Open Connect Limited Chief Executive Officer, Stella Senti, says Malawi’s geographical position is the reason why the country suffers from high internet costs.

According to Senti, Malawi, being a landlocked country, makes it difficult to bring internet, so borders amidst Mozambique or Tanzania and Zambia must be crossed in order to provide internet. “Therefore, the cost per megabyte (MB) for internet in Malawi is a bit higher than outside”. She also said that another reason for expensive internet is that the equipment which is used in the country is not locally manufactured, hence import costs.

The input follows barel a week after the latest Malawi Economic Monitor by the World Bank, which said high taxation is one of the major factors behind exorbitant internet charges in the country. The Economic Monitor says Malawi’s entry-level broadband packages at 19% of per capita GDP are exorbitant than the 5.2% of per capita GDP in Uganda and two percent in Kenya.