through a wide range of tools and platforms, from e-commerce to mobile agriculture and smart cities.
In addition, advanced technologies such as AI and natural language interfaces help simplify the end-user experience and address digital literacy hurdles, thus making internet usage more accessible at a basic level.
In a continuous cycle of societal digital transformation, this increased demand in digital platforms, in turn, boosts demand for additional connectivity.
