非洲人收取的移动数据的“负担得起”费率超过3.5倍

People living in Africa are charged an average of 7.1 per cent of their monthly salary for a gigabyte (GB) of mobiledata，超过3.5倍以上的门槛被认为负担得起。

That’s according to areport通过负担得起的互联网联盟（A4AI），该联盟将负担得起的利率分为每月收入的2％。它发现进步competitionis stalling across low- and middle-income countries amid consolidation between mobile and internet operators.

这trend threatens to jeopardise the push towards affordable internet access for all, with half the world’s population still unable to connect. Even though the去年年底达到了50％，这还远远远远远远没有联合国的普遍访问目标。

“Giving people visibility and opportunities to connect with others and make their voice heard are an important part of human and economic progress,”

首席执行官,克莱尔•梅拉梅德Sustai全球伙伴关系nable Development Data

这2019 Affordability Report, published on 22 October, estimates that people in countries with low levels of mobile and internet competition pay about US$3.42 per gigabyte (GB) of data more than those in competitive ones. This premium, says A4AI, is “unaffordable” for many people in low-income countries.

A4AI estimates that 1GB of data costs $7.33 more in a country with a monopoly market than one with two mobile operators — with an estimated 260 million people worldwide having access to just one operator, and 589 million living in low-competition countries.

这impact of limited competition is substantial in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where that price equates to about 5.8 per cent of average monthly income.

In a range of countries that A4AItracked for affordability between April and June 2019, African nations made up the bottom 13, with the price for a gigabyte in those countries at 10 per cent of average monthly income or more. The figure was as high as 26 per cent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and more than 20 per cent in the Central African Republic and Chad.

Lack of competition

Less than half (65 out of 136) of the low- and middle-income countries studied in the report have fully competitive markets, says A4AI. “This trend underlines the urgency of promoting competition to support healthy markets that provide affordable internet access,” it adds. “Policymakers and regulators must work to encourage competition and support new entrants.”

Dhanaraj Thakur, research director at the World Wide Web Foundation, which runs A4AI, believes competition must be boosted through regulation to encourage new entrants, more options for public internet access and joint initiatives between the public and private sector, and municipally owned or community networks.

Villages or groups of villages can set up their own not-for-profit networks with services that are relevant to them, Thakur suggests, pointing to examples such as theZenzeleni南非农村的社区拥有网络。

“Access to broadband internet is still too expensive,” he says. “One of the ways to help reduce costs is through greater competition and a greater mix of solutions… We believe not enough is being done in that regard.” This requires a concerted push from governments, he adds.

向前进

塔库说，虽然进步很慢governmentsare gradually adopting policies and affordability is improving. The report names Cameroon and Mali among countries that have helped boost affordability with new national broadband plans.

Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu at the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States says the world has seen “tremendous advances” indigital技术，但是数百万的人被“抛在后面”。她呼吁支持世界上最贫穷的国家制定政策，法规和项目，以促进互联网访问和采用。她说：“我们非常了解互联网访问和使用可以显着塑造人类，社会和经济状况。”

Claire Melamed, CEO of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data, says it is vital that “technological advancement doesn't reinforce disadvantage”.

她说：“让人们的知名度和与他人建立联系并表达声音的机会是人类和经济进步的重要组成部分。”“过度拉伸的政府要努力应对复杂的监管环境并不容易，但是需要协调的政策和方法来实现'不再抛弃的人'的现实。”beplay足球体育的微博