A number of reasons make Kenya have one of the lowest percentage internet usage, among its African and world peers.
None of the reasons has to do with the penetration of internet access to the remote places of Kenya. Without further ado, here are the major reasons that make Kenya have pathetic statistics when it comes to actual utilization of its fiber capacity.
1. It literally costs a limb to hook up to 3G internet services offered by safaricom, which is the largest telecom company in Kenya. This means that, if you wanted to spend day watching YouTube videos, you can as well forget about that dream.
2. The fiber network in the city is non-existed. More than three firms like safaricom, Access Kenya, Zuku and Jamii Telecom have fiber networks around Nairobi, Mombasa and some other towns. The problem is that, all those networks cover the same location, so you have a place with three fiber cables, while the rest of the locations have nothing. In the end, a business or person can only hook up to one cable, and the rest are just redundant, in that case.
3. The cost of fiber is low, but it the infrastructure is not available to those who would afford it. The only business model that services in Kenya is mass appeal. Mpesa, Equity Bank, Naivas Supermarket, Nakumatt, Royal Media all know something about mass appeal, and it’s a pity to confirm that as far as internet goes, its only Airtel Kenya that seems to know this, but they loose the battle on the price front. Of course, it’s understandable. Delivering internet over 3G is not for the faint hearted. You can as well say, it is not for companies that are not ready to stomach the cost.
4. The efforts towards 4G are being thwarted by the delay for switching over from analogue TV to digital TV. Also, Safaricom prefers to build its cable network and does not see a demand for 4G.
Why internet Usage in Kenya is still low
None of the reasons has to do with the penetration of internet access to the remote places of Kenya. Without further ado, here are the major reasons that make Kenya have pathetic statistics when it comes to actual utilization of its fiber capacity.
1. It literally costs a limb to hook up to 3G internet services offered by safaricom, which is the largest telecom company in Kenya. This means that, if you wanted to spend day watching YouTube videos, you can as well forget about that dream.
2. The fiber network in the city is non-existed. More than three firms like safaricom, Access Kenya, Zuku and Jamii Telecom have fiber networks around Nairobi, Mombasa and some other towns. The problem is that, all those networks cover the same location, so you have a place with three fiber cables, while the rest of the locations have nothing. In the end, a business or person can only hook up to one cable, and the rest are just redundant, in that case.
3. The cost of fiber is low, but it the infrastructure is not available to those who would afford it. The only business model that services in Kenya is mass appeal. Mpesa, Equity Bank, Naivas Supermarket, Nakumatt, Royal Media all know something about mass appeal, and it’s a pity to confirm that as far as internet goes, its only Airtel Kenya that seems to know this, but they loose the battle on the price front. Of course, it’s understandable. Delivering internet over 3G is not for the faint hearted. You can as well say, it is not for companies that are not ready to stomach the cost.
4. The efforts towards 4G are being thwarted by the delay for switching over from analogue TV to digital TV. Also, Safaricom prefers to build its cable network and does not see a demand for 4G.
Why internet Usage in Kenya is still low
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