Chronicle Editor
The results of the 2022 Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index have revealed that South Africa still has the fastest Internet connections in Africa, but that . While Zimbabwe wasn’t included in this survey, we can still see some of the main issues here reflected in the overall results.
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What Does This Report Tell Us?
The Internet speed and cost across 117 countries were taken into account for this report, meaning that it covers over 90% of the world’s population. One of the headline figures is that the internet quality on the African continent is sharply divided, with the speed varying widely across different countries.
South Africa remains the continent’s leader, climbing a couple of places from its position in 2021. This rise was entirely due to an improvement in the cybersecurity category, as the country fell into every other subject except this one. The biggest disappointment for South Africans was the drop of 13 places in terms of internet affordability, as they now need to work for five hours to buy mobile internet access, compared to two hours last year.
Ethiopia and Mali are among the lowest-income nations in this survey, with both outside the top 100. They show us the huge gulf that exists in some countries, as their citizens need to work for 51 minutes to get mobile internet access at a poor rate of 19 Mbps. It remains to be seen whether the Vision 2030 strategy in Zimbabwe as hoped for.
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Why Does It Matter?
One of the most worrying issues flagged up in this report is that internet users in lower-income countries need to work about three times as much as people from higher-income nations to pay for their connection. Yet, this only gives them internet access that’s three times slower than it is in richer countries. Carrying out video calls is almost impossible in many of the lowest-ranked nations on the list.
Overall, people from lower-income countries need to work for 17 minutes to afford 1 GB of the Internet with an average speed of 26 Mbps, while someone from a higher-income nation can pay for 1 GB at 75 Mbps with an average of just six minutes of work. That rate of 26 Mbps is usually fast enough to stream videos but not for a high-quality video call.
While this might not seem like an essential issue, we need to remember many people across the planet now work online or run their own online businesses. Slow internet speeds make it extremely difficult for Africans to join this growing global community and earn money through the internet.
This may also hinder progress in African countries in terms of new technology adoption, cryptocurrencies, and innovative startup companies. Without affordable, stable internet service, it’s incredibly difficult for Africans to take advantage of the many new opportunities that have opened up in the business sector for people in recent years.
On the subject of entertainment, the poor quality internet access across the continent doesn’t stop Africans from watching YouTube videos, being active on social media, or joining a streaming service to watch the latest movies and TV shows. However, the key issue here is that not everyone can afford to go online as often as they’d perhaps like to.
Turning our attention to online games, no-deposit casinos make it easier for people to play slots, roulette, and blackjack regardless of their internet speed. This list from Vegas Slots Online on some of the top international casinos like Winorama and Lucky Creek, and what the terms for claiming them are, with 40x or 50x wagering requirements common. They mention the likes of Book of Dead, Starburst, and Gonzo’s Quest as being some of the most popular slots for free play on these sites.
Users only need an average internet connection to get started, so the relative slowness of some services isn’t a big issue.
Competitive esports is an area where the speed of the gamer’s connection is extremely important. It’s almost impossible for a gamer to compete effectively in games such as League of Legends or Dota 2 without a lightning-fast internet connection. As we would expect given the better speed in South Africa, this country is the most dominant in Africa in terms of esports.
These latest numbers confirm that there’s still some way to go before we see internet equality across the planet. There are certainly some areas where the relative lack of speed in some countries doesn’t particularly. However, for Zimbabwe to take advantage of the current opportunities offered by the internet, there are other areas where more speed is definitely needed.
Online Reporter