‘Only 39 per cent of Africans are accessible to Internet services’

Service provider, Opera, has said only 39 per cent of Africans have Internet access, compared to other parts of the world that enjoy 60 per cent penetration.  

According to the organisation, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has foisted regional inequalities on data access, resulting in increased data cost in Africa.  

Opera submitted that mobile data price in Sub-Saharan Africa remains most expensive globally, with an average cost of $6.44 per one GB when matched with Western Europe, where the same amount of data cost is as low as $2.47.

Based on this information, the Internet service company said in some African families, data consume a significant share of household income, with one GB costing up to 16 per cent of monthly salary. 

Consistent with its having assisted 150 million mobile active users in Africa access fast and affordable Internet service, in addition to further bridging the observed global gap and celebrating its 15th anniversary on the continent, Opera is gifting 150 GB of data to 150 people, totalling 22.5 terabytes of data through a competition holding in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya from December 15 to January 15, 2022.

Its representative, Jorgen Arnesen, said the contest was to bring in more ideas on how to connect more people through the company’s offerings.

His words: This week, Opera celebrates 15 years of accelerating digital adoption in Africa. With over 150 million monthly active users across the continent, the company is providing better connectivity through the data-light Opera Mini web browser. Yet, 800 million Africans still don’t use the Internet, and one GB of data costs up to 16 per cent of the average monthly income in some parts of the continent.  

“To celebrate the 15th anniversary, Opera is launching a data giveaway. Opera is asking its users to share experiences of how Opera Mini has helped them to reach new levels of connection.”

Over 50 per cent of consumers have used free data sponsored by Opera and in 2021, users spent 2.5 billion hours using Opera Mini.”

He went on: “Whether setting up a business, speaking with loved ones or embarking on an educational journey, Opera will award the most memorable 150 entries with 150 GB of free data – that’s over 8,000 free hours of browsing, over 200 hours of streaming your favourite videos and over 1,500 free hours of streaming your favourite tunes. To enter, simply like and comment Opera’s post on Facebook or Instagram, using #CelebrateWithOpera and explain why Opera is important to you.”