"I told myself that staying hungry for a day and night wouldn't kill me. So, I just bought the internet bundle and slept on an empty stomach," Bonheur Malenga said on BBC.
Bonheur Malenga, a 27-year-old student from Congo, spent almost half of his allowance just to use the Internet needed for his final dissertation. This even pushed him to skip meals in order to save money and use it for mobile data.
In the record, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or known as Congo, is the second poorest country in the world. Despite its socioecnomic status, it has the most expensive internet cost, according to the 2019 Affordability Report from the Alliance for Affordable Internet.
How Expensive is the Internet in Congo
According to data, 26% of the average monthly income of most Congolese were being spent on mobile phones—which are commonly used for mobile data.
Malenga is just one of the thousands of Congolese that have a problem when it comes to using the Internet in a country like Congo.
In 2016, the United Nations released a report saying that the Internet is considered a basic human right. With this said, disconnecting people from mobile data can now be considered as a violation of this right.
The Congolese Post and Telecommunications Regulation Authority (ARPTC) also made their research saying that only 17 percent of citizens from Congo use mobile data.
Meanwhile, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) also did their own research stating that there was also a gender barrier when it comes to using the Internet in the country.
The study quotes that more than 33.8 percent of men compared to 22.6 percent of women in Africa have access to mobile data.
Protest for Cheaper Internet Charge
Congo, though having one of the highest natural resources in the world, also has the most expensive internet price in the world. With this, a group in Africa named 'La Lucha' protested against the government between the months of March and December.
"Still, we want the government to do something instead of watching us being scammed."
Internet: A Luxury or Necessity?
In today's online world, having an internet serves as a part of everyone's routine. Even in the most progressive country like the United States of America, mobile data seemed to be taken as a luxury due to its expensive rate.
As a matter of fact, even the former U.S. President Barack Obama stated the need for a cheaper yet quality internet for all of their citizens.
"In an age when the world's information is a just click away, it demands that we bring our schools and libraries into the 21st century. We can't be stuck in the 19th century when we're living in a 21st century economy," said Obama.
Even in 2016, a federal judge stated that Internet should be treated as essential as electricity and water since most people in the state already use this medium.
Now that everything is meant to be posted online and most industries depend on this medium, having Internet for the most part of the world serves as one of the identifiers that a country is developing or not.
