Africa needs broadband, power expansion to bridge internet gap — report
Around 60% of people in Africa live in areas where mobile internet access is available, but don’t use it.
Africa has the potential to bridge its mobile internet usage gap if governments and businesses work together to expand broadband and electricity infrastructure, make phones more affordable, and enhance digital skills, according to a new report. The report revealed that 900 million Africans, approximately 60% of the continent's population, reside in areas with mobile internet access but do not utilize it.
Nations like Niger, Rwanda, and Uganda currently exhibit the highest usage gaps, however, reducing these disparities in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo by 50% could bring an additional 170 million people online. The Partnership for Digital Access in Africa, a non-profit focused on boosting internet connectivity, and the global telecom association GSMA co-authored the report.
It emphasized that a strategic sequence of solutions is crucial, as extending rural coverage should be a priority in certain countries, while investing in network facilities may only yield modest adoption gains where service providers and users lack dependable electricity to operate infrastructure or charge devices.
Written by urgent.news from Semafor's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
