• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Smartphone affordability key in COVID-19 fight

Smartphone affordability key in COVID-19 fight

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced how important connectivity is in the modern world. As it has become more challenging to communicate directly, the use of ICT has become even more critical for the dissemination of information by government, experts, and the media.

Strategic to digital communication is the smartphone, which allows people to stay in touch, receive information, and teach themselves during this lockdown.

Smartphones may become even more crucial when the outbreak is brought under control, however, the cost of a smartphone is a significant hurdle to mobile internet adoption and use, and this is not the fault of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Low-cost devices are often out of the reach of those in poverty, which is a problem considering that these devices can be key enablers for escaping poverty.

Read also: Rising cost of smartphone poses barrier to post-COVID internet adoption

Research in countries like Tanzania and India found that the extremely poor – those who earn less than $2 per day – would have to spend 16% of their annual income just to buy an average-priced smartphone. For people who are struggling to eat on a daily basis, using this percentage of their income is not a rational option.

However, device manufacturers cannot offer phones at a significantly more affordable rate because they have costs of their own to manage.

For this reason, it is necessary to develop business models which ensure that those in poverty can own smartphones. Given the nature of the COVID-19 crisis, there is no better time to develop such business models and get more people connected, knowing that smartphones are not a luxury.

ICT expert Charley Lewis told MyBroadband that the drive for smartphone uptake in South Africa is important for consumers as those who do not have these devices are deprived of access to much of the Internet and its benefits – such as highly useful apps.

“If pricing of entry-level smartphones can be kept low, and priced into pay-as-you-go plans, and with data prices poised to fall, I see no reason that there should not be an upsurge in smartphone demand,” said Lewis.

“The benefits to universal access and service, and to the increased data revenues, are surely to the benefit of users and operators alike.”

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to develop and implement long-term solutions to the digital divide in South Africa.

Strategies for smartphone proliferation: While reducing the taxation on smartphones is an obvious way to make smartphones more affordable, other strategies can also reduce the cost of smartphones for low-income citizens.

Some examples of how governments can assist through subsidies or other means include: Argentina – Provided asset financing to 8 million citizens to switch from 2G feature phones to 4G smartphones.

Columbia – Allocated $90 million over three years to a policy, which included subsidies for low-income citizens for data and smartphones. Malaysia – Launched a national program to encourage youth to purchase 3G-enabled smartphones with a rebate on certain phones – reducing the cost by 40%.

Pakistan government – used funds to give smartphones to 30,000 low-income women.

In this regard, the first priority of government should be to ensure that all South Africans are able to access digital platforms through devices like smartphones so that they can stay informed on that which is important.

Making smartphones more accessible to a larger number of South Africans is key to this, as it could help to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of these citizens.