Bahrain is leading the world in mobile internet user penetration, according to a StockApps data analysis.

The site has a data showing that Bahrain has a 97,87% mobile internet penetration rate, which is the largest globally.

“The Bahraini government has been investing heavily in infrastructure and technology, which has made it easier for people to get online,” says StockApps’ financial expert Edith Reads.

“The country has an expansive National Broadband Network enabling the provision of affordable high-speed broadband internet services to people and business alike.”

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the world’s second highest mobile internet penetration rate. 

95.86% of the UAE’s population uses this resource for their online activity.

Similarly, Kuwait is a small country with a big appetite for mobile internet. It ranks third globally in terms of mobile internet usage.

Like the other two, it has an extensive mobile internet infrastructure.

The G7 nations are lagging in their internet penetration rates. Of the top 10 countries in the world, only three are G7 members.

With a 93,59% penetration rate, Canada was the best place in the sixth position. Japan (eighth) has a penetration of 92,68%, while the UK (10th) has 92,26% penetration.

The US ranks surprisingly low in terms of mobile internet penetration. At 84,37%, it comes in at a disappointing 44th out of all the countries in the world.

This low ranking is partly due to the US’s high cost of mobile data.

According to a recent study, the average price of mobile data in the US is nearly twice as high as the OECD average.

Whereas Americans pay an average of $61.07 for monthly broadband access, the average for the OECD countries is $37.78.

In addition, the US has large areas of rural territory where mobile coverage is spotty at best.

The internet broadband market in the country is once again set to explode as the leading Broadband Service Provider, Smile Nigeria has revamped some of its data plans, thereby giving its numerous customers more value for their money.

Abdul Hafeez, Chief Marketing Officer, Smile Nigeria, noted that the revamped data plans are amazing as they benefit both the low-end users and heavy users.

Included in the data plans are most of the Bigga plans and the Unlimted plans, with the apparent icing on the cake being the introduction of a new Jumbo plan.

Hafeez enthused that Smile will stop at nothing in always availing its customers of the best data plans in the market.

He explained that the quartet in the Bigga plans series have been padded with more data while their prices remain the same with the same 30 days validity.

These are the 8GB Bigga now 10GB Bigga, 12GB Bigga now 15GB Bigga, 15GB Bigga now 20GB Bigga and 20GB Bigga now 25GB Bigga.

For the old 8GB Bigga at N3,000, the customer will get 10GB Bigga thus getting an additional 2GB of data.

The former 12GB Bigga is now 15GB Bigga, a 3GB more data at the same N4,000.

The then 15GB Bigga now comes with an additional 5GB to peak at 20GB Bigga for the same old price of N5,000.

Any new purchase of the old 20GB Bigga will ensure for the buyer an additional 5GB of data, being 25GB Bigga at the same old price of N6,000.

Hafeez further disclosed that the Unlimited plans have had their FUPs significantly increased with a very small increase to the cost while still retaining the 30 days validity period.

The plans affected under this category are the UnlimitedLite and the UnlimitedEssential.

For the UnlimitedLite plan, the customer will now enjoy 40GB of data at N12,000 as against the previous 35GB data at N10,000. This means that at an additional cost of N2,000, a corresponding 5GB data is at the customers’ disposal.

The new UnlimitedEssential plan now goes for N18,000 with a 100GB data bundle as against the 70GB. This offers the customer an additional 30GB of data at an additional cost of just N3,000.

To cap it all, a new plan has been introduced in the Jumbo family. The latest addition is the 400GB Jumbo which is very cost-effective at only N50,000 and valid for 6 months.

Market watchers believe that this newest Jumbo family plan comes with a lot of value for the customer.

An innovative company, Smile, launched the first 4G LTE network in West Africa in Nigeria in 2014 revolutionising the way Nigerians access the internet.

The company was the first to launch VoLTE on its network and has continued with its innovation, having introduced SmileVoice, which is a free mobile app that enables customers with any Android or Apple iPhone device (including those which are not VoLTE-enabled) to make SuperClear voice calls over Smile’s 4G LTE network.

It was also the first to introduce an unlimited offering, which enables SuperFast data and SuperClear voice, all on one bundle.

Since the famed telecommunications revolution in Nigeria in 2001, the telecommunications sector has remained pivotal to national economic growth and development.

It has also remained outstanding by the innovative products and services which its leading lights like Airtel, MTN, Glo, 9mobile, nTel, Swift Networks and Smile have made second nature.

One of the most cherished innovations from telcos is the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) introduced in Nigeria by Smile Communications in 2016 and enlivened six years later by the recent launch of the service by MTN in April 2022.

In gifting Nigeria its first VoLTE service via a test run in 2015 and full-service commercialization early in 2016, Smile ensured that Nigerian subscribers were availed of up to three times more voice and data capacity than the existing older 3G UMTS and up to six times more than 2G GSM.

Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) is a LTE high-speed wireless communication standard for mobile phones and data terminals, including Internet of things (IoT) devices and wearables. VoLTE calls are voice calls made over the 4G LTE network.

Apparently, with its eyes partly on VoLTE offering, Smile launched West Africa‘s first 4G LTE network in Nigeria in 2014.  The historic launch evidently revolutionized the way people access the internet in Nigeria.

VoLTE provides superior audio quality to regular phone calls made over the standard voice network and enables the consumer to talk and use 4G LTE data simultaneously. It is also enabled for up to six-way conference calls.

At its introduction in Nigeria in 2016, Smile pledged to, through the Voice over LTE (VoLTE), give Nigerians the best speed in voice and data connectivity. The company noted the rapidly growing Nigerian market that is moving much faster in the broadband direction and pledged to offer voice quality that will definitely beat the existing benchmark in the Nigerian market.

Six years after, Smile has not fallen short of its promise as Nigerians now experience SuperClear voice calls on its 4G LTE network. Designed to delight its subscribers to no end, the Smile Voice is cheaper than normal voice calls.

To enhance an inclusion that extends numerous benefits at a nominal fee, Smile customers can use one Smile Data Bundle for SuperClear, Reliable voice, video calls and SMSs to call anyone on any network, anytime, anywhere, using the SmileVoice App or putting a Smile SIM into a compatible VoLTE phone.

The uniqueness of Smile Voice also allows customers to make calls from their data bundle, which can be shared both for calls and data browsing.

Assured of extensive usage and unrestricted range, Smile customers do not need to worry about roaming abroad, for even when travelling internationally the customer can still enjoy local call rate when he calls home.

All that is needed is to connect the mobile to a local WiFi or data network service and call home at a local per second call rate. In essence, Smile Voice can be used in any country using the data in one’s Smile account.

Similarly, the MTN VoLTE service is said to enable a subscriber to make very clear voice calls with reduced background noise on the 4G LTE network. The MTN VoLTE call service will be charged at regular call rates.

It will be available to all customers with VoLTE-enabled devices such as Tecno Phantom X, Infinix Zero X and Infinix Zero X Pro smartphones. Other device models from Samsung, Nokia, Apple and Tecno will be supported soon. The company is hopeful that with VoLTE, it will continue to enhance Nigerian lives with innovative technology.

The Smile earlier offering and the recently launched MTN offer speak to an innovative streak that is gradually becoming synonymous with the telecoms sector.

Invariably, the stellar performance of the telecoms sector stems from a viable market provided by Nigeria and Nigerians, effective regulation provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and impressive service provided by the major operators skippered by Smile and MTN.