A Nendo Publication THE STATE OF MOBILE DATA 2019 Context, Consumption, Control Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 03 CONSUMPTION CONTROL BACKGROUND 03 THE 5 S'S OF KENYAN INTERNET USE 24 SOFTWARE 39 THE ATTENTION ECONOMY 04 MINIMISING USAGE 39 SEARCH 25 THE 3 C'S OF THE INTERNET 04 MONITORING 42 SOCIAL 26 ZERO-RATING 42 SPORT 27 CONTEXT WI-FI AND ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF 44 SEX 28 CONNECTIVITY THE MOBILE PHONE AND THE 10 STORIES 28 INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY LITE-APPS OVER FULL APPS 46 IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE CYBER CAFÉ 10 INTERNET & MOBILE DATA BUNDLE 30 SWITCHING TO ANDROID GO-EDITION 46 THE MODERN CYBER CAFÉ - TYPE, 12 PRICING - AFFORDABILITY AND 30 TRANSSION & BOOMPLAY 47 REGISTER, PRINT OPTIONS IS THE WEB OPTIMISED FOR 48 BILLING & BYTES: THE CYBER CAFÉ VS 13 THE COST OF ACCESS 31 PREMIUM EXPERIENCES RATHER THE SMARTPHONE ADVERTISING TECHNOLOGY’S 35 THAN MEGABYTECONSTRAINTS? SMARTPHONES, FEATURE PHONES & 13 CONSUMING EFFECT ON MEGABYTES IN BASIC PHONES KENYA RECOMMENDATIONS HOW SMARTPHONES WORK 18 CAVEAT 50 HOW MANY KENYANS ARE ON THE 09 DISCLOSURES 53 INTERNET? END NOTES 54 State of Mobile Data 2019: Introduction 02 About Author Acknowledgements Mark Kaigwa is the Founder of Nendo - a digital My appreciation goes to Wanjiru Kaigwa for her growth consultancy delivering Advisory, Academy support in bringing this report to life and being a and Agency services. As a speaker, he has travelled sounding board throughout the writing process. My to over 37 countries around the world in a quest to thanks to Makena Onjerika for her editorial deliver projects, workshops and insights about assistance. To the team at Nendo for their inspiration connected African consumers. Kaigwa is passionate and contribution, it is appreciated. To those who took about innovation, technology and social media in their time to make contributions and provide Africa. feedback - Richard Wanjohi, Michael Onsando, Shitemi Khamadi, Yu-Shan Wu, Eric Mugendi, Daniel Mwesigwa and Tim Weiss - I am grateful. For the glances and encouragement, thanks Andile, Ken, Jane, Brenda and Sarika. First published in 2019 by Nendo Limited. (c) Copyright 2019 Nendo Limited. This report is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. This means that you can share and distribute this work and you can even modify it, as long as: - You do not use it for commercial gain - You share all modifications and you credit Nendo Ltd. For more information, you can visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ State of Mobile Data 2019: Introduction 03 Megabytes as Currency of the Kenyan Internet After cash, mobile money and airtime, megabytes are This report delivers an account of the characteristics Kenya’s fourth currency. Megabytes and mobile data of connectivity, the challenges of mobile experiences are a source of insight and intelligence into human and the capacity of mobile devices for creation, behaviour with modern technology. Globally, Kenya consumption and data privacy. has distinguished itself for its inventive prowess and pioneering mobile money landscape. The State of Mobile Data in Kenya defines the journey to consuming an estimated 269 million Throughout the 2000s, Kenya established the gigabytes in 2018 on the road to crossing 1 billion For thousands of years, African oral tradition conditions that would spawn startups like Ushahidi gigabytes in 2022. The report delivers by reflecting witnessed history, cultural norms and stories passed from the post-election crisis and M-Pesa from a pilot on Kenya to craft predictions and provocations on down from generation to generation. Kenya's first project to pioneering global mobile commerce the future of technology, business and society that printing press was established in the year 1895. It technology. Co-working spaces and communities like will impact the rest of the African continent. heralded Kenya's first step into the age of the written the iHub emerged and paved a way for dozens more word. Over decades, as more Kenyans were exposed to follow the blueprint of building technology to education and became more literate, their demand communities. for the written word increased. In 2019, the next wave of insights and impact will If a letter were to arrive in a Kenyan village, the come from studying the members of Kenyan society villagers would convene around the person who could connected to the internet. read and interpret the news for them. This age featured a captive audience, prepared to invest its full attention to the information being transmitted, broadcast, mailed, published, read and spoken. More so, when the Voice of Kenya, later known as the State of Mobile Data 2019: Background 04 Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) commenced transmission in English from 1928¹ and brought Kenya into the age of mass media. Over 124 years later since the first printing press, mobile data and digital information have completely altered how audiences