Kenyans enjoy faster Internet than Americans

Lack of basic commodities, poor infrastructure, poor services and most importantly to business people and millennials slow or non-existent internet speed al together.

First world countries on the other hand have not only great infrastructure, boost of world class services, internet is a basic right and lack of basic commodities is almost unheard of.

Until recently Kenya was classified as a third world country and for decades Kenyans persuaded all through this problems.

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On July 2015, the world bank confirmed Kenya’s lower-middle income country status after it found out Kenya’s gross national income per capita (GNI) was more than $1,046 (Sh99,024) but less $4,125 (Sh390,513).

Therefore it would come as a surprise that a lower-middle income country enjoys faster mobile internet than most first world countries in the west.

Kenyans enjoy faster mobile internet speeds than Americans, Taiwanese, Irish and Swedes, according to a new report by Akamai.

Akamai state in the report, the rankings are based on average Internet speeds from across the Akamai Intelligent Platform during the first quarter of 2017,".

Kenya is ranked first in Afrika with the fasted average Internet connection speeds at 12,2 Mbps.

Overall Kenya is ranked at number fourteenth of the 130 countries surveyed globally.

Wananchi group founder and internet specialist, Njeri Rionge says the news should not come as a surprise.

“It is pretty obvious, guess what most of those other countries (western countries) already have all infrastructure in place, Kenya on the other hand is coming up fast and fibre network is all over the country that is deleivering internet connectivity to the end user not just corporates but to the mass market, mobile networks are also improving on the basis that they are piggybacking on the internet connectivity”

Telecommunications firms in Kenya like Safaricom have in the past year lay out cheaper and faster fiber network across the country in an aggressive campaign to connect with its users.

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Musa charie, a video producer with P Live Kenya was recently in Tanzania to cover SportPesa super cup tournament and says he went through hell to get a good internet speed.

“I had a rough time connecting to internet while in Tanzania, and mark you I was staying in a hotel which all had manner of internet busters and still sending a simple file was a nightmare. I really appreciate Kenya progress in internet connectivity”

It is no wonder then that Kenya features prominently on most fortune companies list who wish to set up a base in Africa.