HARARE – Disparities in mobile data pricing across Africa have come into focus following recent live streams by popular American YouTuber IShowSpeed, with Rwanda recording faster audience uptake than Zimbabwe despite comparable population sizes.
According to viewership figures circulating on social media, IShowSpeed attracted about 3 million viewers in under an hour while streaming in Rwanda, a country with an estimated population of 14.5 million.
In comparison, his Zimbabwe stream recorded roughly 3.1 million views over three days, despite Zimbabwe’s larger population of about 17 million.
EarGround, a popular showbiz platform in Zimbabwe, attributed the disparity less to differences in audience interest and more to data affordability.
Rwanda is reported to offer around 8GB of mobile data for approximately US$0.75 per week, while in Zimbabwe, US$9 reportedly buys about 4GB, and US$13 around 10GB, making live streaming significantly more expensive for consumers.
Observers argue that these cost structures directly affect real-time participation in live digital content, even where demand is strong. Despite higher prices, Zimbabwean audiences still generated millions of views, suggesting latent demand that could expand further with cheaper access.
“Imagine how fast Zimbabwean content would travel with affordable access. The appetite is there. The creators are ready. The internet just needs to catch up,” EarGround noted.
As IShowSpeed’s African tour progressed through South Africa, Eswatini, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, each stop appeared to add to total global view counts.
Zimbabwe’s high internet prices are often explained by officials as an unavoidable consequence of being a landlocked country, a claim recently reiterated by ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera.
A recent study by Techzim showed that, while being landlocked does raise costs because data must travel via terrestrial fibre through neighbouring countries rather than directly from undersea cables, the comparison with Zambia challenges this justification.
Zambia is equally landlocked and shares similar geography and demographics with Zimbabwe, yet it consistently offers far cheaper internet services, including low-cost unlimited fibre packages, undermining the argument that geography alone is to blame.
A comparison of internet pricing showed Zimbabwean providers charging several times more than their Zambian counterparts for similar or even inferior services, despite some operators, such as Liquid Intelligent Technologies, operating in both countries.
Analysts argue that beyond geography, limited competition in Zimbabwe’s terrestrial fibre market, pricing practices by dominant infrastructure providers, and the absence of strategic transit agreements with neighbouring coastal countries play a far greater role in driving up costs.
