Internet access: Mauritius 8th in the world

The 2017 report of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (AAI) highlights that Internet accessibility is random in Africa. Of the 58 territories analysed on the continent by the international organisation, 51.7%, or 28 countries, offer access to the Web. It turns out that only about ten of them offer relatively good access to the Internet.

The index produced by the IAA does not provide a direct measure of accessibility, but it does give indications based on a rigorous analysis of communication infrastructures, according to indicators of affordability and Internet access.

Some gaps

For companies and organisations around the world, financing and trading in Africa remains a source of growth. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) grew by 7% annually, with 181 deals, although the value fell by 25% to US$19.1 billion, according to the IAA report.

"For many years, Internet access has been considered affordable only when 500 megabytes can be purchased at less than 5% of the average monthly income. However, when we examined this issue in depth last year, we discovered several shortcomings," the IAA points out.

Firstly, the international organisation points out that a 500 megabyte connection "is a poor indication of internet use". Instead, "one gigabyte is a more realistic monthly allowance," says the IAA.

"Secondly, the benchmark of 5% of monthly income excludes the majority of those who can access the internet in many countries," it continues in its report. It adds that "2% or less of monthly income is preferable". "Our research has shown that when prices fall to this level, more income groups, often including the bottom 20%, are able to get online," the IAA says.