According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), affordable data means that the cost of 1GB must not cost more than 2% of monthly income. With a minimum wage of ₦30,000, 1GB should cost no more than ₦600 in Nigeria but the current average of ₦1,000 is well over the A4AI standard by ₦400
The issue of high-priced data in Africa is not limited to Nigeria alone but the whole of Africa. The cost of 1GB in Nigeria is roughly $2.78, $2.33 in Rwanda, $3.63 in Ghana, and $5.99 in Gabon. Suffice to say, data is more expensive in Africa than anywhere else in the world.
Seeing this gap, some ISPs like Tizeti (which is based in Nigeria) have sprung up in recent times to help reduce high-priced internet services in Nigeria. They do this by offering affordable and reliable unlimited data on a monthly basis.
In a bid to expand their services, Tizeti has launched a voice calling service– WifiCall.ng for individuals and businesses. The service will allow users make and receive clear and unlimited calls anywhere in the world. In the meantime, the service is only open for Nigerians however, they have plans for expansion within and outside Africa in 2020.
WifiCall is a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), in essence it will be competing with the likes of Skype and WhatsApp. The platform plans to reduce the cost of calling for businesses between 30-50%.
According to Kendall Ananyi, CEO and Co-founder of Tizeti, the platform aims to reinvent the traditional means of phone communication with cloud and AI technology. He said their ultimate goal for the rollout is to reduce the cost and boost the rate of connectivity in Africa. The platform is the first of its kind both in Nigeria and Africa.
All subscribers will be able to call any number in the world even if the number is not registered on WifiCall. Subscribers will also have access to a versatile, user-friendly interface, that will connect them to a modern version of the “yellow pages”.
The prices are listed below;
Key features of the WiFiCall app:
Customizable dashboard
Calling statistics
Personalized digital receptionist messages for multi-line requirements whereby companies can create and manage queues
One-click phone number search + search engine of business phone numbers
Subscribers can select their own number
Multi-user sub-account management with the ability to top up online and allocate call credits to users.
Management of users within a calling space
All subscribers can also place calls directly from Twitter by tweeting phone numbers to @wificallng while on the social network.