5G in Africa 2023: market status, trends and outlook

Topic

5G

5G in Africa 2023: market status, trends and outlook
This insight is locked

This insight is open to all subscribers and registered users, or available by completing the form below.

Report details

5G in Africa 2023: market status, trends and outlook
Pages
27
Released
OCTOBER 2023

This report highlights key trends and developments in Africa’s 5G landscape, including commercialisation, spectrum assignments, emerging use cases and early insights for pioneer markets in the region. As of September 2023, 27 operators in 16 markets across the region had launched commercial 5G services. More markets are expected to follow soon, with operators in an additional 10 countries making a commitment to launch 5G in the coming years. GSMA Intelligence forecasts that by 2030, 5G will account for just over a fifth of total connections in the region. Meanwhile, 5G fixed wireless access has emerged as an important use case for operators looking to address the gap in last-mile fixed broadband (FBB) connectivity. The low level of FBB development in Africa means that operators in the region have the opportunity to deploy 5G FWA as a primary broadband connectivity option for households without access to fixed alternatives. It also gives operators a chance to capture the enterprise opportunity, particularly in the micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises segment.

Download the Report

Complete the form below to get instant access to this content. For easier access in the future, you can register for a free account here.

By submitting this form, you agree that your email address and related activity on the platform will be processed for the purpose of generating and providing the requested report. Your data will be shared with GSMA Intelligence for this purpose. For more information, please see the GSMA Intelligence Privacy Policy.

Opt-in for Marketing Communications:
To ensure you stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the mobile industry, GSMA Intelligence would like to send you information about events, products, services, and initiatives, as well as industry news. Please subscribe by ticking this box; once subscribed, you can tailor what you receive from us at any time, or unsubscribe, should you wish.

Authors

How to access this report

Annual subscription: Subscribe to our research modules for comprehensive access to more than 200 reports per year.

Enquire about subscription

Contact our research team

Get in touch with us to find out more about our research topics and analysis.

Contact our research team

Media

To cite our research, please see our citation policy in our Terms of Use, or contact our Media team for more information.

Learn more

Related research

Reshaping networks: from a 5G core to an agentic core

Standard
Topics
5G
Artificial intelligence (AI)

Building on previous reports on the evolution of core networks in the 5G-Advanced and AI eras, this report explores what agentic AI means for the mobile core. For the mobile core, most key objectives are unchanged: building future-proof networks that can support a growing and diverse range of endpoints (users, devices and applications) while efficiently delivering intelligent services at scale – all underpinned by a monetisation imperative. But new dynamics have entered the space, from the rise of agentic AI to the sharp focus on sovereignty and mission-critical connectivity. As such, a fresh review of the evolution of mobile core networks is needed.

This insight is locked

The State of 5G 2026

Topics
5G
Mobile networks and connectivity
Digital industries

This report analyses the state of 5G, seven years after its commercial launch, using GSMA Intelligence’s 5G Connectivity Index to benchmark 46 markets across 5G infrastructure and services. It shows broad convergence across the foundation components (coverage, affordability, adoption), but reveals a widening gap on advanced capabilities, including 5G standalone (SA), 5G‑Advanced, uplink performance, fixed wireless access (FWA), IoT and RedCap.

This insight is locked

5G in Malaysia: driving a fast-growing tech economy

Topics
5G
Digital industries

Malaysia is emerging as one of Southeast Asia’s most strategically important digital economies, underpinned by strong government support, rising enterprise technology investment and one of the region’s most advanced 5G rollouts. 5G adoption in Malaysia now at around 50% of the mobile customer base, meaning the country has the infrastructure underpinning to drive enterprise transformation.

This insight is locked
Full access
Get full access to our research now, get in touch with us to find out more about our research topics and analysis
  • 200 reports a year
  • 50 million data points
  • Over 350 metrics