Kenya - Why Internet Costs Remain a Costly Affair

[daily nation] Lack of knowledge on what the law says about the laying of undersea cables will keep costs of internet connectivity high for end-users especially in Africa.

According to Mr Joe Nkeiru, a lecturer in International Law at the University of Kent, Brussels, international maritime law allows anyone to lay cables and give competitive internet services to consumers.

However, this is not the case in many countries in Africa including Kenya where internet access is a costly affair for many interested consumers." There is a need for an on-going relationship regarding the integration of cables between states in order to regulate bandwidth, and give consumers high quality internet access at reasonable costs," he says.

Mr Nkeiru was among speakers at the Africa Gathering two-day conference that brought together thinkers, technology experts, entrepreneurs, innovators and other interested people from Africa to discuss ways through which technology can be harnessed in order to do business.

He challenged Africa's internet consumers to form groups that can air their grievances as well as lobby for services that are of high quality.

"What is needed is for people to come together and demand high quality services. Internet providers should not dictate how much internet a consumer needs, and then peg it down to a certain price, as is the case with many of these firms operating in Kenya today," he said.

The forum that ran early this week at the British Council, Nairobi was sponsored by Kenya Airways, Africa Rural Connect and AccessKenya among others.

Why Internet Costs Remain a Costly Affair