Mobile internet on course to becoming top earner for firms

Access to the internet through cell phones is set to emerge as a significant revenue opportunity for mobile operators, analysts say, adding that consumers are also benefiting immensely from the convenience of portable internet.

Statistics covering October to December last year by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) placed mobile data subscribers at 1,981,048, up from 1,864, 991 in the previous quarter.

Cell phone internet subscribers make up a majority of the mobile data category which also includes access to internet through computers using the plug and play modems.

According to Opera, a software company that studies trends in mobile browsing, Opera Mini alone — controlling 30 per cent of the global mobile browser software — mobile internet users generate more than $4 billion per year for operators globally, using an average pricing of $1 per megabyte.

Win-win situation

“When people browse more, it is a win-win situation as operators receive more revenue, users have more incentive to upgrade their data plans, and people get the Web pages they want in an efficient and affordable manner,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO Opera Software.

Kenya has emerged as a leader in mobile internet use in Africa.

A snapshot study by Opera for the month of December last year showed Kenya had the most intensive mobile internet users in Africa, with each user browsing an average of 525 pages each month.

According to the study, the number of unique users grew by 246.2 per cent in the year to November 2009 while page-view grew by 615 per cent in a similar period.

Compared to findings of a similar study in April last year, Kenya had moved up one place to number three in the top 10 African countries with the highest users of mobile internet.

Ghana and Kenya led the top 10 African countries in terms of page-view growth at 4,348.6 per cent and 615.4 per cent respectively.

This means that in the wider scenario, mobile internet use is much higher.

With overall internet penetration estimated at 10 per cent, mobile subscribers still find it cheaper and more convenient to access internet using their mobiles.

This is driven by the cheaper cost of acquiring and maintaining the handsets compared to laptops or desktop computers, though the prices of these items are slowly falling as operators move to subsidize their cost in a bid to push uptake of their internet offerings.

Mobiles with internet capability are retailing from a few thousand shillings while laptops retail from at least Sh26,000.