The ITU publishes the Measuring the Information Society report to identify recent global and regional trends in ICT deployment and uptake, on the basis of internationally comparable ICT statistics. The wonderful West African country of Ghana has reason to celebrate based on the 2012 report.
According to the ITU, Ghana is among the most dynamic countries in the IDI 2011, registering a 23 per cent increase in its ICT Development Index (IDI), from 1.81 in 2010 to 2.23 in 2011.
Underlying the growth in the use sub-index is the increase in the number of Internet users and, even more significantly, the leap in mobile-broadband penetration. Some 14 per cent of Ghanaians are now Internet users, up from 10 per cent in 2010. Mobile-broadband penetration more than tripled, and stands at 23 per cent in 2011.
This is an impressive jump, which puts Ghana in first place in Africa in terms of mobile-broadband penetration. Ghana’s mobile market is very competitive, and five operators are providing 3G services. The country’s mobile-broadband prices are relatively low (14 per cent of GNI per capita) in comparison with the African average (64 per cent of GNI per capita for prepaid handset-based usage and 54 per cent of GNI per capita for postpaid computer-based usage), according to the 2011 ITU price data-collection exercise.
So congrats to Ghana for jumping into the lead. Though be warned. Kenya is moving fast, and if you blink, they will pass you by.
This is very exciting news for all players in the Technology sector, we hope to see a continuous positive trend in this direction.