In the opening quarter of 2008, cellular connections in Africa passed 280 million, adding 70 million connections compared to the previous year. In 2007, growth of 38% made it the fastest growing region in the World, ahead of the Middle East (33%) and Asia-Pacific (29%). In early 2008, Africa is set to overtake North America in terms of the number of cellular connections.

Africa is the fastest growing region in the global cellular market. Cellular connections passed 200 million in the first quarter of 2007 to reach a penetration rate of around 21%. Strong opportunities for growth are expected in the various sub-regions of Africa (although the Southern region is showing signs of maturity). Orascom, Millicom, Celtel, MTN and Vodacom are competing strongly in such markets, where network coverage and regulation remain challenging.

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.

To understand the opportunities of 5G in Africa, in the context of the region's connectivity and socioeconomic landscape, the GSMA, in collaboration with the ITU, conducted a survey of key stakeholders to capture on-the-ground perspectives of the 5G era in countries across the region. The insights in this report have been generated from analysis of anonymised and aggregated responses to the 5G Africa Survey, as well as GSMA Intelligence data and other related market surveys.

While the transformative socioeconomic impacts of digital technologies are well established, a digital divide persists in Africa, where around two thirds of the population do not currently use mobile internet. Against this backdrop, the GSMA has launched the Digital Africa Index - an interactive web tool to support policymakers and regulators.

In Africa, the 5G FWA opportunity is substantial, considering the addressable market for household broadband and the importance of the MSME sector to the region's GDP. Despite issues with device costs and technical hurdles, 5G FWA holds significant potential if the remaining challenges can be addressed collaboratively by stakeholders.

The number of 4G-LTE mobile networks in Africa has doubled over the last 18 months, with coverage now reaching one in five people. Since the beginning of 2015, mobile operators have launched 34 new networks, extending 4G services to 14 more countries, including some of the world’s lowest GDP markets such as Malawi, Burundi and Liberia.

Only one in three of the African population is currently subscribed to a mobile service, highlighting a major growth opportunity for regional operators that are able to extend affordable services into rural areas.

To understand the performance of universal service funds (USFs) in Africa, the GSMA conducted an extensive study. This included a survey of stakeholders, including USF authorities, government ministries and service providers. The results highlight structural and operational challenges requiring urgent attention from policymakers and USF authorities.

Spectrum licensing and pricing can play a crucial role in accelerating the adoption of mobile services and providing better networks and services for consumers. The amount of spectrum assigned by governments in Africa is approximately half the average amount assigned around the world. This gap in spectrum assignments has emerged and expanded over the last decade, making it difficult for operators to offer fast mobile broadband speeds.

Building on insights from a survey of key local stakeholders, including policymakers, mobile operators and equipment vendors, this report establishes the outlook and expectations for the 5G era in Sub-Saharan Africa.

By the end of 2018, there were 185 million unique mobile subscribers in West Africa, an increase of nearly 10 million over the previous year. Future growth will largely be driven by young consumers owning a mobile phone for the first time; more than 40% of the sub-region’s population are under 18 years old. A considerable proportion will become young adults over the next decade.

South African fixed-line operator Telkom returned to the country's mobile market this month amid signs that subscriber growth in the sector could be slowing. Telkom has unveiled a new mobile brand called '8ta' offering "prepaid voice and data products from launch" and postpaid products from next month.

MTN's bid to acquire most of Orascom Telecom's African mobile assets will see the South African firm's subscriber base surpass the 100 million mark and strengthen its position as the leading mobile operator group in Africa.

Despite some vocal opposition in the Ghanaian Parliament over the summer, Vodafone succeeded in completing its US$900 million acquisition of a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom within just a few weeks. It is the group's first acquisition completed under the stewardship of new chief executive, Vittorio Colao, and is seen as a significant addition to Vodafone's EMAPA (Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Affiliates) division, which is becoming increasingly important to the group in offsetting slowing growth in its more mature markets.

The Region in Focus series provides an essential quarterly briefing on industry developments, market insights and country KPIs for mobile markets around the world. This edition outlines the key market trends and developments in Sub-Saharan Africa for Q4 2024.