High device, data costs hinder access to internet

MOST Zimbabweans now have access to the internet, although the cost of buying devices and data can leave a large significant number out of touch, with the extension of the broadband network remaining an issue, Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Dr Jenfan Muswere said this week.

Speaking at the commemorations of the International Day for Universal Access to Information held in Zhombe, Dr Muswere said Government was making endless efforts to provide access to information across all provinces in Zimbabwe.

The current internet penetration according to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) second quarter report of 2022 stood at 61.3 percent.

The event was hosted by Potraz and attended by senior Government officials, traditional chiefs, business leaders, representatives from mobile network operators and the local residents. “Broadband network extension remains an issue,” said Dr Muswere. “Whilst the country’s broadband coverage may be high, significant portions of the population remain unconnected.

“As our Internet penetration tracks our GNI per capita with Internet penetration rate at 61.3 percent, still almost half of the country’s population remains offline. The barriers to internet use for many people are therefore, not that they are not covered by a signal, but that people do not have the resources to get online, the primary barriers being the cost of devices as well as the price of data.”

Dr Muswere said affordability of devices and lack of awareness remained the main barriers to internet use, while human development was necessary in dealing with ‘digital inequity’, alternative strategies to extend affordable access to communications were urgent.

“We simply cannot carry on doing things the way we have been doing and expect the exponential changes we require,” he said. “Today, we have launched a number of community information centres in this province, which among other benefits, will hopefully extend that affordable access to communications.

“The centres are being built in every post office building, making use of some of the spare space. Technological forms of exclusion are a reality for significant segments of Zimbabwe’s population and that ‘digital exclusion’ reinforces and deepens existing ‘social exclusion’.

“Despite the hype around smartphones connecting the poor, the ‘digital divide’ between the poor and the rich remains significant.”

Government, through the Ministry of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, was seized with the ICT development of the country.

“We strive to ensure that we leave no one and no place behind as we journey towards the attainment of the first National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) in particular the digital economy,” Dr Muswere said.

Potraz director-general Dr Gift Machengete said Potraz, as the ICT sector regulator, had the mandate to ensure there was an enabling environment for information to flow freely and reach as far and wide as possible. “In so doing and in the spirit of leaving no one and no place behind in the information highway, Potraz has been rolling out a number of ICT access and use programmes and projects,” he said.

“One such project is the community information centre project, which has culminated in the launch of Zhombe CIC, which we have just witnessed. Zhombe CIC is one among a host of many other CICs dotted around the country - 170 in total and an additional 32 on the way.

“As part of efforts to bring universal access to information, Potraz is funding the relocation of towers to ensure communities in these remote rural areas have at least 2G connectivity and participate in the digital economy.”