The number internet users in South Africa has grown significantly due to the impact of mobile phones and smartphones, according to a new study
The report by research company World Wide Worx and the howzit MSN online portal revealed that internet usage in the country has grown by 25 per cent within the space of a year.
World Wide Worx managing director Arthur Goldstuck said, “Penetration is now approaching 20 per cent and for the first time we can see the mass market embracing digital tools on their phones.”
While smartphones had driven up the number of Internet users, data costs were also being driven down by the growing number of undersea cables connecting sub-Saharan Africa to the rest of the world.
World Wide Worx’s study reported that undersea cable capacity to South Africa would rise from 2.69 Terabits a second (Tbps) at the end of 2011 to 11.9 Tbps by the end of 2012, which Goldstuck said would double again in 2013.
The number of South Africans using the internet at jumped to 8.5 million by the end of 2011 from 6.8 million at the end of 2010, which by the end of 2012 has been projected to rise to more than 10 million people.
