Connectivity to electricity is critical to promoting ICT access and use, a survey recently released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows.
The Analytical Report on the Uptake of ICT Services based on the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) indicates that households with electricity had higher rates of Internet usage and ICT device ownership, pointing to the centrality of electricity connectivity in enhancing the adoption and use of ICT services.
The survey report illustrates the digital divide by examining ICT devices and service usage and ownership at the individual and household levels. The survey covered 42,022 households spread across 1,692 clusters. A total of 32,156 women and 13,699 men aged 15-49 were interviewed.
“Electricity connection is a key driver for the uptake of ICTs as evident from the analysis where households with a reliable source of power reported high ownership of radio, TV, computer and internet usage as compared to those without power,” reads part of the report.
How is electricity connection related to mobile phone ownership?
Nationally, 97.6 per cent of households with electricity owned mobile phones, 70.9 per cent and 74.0 per cent owned TV, and 17.6 per cent owned computers and radio, respectively. The proportion of households without electricity reported 88.0 per cent mobile phone ownership, 21.6 per cent owned TV, 1.4 per cent owned computer and 54.5 per cent owned radio.
Households connected to electricity (33.5%) reported high internet usage compared to those not connected to electricity (10.4%). About a third of the households (33.5%) with electricity and 10.4 per cent without electricity used the Internet.
Over the past ten years, rapid technological breakthroughs have had a significant impact on daily life by enabling technologies that automate or streamline commercial processes. The benefits emanating from transformations driven by ICT innovations have been felt in nearly all aspects of life, including health, agriculture, manufacturing, trade, education, public administration and defence, entertainment, banking, and other financial services.
The findings come on the government’s aspirations under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), geared towards economic turnaround and inclusive growth through five core pillars: Agricultural Transformation; Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Economy; Housing and Settlement; Healthcare; Digital Superhighway; and Creative Economy. The digital superhighway is aimed at rolling out 100,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable, installing Wi-Fi hotspots in 25,000 identified areas and building 1,450 digital innovation labs across the country.
Impact of advanced mobile technologies in Kenya
The expansion of mobile signal coverage and the launch of more advanced mobile technologies such as 4G and 5G have facilitated increased access to faster and better-quality mobile services, especially mobile broadband. The overall mobile network population coverage stood at 98.0 per cent in 2022/23 with 97.0 per cent covered by 4G. Mobile penetration was at 131.1 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants and mobile money penetration was at 75.1 per cent during the same period.
The Internet has experienced tremendous growth in the last 20 years. It has become an important tool for communication, business and commerce, innovation and research, and provision of government services in addition to informing, educating and entertaining the public. However, this evolution has presented several challenges including cybersecurity, privacy breaches, new competition, and changing business models.
How many Kenyans use internet every day?
The report further showed that, nationally, 68.7 per cent of males and 63.5 per cent of females use the internet almost every day. In urban areas, 77.0 per cent of males and 69.8 per cent of females use the internet almost every day. Conversely, in rural areas, the proportions of males and females who used the internet almost every day were 58.0 and 53.1 per cent, respectively.
The data highlights a clear urban-rural divide in internet usage, with urban residents who use the Internet almost every day at about 73.4 per cent compared to 55.6 per cent of rural residents.
Additionally, the proportion of females who used the Internet at least once a week was relatively higher (23.2%) than that of males (19.3%).
2022 KDHS Report: 80.4% of Kenyans Own Mobile Phones, 56.2% Use Internet
