Households in 17 of 33 states in Nigeria are experiencing more difficulty paying for airtime, while in the other 16, Internet data was a trickier expense to meet, a recent survey has revealed.
North Central, North West and South West states were the major areas where the populace are unable to pay for airtime regularly. In fact, most individuals explored network operators ‘borrow credit’ schemes.
Also, households in the North East, South East and South South experienced difficulty paying for Internet services. Further, the North East is the region with the highest share of households that experience difficulty paying for mobile airtime (33 per cent) and the highest share of households that experience difficulty paying for Internet services (41 per cent).
Stears Data, which conducted the survey, noted that despite international statistics, which showed that mobile broadband is relatively affordable in Nigeria, there are still huge gaps to be covered in terms of affordability in the country.
Referencing the 2020 Affordability Report by the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), which said 1GB mobile broadband costs 1.7 per cent of average monthly income, less than Ghana (two per cent), South Africa (2.2 per cent), and Kenya (3.1 per cent), Stears Data said though the case of affordability may be disputed by Nigerians, facts have shown that many still cannot afford to purchase Internet data regularly.
Comparing household data on mobile airtime affordability, which is generally deemed cheaper in Nigeria, Stears Data said the results were surprising, especially the discovery that Internet and airtime affordability are almost the same.
According to it, at the national level, 17 per cent of surveyed households reported difficulty buying airtime to make calls or send messages, while 16 per cent reported difficulty purchasing Internet for phones or computers.
