Kenya’s internet is ranked among the most strongest in Africa in a report by American firm–Internet Society.
The country is ranked ninth, among the 54 countries covered in the report.
Infrastructure, security and performance were among the key parameters used in ranking countries
The survey looked also looked at market readiness, which is the ability of the market to self-regulate and provide affordable prices to end-users by maintaining a diverse and competitive market.
“A resilient internet connection is one that maintains an acceptable level of service in the face of faults and challenges to normal operation,” the firm notes in a statement released on Wednesday.
According to the Internet Society’s Pulse Platform, Kenya ranks high in infrastructure which is essential for connecting underserved communities and encouraging economic growth and innovation.
Kenya's overall score was 48 per cent with (56% in performance), (52 % in infrastructure), (43% in security) and 42 per cent in market readiness.
Official data shows mobile broadband subscriptions gained by 0.53 per cent to stand at 26.90 million last year, indicating an increased demand and uptake of higher internet speeds by subscribers.
According to the Communication Authority, there are at least nine internet subscription companies or operators in the country.
Top three in market are Safaricom (37% market share), Wananchi Group (29.2%) and Jamii Teleccomunication which has a marketshare of 18.9 per cent.
South Africa tops in the continent with an overall score of 69 per cent.
In East Africa, Kenya trails Rwanda with an overall score of 49 per cent.
Rwanda has a strong performance in infrastructure (61%), performance(55%), security(43%) and market readiness(38%).
“The internet plays a critical role in society today and the Covid-19 pandemic has further underlined the importance of reliable internet connectivity for everyone. Unfortunately, not all countries have reliable internet infrastructure,” says the firm.
Low-income countries often have under-provisioned networks and lack both robust cable infrastructure and redundant interconnection systems.
In these countries or regions, the likelihood of internet outages occurring is much higher than elsewhere.
