Global digital transformation has been the leading benefactor of the Covid-19 pandemic due to WHO protocols.
This encouraged social distancing resulting in online education, e-commerce and virtual workspace, something government agencies had shied away from for ages.
As a result of the pandemic, 51 per cent of the world’s population has access to mobile internet translating to an increase of 225 million since the end of 2019.
According to the recently released The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2021 Report about 3.8 billion of the world’s population lack access to mobile phones due to lack of broadband connectivity including lack of awareness of the internet and its benefits, lack of literacy and the required skills, affordability, lack of perceived relevance, and safety and security concerns.
The survey was carried out in eight Low Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) in Algeria, Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Sub-Saharan African and the Pacific island have seen the biggest mobile coverage in the world.
While people in rural areas are increasingly using mobile internet, there still remains a significant rural-urban gap.
Kenya is amongst the countries that have recorded significant progress in the rural-urban mobile ownership gap at 37 per cent up from 24 per cent in 2018.
Others include Nigeria and Guatemala.
Smartphone ownership in rural areas has also increased significantly in India, Kenya and Nigeria over the last two years.
Currently, 58 per cent of urban and 45 per cent of the rural population in Kenyan own smartphones up from 50 per cent and 30 per cent respectively in 2018.
Additionally, the report states that a combination of increased rural coverage, awareness of mobile internet, decreases in the cost of entry-level smartphones and smart feature phones, as well as innovative financing schemes and payment models available to low-income segments, are likely to have contributed to the changes observed in these countries.
In terms of gender, women in LMICs are still 15 per cent less likely to use mobile internet than men.
This can be attributed to obvious reasons such as different spending habits by gender.
A study by the Wharton School of Business titled “Men Buy, Women Shop” states that, unlike men, women generally find shopping as a recreational activity as they first have to ensure the children are provided with basic needs, followed by repaying debts as a priority.
This notwithstanding, the gender gap in mobile internet has continued to narrow.
It is reported that in 2020, the global data per user reached more than 6 GB per month – double the data usage for 2018 due to data-intensive activities, such as video calling, music streaming and watching videos online.
At the peak of the pandemic lockdown in 2020, the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Sports, Culture and heritage set aside Sh100 million (US$944,287) from the Sports Fund to artists, actors and musicians during the Covid-19 pandemic so they may continue to entertain through TV, radio and the internet.
The increase in mobile connectivity is mostly reported in urban areas compared to rural.
In terms of age, people above 35 years of age are more likely to be unconnected to mobile internet.
Other contributing factors include the level of education where a majority of those unconnected are said not to have completed primary education.
According to The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2021 Report, the low level of connectivity in rural areas is a result of lower literacy levels and information campaigns not reaching the last mile.
In Kenya, 89 per cent of the urban population have access to mobile internet compared to 76 per cent in rural areas.
This is an 11 per cent and 25 per cent urban-rural positive increase from 2017.
In Kenya, 59 per cent of mobile users are aware of mobile internet out of which 27 per cent reported barriers.
Further, the report state that the most popular top five mobile internet use cases include; instant messaging, social networking and voice calls, watching free online videos, and listening to music.
The bottom five uses of mobile internet use cases are; access information for education, access to Health services, order of purchase of goods or services, online banking, and lastly mobile money.
Yes, mobile money is the lowest as its usage is sporadic and occasional, once a month when we need to pay bills and send money upcountry.
Nevertheless, women are reported to be more likely to use mobile to access education or health services, but not financial services or access to information on products and services.
Kenyans reported affordability, literacy and skills, and relevance of mobile data as key barriers at 47 per cent, 21 per cent and 13 per cent in urban population, and 40 per cent, 29 per cent and 10 per cent in rural population respectively.
The report indicates that the affordability of internet-enabled handsets is worsening in all regions, except Sub-Saharan Africa where the median cost of a handset as a share of monthly GDP per capita fell from 29 per cent to 26 per cent, continuing the downward trend seen since 2017.
This is further boosted by an increase in an entry-level internet handset.
Global digitization has indeed opened up the global space as access to information and services through mobile phones has transformed lives and accelerated sustainable development.
While we celebrate this win, it is important to remember that digitization can intensify inequality as those unconnected will be left behind.
In conclusion, policymakers and Telco’s are therefore urged to shift focus from a traditional infrastructure-focused mobile approach to a people-centric approach that tackles the barriers to mobile connectivity.
Felgona Ochieng is a Governance and WASH Communication Specialist
