East Africa internet usage slightly over 25m

5-March-2012

The increasing growth of mobile phone Internet connectivity has propped up the number of internet users in East Africa growing to above 25 million in just one year.

The data indicating the growth is contained in a report that was commissioned by the Communications Commission of Kenya.

The report, detailing internet growth in the five East African countries indicates that active users have grown from about 20 million as of 2010 to more 25 million as of December 2011.

Kenya remains the biggest internet market in the region accounting for 14.3 million users.
Uganda and Tanzania come in second and third position with 5 million Internet users each. Rwanda has 0.8 users compared Burundi’s 0.2 million users.

Mr Ruhakana Rugunda, the minister of ICT, attributed the growth to increased government and private sector investments that have made internet usage a memorable experience in the region.

A recently released Quarterly Sector Statistics Report by the Communications Commission of Kenya reported that Internet growth was being largely accelerated by increasing popularity of mobile internet.

“This growth could have been accelerated by increased mobile subscriptions and the ease of accessing the service regardless of the tariff plan application,” the report read in part.

The report further indicated that the number of mobile data/internet subscriptions represented 99 per cent of the total subscriptions, an indication that the mobile handset has become a popular mode of accessing internet.

Nicholas Kalungi: The Monitor Newspaper