High data prices are holding SA back

Even in cyberspace, there is a big divide between the haves and the have-nots. That comes across clearly in the latest survey of South African internet usage.

The survey, released last week by World Wide Worx and Dark Fibre Africa, suggested that the number of South Africans with access to the net is rising and now stands at 21 million, having passed the 20 million mark last year.

This year alone, that figure will grow to an estimated 22.5 million. While about half of all adults in the country are connected, the reality is that half of our people aren’t.

And, if things carry on the way they have been in the industry, especially in terms of high data prices, the chances are slim that people will become properly digitally empowered.

The survey found that internet access is directly related to income: more than 82% of people earning more than R30 000 a month are connected; but less than 30% of people earning under R2 500 monthly have access.

This gap, says technology expert Arthur Goldstuck, highlights the way lower-income South Africans are “frozen out of the internet economy”.

It is a sad reality that our data prices are among the highest in the world. Is there any real reason for that, we have to ask, especially given the fact that many countries considered “poorer” than us, or which are part of the “developing” world, manage to provide their citizens with much cheaper data?

No one these days will even argue with the fact that widespread and affordable internet access are critical drivers for the development of an economy.

We believe government needs to step in forcefully and improve access by bringing down data charges and those charged for devices with internet access.

The current situation is not only unfair, it is holding us back as a country.