consume information. The direct the scarce resources of their megabytes. It is amount of available information far outweighs the important to observe the habits of Kenyans as active individual’s mental space and disposable time to creators and not just consumers of digital consume the news. consume it. migration led to an increase in the number of The term “attention economics" best describes information. Media and technology writer, Dan Gillmor television stations from 14 to 68, with over 22 of Kenya and the world today. Specifically, human In Kenya, the democratisation of media in Kenya describes it as "Once mere consumers of these multiple cities. Kenya has 173 licensed radio attention is now a scarce commodity because Consider, for example, the activities of Kenyans on during the 1990s and digital migration in 2015, news, the audience is learning how to get a better, stations and 9 major newspapers². information is in abundance. Information is Twitter such as raising awareness of human rights respectively, resulted in an increase of news and timelier report. It’s also learning how to join the considered to be in abundance, to the point of an and societal issues, organising protests and information publishers and sources. The first led to 3 process of journalism, helping to create a massive Provided a consumer has access to mobile data or a oversupply. The challenges that come with this are defending the country’s media coverage . The competition and private sector involvement in media. conversation and, in some cases, doing a better job premium SMS service, the day's headlines arrive as affordable access to the information as well as the microblogging social network, smaller by comparison Digital migration describes the process of shifting than the professionals4." instantaneous breaking news alerts. There is less choice of what sources of information to consume. to the rest of the Kenyan internet landscape, is a from analogue to digital broadcasting. need to wait for the information in the morning This phenomenon raises two interesting questions: constant shaper of opinion among the public and an newspaper. This is true with digital versions of the The migration to digital terrestrial television how are consumers managing the mobile data to influencer on mainstream media. Digital media is day’s papers being published in e-newspaper apps broadcasting frees up valuable spectrum of wireless ensure they have access to the information they enriching traditional media. Mainstream television for paying customers before the crack of dawn. As broadcasting frequencies, previously occupied by want when they want it? How are they deciding stations in Kenya feature tweets from viewers who soon as the morning alarm on the smartphone rings, analogue signals from media broadcasters. These which information to consume and which to ignore? post comments about their opinion polls and users with mobile data will access headlines. This is frequencies become available for auction to feedback questions, especially prime-time news in contrast to turning on the radio for There are lessons to be learnt from the mobile data public/private organisations to provide higher bulletins. This creates an active audience, as top-of-the-hour news or purchasing the day’s consumption habits of Kenyans and where they broadband internet services. In Kenya, digital opposed to viewers who choose to strictly watch and newspaper. For thousands of years, African oral tradition witnessed history, cultural norms and stories passed KENYA’S NEWEST down from generation to generation. Kenya's first printing press was established in the year 1895. It heralded Kenya's first step into the age of the written CHALLENGE word. Over decades, as more Kenyans were exposed to education and became more literate, their demand for the written word increased. If a letter were to arrive in a Kenyan village, the villagers would convene around the person who could read and interpret the news for them. This age featured a captive audience, prepared to invest its full attention to the information being transmitted, broadcast, mailed, published, read and spoken. More so, when the Voice of Kenya, later known as the State of Mobile Data 2019: Kenya’s Newest Challenge 05 Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) commenced transmission in English from 1928¹ and brought Kenya into the age of mass media. Over 124 years later since the first printing press, mobile data and digital information have completely altered how audiences consume information. The direct the scarce resources of their megabytes. It is amount of available information far outweighs the important to observe the habits of Kenyans as active individual’s mental space and disposable time to creators and not just consumers of digital consume the news. consume it. migration led to an increase in the number of The term “attention economics" best describes information. Media and technology writer, Dan Gillmor television stations from 14 to 68, with over 22 of Kenya and the world today.