(Ecofin Agency) - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has seen a remarkable increase in mobile internet adoption over the past few years, reflecting broader trends across African nations. In 2013, the DRC had just 1.4 million mobile internet subscribers among its population of 75.6 million.

As of the third quarter of 2023, data from the Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications of Congo (ARPTC) reveals that the DRC now boasts 28.9 million mobile internet subscribers. This marks a significant 39.6% growth from the 20.7 million subscribers reported in the third quarter of 2020.

ARPTC has not specified the reasons behind this surge in mobile internet adoption between 2020 and 2023. However, it aligns with the overall increase in mobile phone usage, where subscribers rose from 39.9 million to 56.1 million during the same period.

This growth comes amid heightened demand for internet connectivity and the rise of new digital consumption patterns, particularly through social media platforms. Data traffic surged from 43.3 billion megabytes in the third quarter of 2020 to 182.2 billion megabytes by the third quarter of 2023. Average monthly consumption per subscriber also increased significantly, climbing from 751.95 megabytes to 2,028.97 megabytes.

While mobile internet adoption in the DRC has shown robust growth in recent years, penetration rates have risen from 1.9% in 2013 to 30.4% in 2023. Yet, this figure still lags behind Africa's average of 40% in 2022, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Initiatives are therefore needed to enhance widespread access to mobile internet across the country amid ongoing digital transformation efforts.

For instance, widespread access to mobile internet is expected to accelerate the Congolese government's vision of leveraging digital technologies for integration, good governance, economic growth, and social progress. In line with this goal, the government established the Universal Services Development Fund (FDSU) in December 2022 to ensure all Congolese have access to basic telecom services and the internet.