Mobile phone the new driver of Internet access

This has not only increased Internet use but has also made it easier and faster for the public to get these vital information that would previously require endless physical and costly visits to government offices.

But unlike before when much growth was witnessed in urban areas, the Synovate report shows that growth has been slower in urban areas compared to rural areas that grew by 125 per cent in a span of two years

The lower income groups recorded much faster growth in Internet access.

But Internet penetration within middle class and below is still very low, making it the group with the highest growth potential.

The level of education and Internet usage are directly co-related, and as the country gets more educated, Internet usage will continue to grow rapidly.

On average, Internet users spend approximately 70 minutes on the Internet per visit.

This level of media use is close to the average time spent on television daily .

“The significance of these findings is that Kenya is both one of Africa’s largest mid-scale markets and is a bell-weather in terms of technology adoption. Crudely, what happens in Kenya will start to happen elsewhere.

And as the uptake of M-Money services shows, this is not simply an urban, well-educated, middle class phenomenon,” said analysts Russell Southwood of Balancing Act of Synovate’s report.

Mr Southwood said mass use starts when consumers start to create networking effects.

In other words, existing users start to draw in new users who do not want to be left out.

In Kenya, this is already beginning to happen.

Although the number of daily Internet users is smaller than the overall estimated total of 3.5 million, it is beginning to grow significantly and will continue to do so as access prices fall and local content offers become more varied.