Telecom
Mobile Technology Critical to Connect Africa’s Unconnected
Market research shows that in terms of internet penetration rates, not only is Africa behind global counterparts, but there are still glaring gaps between countries on the continent.
Kegan Peffer, CEO of tech start-up, Adoozy Power, said according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, more than 520 million Africans were connected to the internet by 2021 – that’s 40% of all Africans, considerably less than global standards.
Additionally, Peffer said Statista reported in January this year that Morocco enjoys the highest internet penetration with 84.1% of its population connected, while at the other end of the scale just 7.1% of people in the Central African Republic can access the internet.
Only two Sub-Saharan countries feature in the top five countries – Seychelles with a 79% penetration, and South Africa with 68.2% of its population connected.
“What is striking, however, is that in 2021, over 60% of South Africans accessed the internet using mobile devices,” said Peffer. “Considering the affordability and accessibility of mobile devices, this is not surprising. However, we also have to consider that mobile is leading the way due to the ever-increasing need for consumers to connect, work and transact on-the-go.
“Mobile technologies have the most critical role to play in connecting the unconnected. On a continent where 77% of the population is under thirty-five years of age, the needs and preferences of the digital-native generations, who cannot be separated from their phones, will ensure the ongoing dominance of mobile internet penetration.”
The Adoozy Power executive added that as Africa’s trailblazing FinTech solutions have already proven, there’s limitless potential to solve intractable socio-economic problems.
The continent also has an opportunity to leapfrog costly infrastructural development and start providing services and products to non-consumers. But all of this depends on connectivity, added Peffer.
He explained the link between the issue of Africa’s connectivity and the World Wi-Fi Day.
“Connecting the unconnected is the charter of the Wireless Broadband Alliance which celebrates World Wi-Fi Day on 20 June 2022. This worldwide initiative brings together countries and cities, government agencies and Big Tech, as well as fixed and mobile operators and technology solutions providers to address the digital divide, increase access to affordable internet and provide a robust digital ecosystem to support connected governments, businesses and consumers,” he added.
Peffer continued: “World Wi-Fi Day reminds us of the transformative power of digital and the way it shapes modern work and play. Our lives are on-the-go – students sit in the public park and participate in their ‘university tutorials; we consult our tele-health practitioner enroute to a business meeting; we increasingly shop online from anywhere, consume media while we are out and about and make bookings at any time that works for us. Every year, millions more Africans get connected through new mobile devices which rapidly become indispensable to them. ”
The World Economic Forum estimates that urban populations in Africa could triple by 2050. As the youngest region of the world, connecting the unconnected is an imperative to unlock the incredible potential of the continent.
“The future is bright for Africa as government, NGOs, and private and public organisations race to close the digital divide and keep Africans connected,” Peffer concluded.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) is planning to encourage geo-political regions that grants zero charges for ‘Right of Way’ approvals as well not implementing arbitrary charges on telecommunications base stations in their regions with zero tariff.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON disclosed this to Nigeria CommunincationsWeek against the backdrop of incessant closure of base stations in some states.
He said that operators believe that the way out of this arbitrary charges and high cost of RoW approvals is regional tariffs.
“Operators are advocating for a regional tariff which means that geographical regions of Nigeria where cost of doing business for telecommunications operators is extremely high will attract high tariff compared to regions where there is low operating cost.
“Our advocacy of regional tariff is not based on a particular state but on regions. As at today there are regions where we have zero cost of “Right of Way” and low cost of doing business. Tariffs should reflect on operating environment. This means that national rate plan should consider high and low cost of doing business.
“If this is implemented, in a long run we could witness some regions having zero tariff because operational cost in such regions are friendly to operators,” he said.
It would be recalled that Kogi State recently shut down some operators’ base stations on account of local levies which raises the call for discriminatory tariff among geographical locations.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has hit back at Meta Platforms Inc, warning the tech giant that its threat to exit Nigeria will not erase its legal responsibilities or liabilities under the Nigerian law.
Meta said earlier today, May 3, that it “may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”
Meta’s warning came after it lost a legal bid last week to overturn a ₦220 million fine imposed by the FCCPC for violations of data protection and consumer rights laws.
Reacting to Meta’s threat, FCCPC, in a statement on Saturday, May 3, described Meta’s statement as “a calculated” move aimed at “inducing negative public reaction and potentially pressuring the FCCPC to reconsider its decision.”
FCCPC said that Meta threatening to leave Nigeria does not absolve the company of liabilities for the outcome of a judicial process.
“These infringements included denying Nigerians the right to control their personal data, transferring and sharing Nigerian user data without authorisation, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to users in other jurisdictions and abusing their dominant market position by forcing unfair privacy policies,” FCCPC wrote on X.
“Interestingly, Meta had been fined for similar breaches in Texas ($1.5b) and only recently was asked to pay $1.3 Billion for violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules.
Elsewhere in India, South Korea, France and Australia, Meta had faced varying penalties for similar breaches. But Meta never resorted to the blackmail of threatening to exit those countries. They obeyed.”
Meta may shut down its Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in protest against the substantial fines imposed by multiple government agencies.
The tech giant has been ordered to pay nearly $300 million in fines in Africa’s most populous nation, following regulatory demands which Meta described as “unrealistic.”
In July 2024, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), imposed a $220 million fine on Meta for allegedly discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.
The commission stated that Meta had failed to engage a Data Protection Compliance Organisation and had not submitted a Nigeria Data Protection Regulation audit report for two consecutive years.
Similarly, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), demanded $37.5 million over unapproved advertising, while the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), announced a $32.8 million fine for an alleged data privacy breach.
Meta challenged the decisions at the Federal High Court in Abuja but was unsuccessful, as the court upheld the fines in a ruling delivered last week.
The court directed the company to comply with payment by the end of June, but Meta has indicated it may not do so, according to the BBC.
“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the company stated in court documents.
Responding to the NDPC’s assertion that Meta’s data processing could expose Nigerian users to health and financial risks, the company said the agency had failed to “properly interpret the laws guiding data privacy.”
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