Tanzania has Africa’s Lowest Mobile Data Cost

Tanzania’s mobile data cost has been shown to be the lowest in Africa thanks to the 4G LTE network which has now been rolled out by TTCL and the strong competition from the state owned company’s many rivals. A report by ICT Africa has stated that Tanzania has the continent’s cheapest rate for 1GB of data at just 0.89 USD when compared to South Africa, where the same amount of data costs US$5.26. Higher data prices are also found in Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt, with prices for 1GB varying between US$2.8 an US$5.8. The report also showed the strong correlation between the price charged in those countries for mobile data and the companies’ profitability. After the launch of TTCL’s 4G LTE network, prices became more affordable and this encouraged other data providers to lower their prices in response leading to lower mobile data cost overall across Tanzania. There is also high potential for further growth in the industry due to a low level of service penetration which currently stands at under 20%. This is far less than the global average which stands at around 45 – 50%, and this provides major opportunities for mobile phone operators to upgrade their service to reach an increased number of areas. By 30^th June this year, it has been estimated by Internet World Stats that the total number of internet users across the country will reach around 7,590, 794 – equivalent to 14.5% of the nation’s population.