While speaking at the recently ended MTN ICT Expo at Mestil Hotel in Kampala, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Aminah Zawedde said that the Ministry and telecom companies are working on proposals to reduce the cost of internet and smart devices. Currently, when compared to Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania —Uganda stands on top with the most expensive internet —with the average price of 1GB of mobile data [as of 2023] at USD$1.11 (approx. UGX5,000), according to the Global Digital Report compiled by Meltwater, a global media monitoring firm, in collaboration with other data firms like Statista.
The high cost of the internet could partly be responsible for the vast number of citizens unconnected to the internet. According to the Global Digital Report, 35 million Ugandans (approx. 73% of the country’s population) don’t access the internet. Uganda, Burundi (88%), South Sudan (87%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (72%), and Tanzania (68%) are the top countries with the highest percentage of people unconnected to the internet in the East African region.
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), says internet penetration which is still below global standards has been attributed to the cost of smartphones (which is indeed true) —while the other reason according to Angela Wamola, Director of sub-Saharan Africa at GSMA, the International Association of Telecom Operators, “buying data remains beyond the household budget.”
According to data available, the high cost of internet connection, coupled with its wavering reliability and poor governance have kept it out of reach for many that need it, reducing the internet to just an entertainment medium with few making constructive use of it. Mostly students, youth, and SME owners continue to grapple with high internet costs despite the growing dependence on connection for daily economic activities.
Uganda recognizes ICT as the driver of the digital transformation of its economy. Indeed, many publicly available studies have proven that digitization and ICT are essential drivers of economic growth in today’s world. Yet, the internet, the anchor of digitization, remains inaccessible to many, despite interventions meant to make it cheaper and faster to drive economic growth.
Without a doubt, telecommunications companies, MTN and Airtel are doing their best to see that no citizen is left behind in this digital economy. Working with companies such as itel Mobile who are known for manufacturing budget-friendly high-quality entry-level devices to accelerate smartphone penetration, they provide a free 3GB monthly data bundle for three months to buyers of the phones. In addition, all the devices enjoy a 100% data bonus on every data bundle purchased for the first 3 months.
However, industry experts say to support telecommunications industry initiatives and make smartphones, and internet services more accessible and affordable to customers, the government needs to take some appropriate steps.
Industry experts have tasked the government to reduce import duties on smartphones to lower overall prices for prospective customers especially those in rural areas, subsidize the cost of smartphones to attract first-time users into the data market, and urge telecommunication service providers (ISPs) to adopt friendlier data bundles, among other reasons.
Meanwhile, the government in August last year, through the National Information Technology Authority (NITA)-Uganda announced the reduction in the price of internet bandwidth for Government MDAs to USD$35 (approx. UGX130,000) from USD$70 (approx. UGX260,000).
“We’ve been working hard to consistently lower the cost of internet bandwidth in Uganda especially for government institutions since they provide onward services to ordinary citizens and the private sector,” Dr. Hatwib Mugasa, the Executive Director of NITA-U said at the time of the announcement.
With this bold move, NITA-U drives substantial savings on the government’s communication budget, catalyzes the adoption of e-government services, and deepens digitization while paving the way for improved access to online services for citizens.
