Kenya’s mobile internet beats the United States for speed
Kenya has the world’s 14th-fastest mobile internet speed, according to a report from the content delivery network Akamai, which collects data from more 130 countries.
Kenya’s average data connection speed in the first quarter of 2017 was 13.7 megabits per second (almost twice as fast as the global average). At that speed, Kenya beats the United States, ranked 28th with an average speed of 10.7 mbps, and South Korea, home to the fastest average speed in fixed internet connection.
88% of Kenya’s population has access the internet through their phones, thanks to cheaper data plans and the ubiquitous use of mobile money platforms like M-Pesa.
What’s M-Pesa ?
M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone for Safaricom the largest mobile network operators in Kenya.
The service allows users to deposit money into an account stored on their cell phones, to send balances using PIN-secured SMS text messages to other users, including sellers of goods and services, and to redeem deposits for regular money.
Kenya in terms of average fixed line internet connection speeds
Kenya ranks above its peers in Sub-Saharan Africa. (The report groups the Middle East and Africa together.) In 2013, Kenya launched its “National Broadband Strategy” to extend fiber optic cables across the country, encourage more local content online, and install ICT centers at universities. Broadband penetration now covers as much as 30% of the country, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya
Source: Quartz
