India is by far the cheapest country in terms of data prices among the BRICS countries
Amongst BRICS nations, India is by far the cheapest in terms of data costs. A mass-based cost-effective rolled out by Jio, a network owned by the Reliance Group, forced their competitors in India to drop prices in order to remain relevant.
With the world’s largest population as a userbase, selling data at the price point remains profitable in India, and has helped propel the nation towards a digital economy, with ordinary tea and fruit sellers on the streets accepting payment through scan-to-pay methods.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa sounded the alarm in July of this year when lamenting how the lack of connectivity affects the pace at which SA can join the digital economy. Importantly in this regard, SA has garnered a close relationship with Chinese state-owned Huawei in order to roll out a large 5G network swiftly.
Connectivity, data costs, and the general know-how of technology will help decide where South Africa also lands in terms of the use of AI. With the encroaching dominance of this technology in all spheres of life, South Africa and all African countries are once again in the position of being left behind.
Can South Africa leverage BRICS well enough in order to better adapt to a global digital economy and AI will bring?