Third world data prices have no place in SA’s first world mobile industry.
South Africa scored a massive quality of life victory for the majority of its people with the commercial launch of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) in 1994.
Today, we can point to the over 35 million cellular users as proof that mobile technology has touched lives for the better.
However, proudly referring to millions of mobile voice users in any discussion of the benefits of cellular is not telling the whole story.
Consumption
For most of the “35 million”, cellular means access to free messaging services like WhatsApp and the ability to send free Please Call Me messages, usually to one’s employer or one of the minority of us still on high-value contract packages.
When prepaid cellular accounts are reluctantly recharged, it’s in ultra-low denominations that would surprise most comfortable, salaried South Africans.
Mobile data services are overtaking mobile voice services as the cellular-based consumption that matters in the world. And yet, the majority of our 35 million cellular users can only but stare through the glass of the proverbial mobile data shop, their noses pressed up against the windows in envy at services they could never afford.
Communicate
Urgent intervention to bring down the price of mobile data is so obvious to everyone from the Minister of Telecommunications & Postal Services to the salivating would-be African consumer of data services taken for granted in the developed world.
Before anyone points to our mixed economy as an acceptable reason for charging R2 a megabyte for mobile data, there’s nothing third world about our mobile industry which routinely scoops global mobile accolades.
Stats SA says almost 9 in 10 South African households use mobile technology exclusively to communicate. More competitive mobile data pricing – and there’s already been some good progress – would mean millions of South Africans could make the switch from trying to communicate via Please Call Me messages to email.
As always in Africa, there’s plenty light at the end of the tunnel. Just a few days ago, no one less than the Minister of Finance appeared to prioritise the national data debate.
Intervention
Minister Gigaba clearly recognises the potential more affordable mobile data has for kick-starting the local economy when he included the mobile data question in his 14-point economic plan.
When a national Minister of Finance who commands global attention says the mobile data status quo must come to an end, that’s progress. All of us involved in the greater cellular industry really need to approach the mobile data question with the same enthusiasm we have for developing world-leading mobile content and applications. We can do it!
Let’s take intervention in the mobile data space off the back-burner and bravely throw it on the fire of debate. There’ll be some pain, but soon enough, we’ll all wonder why it took 20 years to open the doors of the mobile data shop to our compatriots outside.
Grace Mlimo | Chief Commercial Officer | InTarget | Gracem@intarget.mobi | http://www.intarget.mobi |
