South Africans have been taking multiple hits of late when it comes to the cost of living, with the rising price of petrol in recent months being one of the latest aspects to lament.

The same goes for connectivity, as the cost of internet access whether it be a fixed line or mobile solution being exorbitantly high in SA. Adding credence to the way many South Africans feel is a new report from Cable.co.uk on the price of broadband globally.

For us in SA it does not make for great reading, with the country ranking 170th globally. For context the higher the ranking in this study the more expensive the internet.

Cable.co.uk looked at 41 different broadband packages locally and while it does not divulge which is the best or indeed which is the worst value, it does note that we are paying on average $72.38 (~R1 052) per month on a broadband package, although the precise speed of the line is not detailed, nor is whether it pertains to uncapped and unshaped lines.

Either way, it does not paint a great picture in terms of cost of broadband access in South Africa.

Cable.co.uk says its report analysed 3 356 fixed-line broadband deals in 220 countries between 19th January 2022 and 30th March 2022 to come up with its findings.

Looking a bit more closely at the report, some of the interesting elements pertain to other African countries, with Sudan ranking third globally. It is important to point out though that although the cost of internet access is cheap, penetration is relatively low, which means there are large swathes of the population without broadband availability.

That said, the outlook for the Northern parts of Africa are quite promising, according to the report.

“The six countries in Northern Africa all feature in the cheapest half of the table, with three countries in the top 30. The average price in the region is USD 22.41. The cheapest was Tunisia (USD 14.79, 20th), followed by Egypt (USD 16.67, 29th), and Libya (USD 17.12, 30th). The most expensive was Senegal (USD 38.00, 87th), followed by Morocco (USD 29.66, 63rd) and Algeria (USD 18.21, 38th),” explains Cable.co.uk in a press release sent to Hypertext.

As for the country with the cheapest broadband, Cable.co.uk points to Syria, noting that it, “currently offers the world’s cheapest fixed-line broadband, with an average monthly cost of just USD 2.15 per month, thanks largely to the ongoing collapse of the Syrian Pound (SYP) against the US dollar.”

Ukraine and Russia ranked fourth and fifth respectively, but given the invasion of the latter on the former, connectivity in general in the region is set to take a significant hit.

With connectivity vitally important, especially as a result of the pandemic, it is clear that more needs to be done to make the cost of broadband in South Africa.

You can download Cable.co.uk’s full report here.

[Image – Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash]