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Tanzania: Old Media, New Media
AfricaFocus Bulletin
Apr 5, 2011 (110405)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
Tanzania is only in the middle tier of technology adopters among African countries, notes
Russell Southwood in the latest issue of his Balancing Act Africa newsletter. But an InterMedia
national survey shows interesting combinations of old and new technologies, with text messaging
leading newspapers as a source of current news (although radio remains the number one source).
And there is substantial potential for rapid expansion of mobile internet in the next few
years.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a summary by Balancing Act Africa of results of the
InterMedia July 2010 survey of media use in Tanzania, as well as several other related news
stories from Balancing Act Africa, and excerpts from an InterMedia report on usage of mobile
banking in Tanzania. For additional background see the Balancing Act Africa and Audiencescape
websites (http://www.balancingact-africa.com
and http://www.audiencescapes.org).
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on information and communications technology issues, see
http://www.africafocus.org/ictexp.php
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Tanzania: New survey highlights steady growth of mobile as media
Balancing Act Africa
Issue no 548 1st April 2011
http://www.balancingact-africa.com
Intermedia has released the latest in its Audiencescapes series of surveys of media use in
African countries. The survey covers Tanzania and contains a number of tantalizing clues as to
how that country's consumers are making use of different media. Russell Southwood picks over
the findings for clues as to how things will develop in the future.
The Audiencescapes survey of Tanzania was carried out in July 2010 and is a nationally
representative sample, allowing the researchers to provide accurate breakdowns of urban vs
rural use.
Internet use has clearly grown in Tanzania but not at the same rate as in neighbouring
Kenya. The table below shows percentage household access amongst those surveyed:
Media All sample Urban Rural
Radio 85% 85% 84%
TV 27% 59% 14%
Computer 3% 8% 1%
Internet 4% 8% 2%
Mobile phone 62% 82% 54%
Television access is 71% in Dar es Salaam. The figure of 4% for Internet sounds small but if
you translate that into people, there are around 1.5 million people who have household access
to Internet.
Mobiles are increasingly becoming a media in their own right and in urban areas, their
penetration levels are as high as for radio which is the universal African media. And as the
table below shows, Tanzanians (like many Africans) are using their phone's built in radio and
in small numbers, watching what they describe as live TV (probably streamed via You Tube).
Radio listening on mobiles is highest amongst those under 34:
Activity All sample Urban Rural
Radio 13% 18% 10%
Send SMS 61% 68% 57%
Watch live TV 1% 3% 1%
Mobile TV has yet to find the right business model and where it is offered as a service, has
only acquired tens of thousands of subscribers. Furthermore the DStv version requires a special
DVB-H handset and these are expensive and not many are on the market. Nevertheless, if
relatively slow tech-adopters like Tanzanians are already watching live streams, there's going
to be a market out there. What else can you do when you're sitting in Africa's ubiquitous urban
traffic jams and can't get home for a live TV programme?
Internet use in Africa used to be about a limited number of internet search activities and
sending e-mail but as the table below shows, Tanzanians are now doing a much wider range of
things:
Activity % of sample using Internet
Send or receive e-mails 57%
Latest news 51%
Research topics 32%
Social networking site 41%
Listen to radio 7%
Play games 13%
The figures reflect the rise of Facebook use in the early adapter markets across the
continent but it's worth noting that Tanzania's Facebook user numbers are significantly lower
than those in neighbouring Kenya. Again, there is a significant percentage of Internet users
who are choosing to listen to radio over their Internet connection.
If you look at media use on a once a week basis, to some greater or lesser extent, it
reflects the overall household access figures above:
Media % of total sample
Radio 91%
TV 41%
Newspaper 22%
Mobile 62%
Internet 3%
But when those sampled, were asked what were the important sources of news and information
on a weekly basis, the results look rather different:
Source % of total sample
Radio 83%
TV 41%
Newspapers 21%
SMS text 35%
Internet 4%
In other words, mobile is a news and information media with greater reach than newspapers
and this is particularly true amongst lower income groups and those in rural areas. The
position of newspapers is also threatened by Internet access: 4% vs 21% is a rather uneven
fight but amongst the top income tier (who are among the key purchasers of newspapers) the
percentage using the Internet is 17%. Interestingly, when those surveyed were asked about
trustworthiness of different sources, they rated SMS and newspapers more or less equally.
So what do these results tell us? Tanzania is not one of the continent's early tech adopters
so it is perhaps more representative of the middle range of countries. Nevertheless, it has a
sizeable and growing economy. Therefore it is possible to draw some of the following
conclusions:
- There is a steady build up of Internet use towards a "critical mass", something much
encouraged by the use of mobile Internet. It's not a case of if it will grow further but
when. On the basis of these figures, it is not hard to see Internet use going up to 7-10% in
the next two years, particularly as prices to consumers continue to fall.
- Mobile is a media that is rapidly establishing its position with both SMS and
Internet. In two years time, 20-40% of users may have either smartphones or feature rich
phones. But there is no sign yet that mobile operators have grasped the significance of this
shift and started to work with key content partners to create specific local (in Swahili)
products.
- The same point can be made about delivering radio and TV to mobile users. Operators
can either stream their own output to users or work with local media providers to build an
audience through the mobile channel. Why do this and the news content development suggested
above? Because mobile will slowly become an advertising medium and because of its wider reach
and better colour presentation, it will take these revenues from poorly printed, expensive to
produce newspapers and bad radio channels.
InterMedia has its AudienceScapes site which can be found on the link below. Whilst aimed at
the development sector, there is a great deal of useful information for anyone involved in
communications and technology in Africa:
http://www.audiencescapes.org/
Tanzania: Internet Service Provider Eyes Bigger Market Share
Balancing Act Africa
Issue no 548 1st April 2011
http://www.balancingact-africa.com
Tanzanian ISP Raha has resolved to extend its network connectivity services to cover medium
and small scale enterprises, in a bid to expand its customer base. Raha's CEO, Aashiq Shariff
said at a press conference in Dar es Salaam on Monday when announcing plans to re-brand that
there is a swift growth and adaptation of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) into
the economic activities.
With the use of WiMax, he said Raha is committed to provide broadband connectivity solutions
for small, medium businesses, schools and large enterprises. "Tanzania is evolving in the ICT
thus compelling network connectivity service providers to take lead in offering quality,
reliable and affordable services in the same pace," he said, adding, "We grow together, we
support our clients for them to manage the fast growing digital world."
...
National fiber-optic network that will cover every district in the nation by mid-2011 is
expected to pull down costs for operators and improve connectivity in the country.
Speaking earlier at the same occasion, the company's Chief Technical Officer, Nyangu Umeghji
said connectivity to the rest of the regions across the country and frequent power cuts have
been major challenges facing the ICT industry, leading to increased operating costs. "To ensure
a constant provision of reliable services, Raha has embarked on the use of solar power in its
various stations as solution to the problem of power blues," he said.
However, he raised fears over the proposed condition by the National Information
Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB), that a company seeking to provide
broadband services should buy a minimum of 100megabits per second. He said the condition would
be a stumbling block for the local small scale network providers enterprises to excel in the
business.
Source: Tanzania Daily News
Tanzania's Fibre Backbone is set for Completion this year
Balancing Act Africa
Issue no 537 14th January 2011
http://www.balancingact-africa.com
Construction of the national information communication technology broadband backbone is
expected to be completed this December, according to a senior government official. The move
brings the hope of increased broadband uptake and reduced Internet tariffs in the Tanzanian
hinterland and beyond.
The backbone, which is the terrestrial continuation of the fibre optic submarine cables that
landed in the Dar es Salaam coast last year has already contributed to a significant drop in
Internet capacity charges. The NICTBB project was embarked on in 2008 and is expected to cost
about Sh251 billion when it is completed at the end of this year.
"The construction of the backbone was divided in two phases to cover the whole country.
Phase I became operational in July 2010 and covers the northern ring of the network with ten
Points of Presence (POP) which include Dar es Salaam, Morogoro,Singida, Iringa, Babati, Arusha,
Namanga, Moshi and Tanga," Gilder Kibola, Head of the National ICT Broadband Backbone told The
Citizen in an interview recently in Dar es Salaam.
"Phase II is expected to be completed by December 2011 with operational PoPs at Lindi,
Mtwara, Tunduru, Songea, Sumbawanga, Tabora, Kigoma, Manyovu," she added. The project is funded
by a $170 million soft loan from China and Sh30 billion from government sources.
The government intends to turn the country into the regional ICT hub, according to Ms
Kibola. Since phase I of the backbone became operational last July four major locally licensed
cellular and data operators were subscribed to NICTBB services, with other two companies from
landlocked countries of Malawi and Zambia getting access to NICTBB through licensed local
operators.
According to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, the broadband subscriptions
stood at four million by the end of last year.
Source: The Citizen
Bank of Tanzania, TCRA Partner on Mobile Phone Cash Transfers Control in Tanzania
Balancing Act Africa
Issue no 541 11th February 2011
http://www.balancingact-africa.com
The strong growth of mobile payment services in the country has led to the signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the services' joint supervision by the Bank of Tanzania
(BoT) and Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
BoT has, in its maiden Financial Stability Report, attributed the sharp increase in the
number of subscribers to the mobile payments mainly to limited access to formal banking
services, especially in rural areas. "... in this regard, the mobile payment provides an avenue
for linking bank account holders to the unbanked population," the central bank says in its 33-
page report, which the bank's governor, Professor Benno Ndulu, launched in Dar es Salaam over
the weekend.
According to provisional data, as of June 30, 2010, the number of mobile phone subscribers
stood at 18.5 million, with 9.2 million of them registered for mobile payment services. Mobile
payment schemes involve not only funds transfers but also payment for retail goods and
services.
Mobile payment services are specifically used to top-up mobile phone credits, airtime
transfers between mobile phones and corporate bill payments - water and electricity, for
instance.
Four mobile network operators - Vodacom, Airtel, Tigo and Zantel - are currently offering
the mobile payment services. The service provision however requires that the phone companies
partner with commercial banks.
"The existing arrangement creates gaps in the regulatory framework because two regulators -
BoT and TCRA - each with a limited scope of coverage, oversee the mobile payment services," the
report says, noting that the signed MoU provides a mechanism for regulatory and supervisory
coordination between the two regulators.
While the central bank regulates the financial transactions, the TCRA focuses on the
communication infrastructure. Industry analysts say that the significant growth in the usage of
mobile phones offers great opportunity to extend financial and other services to millions of
those in the unbanked community.
Source: Tanzania Daily News
Mobile Money for the Unbanked: Lessons from Tanzania
December 2010
AudienceScapes
http://www.audiencescapes.org
[Excerpts: Full text and additional reports on Tanzania and other African countries
available at http://www.audiencescapes.com]
In the development field, there is great interest in the use of mobile phones to increase
citizens' access to efficient and affordable financial services � a practice commonly
referred to as mobile money. The July 2010 AudienceScapes national survey of Tanzania queried
respondents on their use and knowledge of mobile money, with a view toward answering two key
questions: Who uses these services in Tanzania? Are users mainly those who previously had
access to other banking services, or do they include the poorest and largely unbanked
Tanzanians at the so-called "bottom of the pyramid" (BOP)?
Key Findings
The AudienceScapes data - gathered roughly two years after M-PESA launched the first mobile
money service in Tanzania - show that 11.5 percent of Tanzanian adults (2.75 million out of an
estimated 23.9 million) had used an m-money service at some point. This compares with a 54.6
percent rate of use among Kenyans two years after M-PESA launched there (based on the results
of the April 2009 AudienceScapes survey in Kenya).
The Tanzania survey also points to a recent, sharp increase in the number of people
registering for m-money services: 63 percent of those who said they had used m-money also said
that they first started using a service in the past 6 months. This points to a m-money market
poised for further expansion.
More relevant from a development perspective, only 3.9 percent of Tanzania's financially
excluded or unbanked adults had used mobile money. The rate was 20 percent in Kenya in July
2009.
In other words, at the time of the survey, m-money in Tanzania was primarily a tool for
those who were already participating in the financial system. ...
