Table 2: Mobile broadband monthly – Ghana vs Kenya (November 2011) Operator Pre Pay Bundle Price Safaricom 1.5 GB US$10.82 3 GB US$21.64 8 GB US$43.30 Vodafone Ghana 1.5 GB US$18.26 2.5 GB US$27.40 5 GB US$51.57 MTN 1 GB US$12.17 2.5 GB US$24.35 4 GB US$36.53 There are now two fairly extensive national fibre networks (MTN, Vodafone) and these will be joined by the NITA-managed Government fibre network. Wholesale pricing on the Vodafone network is based on capacity taken, not geographic distance. Most of the major urban areas have metronet fibre and the number of metronets is increasing. However, local access to the bandwidth delivered by fibre remains spotty and there are significant gaps in wireless coverage, both in urban and rural areas. There are currently no public plans to deliver Fibre-To-The-Cabinet, Fibre-To-The-Home or cable. Kenya already has Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) cable and another operator is going to roll-out Fibre-To-The-Home. These faster speed connections enable a wider range of services and applications, including video streaming and downloads. Kenya’s cheaper mobile broadband prices have seen an explosion in mobile Internet subscribers but the low number of subscribers by other means (37,356) in January 2011 reflected its higher prices until shortly after that point. By June 2011, this figure had gone up by 83%. Ghana’s figure for Internet subscribers other than by mobile is up from around 10,000 in 2002 to between in 2010. Ghana’s regulator NCA does not provide Internet figures so the data below is estimated based on data gathered in the Spring of 2011. Table 3: Internet subscribers – Ghana vs Kenya (June 2011) Type Kenya Ghana Mobile subscribers 4,189,720 1,000,000+ All other forms (fixed, 68,567 50,000+ fixed wireless, satellite and cable According to market research company Synovate’s survey in 2010 covering only urban areas in 10 regions, 17% of those sampled used the Internet yesterday. An Audienscapes survey in 2009 covering both urban and rural areas found that 4% had access to the Internet; 7% in urban areas and 1% in rural areas. 4% nationally is just under a million people.
Table 2: Mobile broadband monthly – Ghana vs Kenya (November 2011) Operator Pre Pay Bundle Price Safaricom 1.5 GB US$10.82 3 GB US$21.64 8 GB US$43.30 Vodafone Ghana 1.5 GB US$18.26 2.5 GB US$27.40 5 GB US$51.57 MTN 1 GB US$12.17 2.5 GB US$24.35 4 GB US$36.53 There are now two fairly extensive national fibre networks (MTN, Vodafone) and these will be joined by the NITA-managed Government fibre network. Wholesale pricing on the Vodafone network is based on capacity taken, not geographic distance. Most of the major urban areas have metronet fibre and the number of metronets is increasing. However, local access to the bandwidth delivered by fibre remains spotty and there are significant gaps in wireless coverage, both in urban and rural areas. There are currently no public plans to deliver Fibre-To-The-Cabinet, Fibre-To-The-Home or cable. Kenya already has Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC) cable and another operator is going to roll-out Fibre-To-The-Home. These faster speed connections enable a wider range of services and applications, including video streaming and downloads. Kenya’s cheaper mobile broadband prices have seen an explosion in mobile Internet subscribers but the low number of subscribers by other means (37,356) in January 2011 reflected its higher prices until shortly after that point. By June 2011, this figure had gone up by 83%. Ghana’s figure for Internet subscribers other than by mobile is up from around 10,000 in 2002 to between in 2010. Ghana’s regulator NCA does not provide Internet figures so the data below is estimated based on data gathered in the Spring of 2011. Table 3: Internet subscribers – Ghana vs Kenya (June 2011) Type Kenya Ghana Mobile subscribers 4,189,720 1,000,000+ All other forms (fixed, fixed wireless, satellite and cable 68,567 50,000+ According to market research company Synovate’s survey in 2010 covering only urban areas in 10 regions, 17% of those sampled used the Internet yesterday. An Audienscapes survey in 2009 covering both urban and rural areas found that 4% had access to the Internet; 7% in urban areas and 1% in rural areas. 4% nationally is just under a million people.