The latest census figures released by Statistics SA show the country has increased PC penetration from less than 10% to 21.4% in the past decade. This figure is expected to increase, despite muted global expectations.
The growth in computers at home is anticipated to spur SA's connectivity, and related entertainment services, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan. Globally, PC shipments are expected to drop this year - the first annual drop since 2001.
IHS iSuppli Compute Platforms Service at information and analytics provider IHS recently noted the total PC market this year is expected to shrink 1.2%, to 348.7 million units, down from 352.8 million in 2011.
Hooking up
Chipo Ngongoni, ICT research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, says the number of household computers in SA had increased from less than 10% to 21.4% between 2001 and 2011.
"Frost & Sullivan expects this trend to continue and sets a clear case for connected homes. The PC penetration is likely to influence an increase in the uptake of consumer broadband, as well as related entertainment services," says Ngongoni.
The 2011 census revealed that three million out of 14.45 million homes have a PC, compared with the 3.7 million who view television via satellite.
According to the results of the survey, only 35.2% of the 14.5 million households in the country have access to the Internet, and the bulk of these homes - 2.36 million - connect through their cellphones. The second most popular form of access is from home, with 1.2 million households logging on that way, while 678 242 homes connect "from work".
Growth opportunities
Ngongoni says despite the increased mobile phone and PC penetration, 64.8% of households in SA have no access to the Internet. Some 12.85 million houses reported having access to a cellphone; only two million have a landline.
According to Telkom's latest results, the telco currently has less than three million active fixed-lines, while all the mobile operators combined have around 67.4 million subscribers, based on the latest available figures.
Ngongoni says Internet access has long been an issue in SA and much investment has been done to improve the situation and, as 16.3% of households access the Web through a cellphone, there are great opportunities for growth in mobile Internet connectivity.
"Mobility is key to the consumer in SA. The market already reports a high level of mobile penetration and the uptake of smart devices is on the rise. This illustrates the importance of interactive mobile platforms and online stores for businesses to complement traditional 'walk-ins' as a means of widening customer reach," says Ngongoni.
The total population of SA, as counted last year, increased by 11.2 million since Census 1996 to 51.8 million. There were 25.2 million (48.7%) males counted in Census 2011, compared to 26.6 million (51.3%) females.
The census data was presented on a "giant" iPad by minister in the presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission, Trevor Manuel. Statistics SA, in partnership with Roambi and local firm Dataways, made sense of the census results using a data visualisation app for iPad and iPhones.
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