Even so, there is evident demand for m-money services, as nearly 30 percent of Tanzanians
surveyed said they either send or receive money transfers, or do both � which are m-
money services' bread-and-butter transactions. Some 34 percent of money senders do so at least
once a month and 56 percent at least once every three months.
Despite the relative lack of unbanked or lower income m-money users, there is room for
optimism for development groups pushing m-money as a tool of financial empowerment for BOP
individuals, if only because more lower-income Tanzanians are using mobile phones. The survey
defined recent adopters of the mobile phone as those who first acquired a mobile phone in the
past year, and revealed that this group includes many more lower-income individuals than those
who adopted mobile phones earlier (between two and five years ago). Thus, as mobile phone usage
reaches further down the income scale, there is a greater chance that BOP individuals will use
m-money services. ...
Notably, the survey pointed to "lack of knowledge" as a key impediment to use of mobile
money.
Tanzanian M-Money: The Mobile Communications Context
Mobile money in Tanzania is taking shape amid a fast-growing market for mobile
communications in general. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimates that the
number of mobile subscriptions in Tanzania more than doubled between 2007 and 2009, from 8.3
million (20.2 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants) to 17.5 million (40 subscriptions per 100).
The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) places the number of mobile
subscriptions as of June 2010 at 19.42 million, or 46.35 subscriptions per 100.
...
The AudienceScapes data also corroborate supply-side statistics showing that Tanzania's
mobile market has seen its strongest growth over the past two years. Twenty-eight percent of
mobile phone owners in the survey said they purchased their first phone in just the past year
("recent adopters"). In fact, about 62 percent of owners said they purchased their phone in the
past two years.
... Fifty-two percent of recent mobile adopters reported having a daily household income of
less than $2 (fairly close to this segment's representation in the general population),
compared to only 28 percent of early adopters. Recent adopters also were more likely than early
adopters to be women, rural dwellers and unbanked.
Tanzania M-Money: The Financial Services Access Gap
One of the main arguments for m-money services from a development perspective is that they
hold the potential to expand safe and affordable financial instruments (such as for saving,
transfers and payments) to BOP individuals. Implicit in this argument is the belief that many
people are excluded from the financial services sector.
The AudienceScapes survey tested this hypothesis and found that, while there has been
progress in extending some financial services to more people, over half of adults do not have
access to saving, borrowing and investing instruments. This is in line with findings from the
2009 FinScope survey, which concludes that progress in extending banking services to more
Tanzanians has been slow, especially in rural areas, where brick and mortar banking
establishments are scarce.
The AudienceScapes survey indicates that only 11 percent of rural residents had access to
formal banking services. Perhaps more interesting for m-money proponents, 43 percent of
respondents in the survey who said they are mobile phone owners fell into the unbanked
category. Among recent phone adopters (those who acquired a phone less than a year ago), this
percentage jumps to 56 percent.
Tanzania M-Money: The Need for Money Transfer Services
Money transfers, the first "killer application" for m-money service providers, remain a core
feature of such services in many countries; they are marketed as a safer and/or economical
alternative to transfers handled by the post office, friends or relatives, bus companies and
others. ...
Slightly more than 13 percent of respondents in the AudienceScapes survey said they send
money to other people, either in Tanzania or in another country. Conversely, nearly 24 percent
said they receive money transfers. In aggregate, nearly 30 percent of Tanzanians surveyed said
they either send or receive money transfers, or do both. ...
When money senders were asked an open ended multiple-response question about what they spend
the transferred funds on, 41 percent said it was for "buying food"; that figure was 48 percent
among those who live on $2 or less a day. The second most cited expense was paying for school
fees and supplies (21 percent).
These answers emphasize the importance of transfers as a means of sustaining the income of a
large number of Tanzanians. Lowering the overall cost of sending money to others is an
important undertaking, as the smallest of margins that can be saved will have an impact on both
senders' and receivers' purchasing power. A recent price study showed how existing m-money
services, M-PESA and Airtel, do just this. The average fee for sending money via M-PESA or Zap
(now known as Airtel Money) was gauged to be around 1.8 percent of the total amount of money
transferred, while the range of fees for other types of transfer services were between 9 and
10 percent.
...
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary
and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
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