Mobile data connections and services are growing strongly in Africa, but the continent continues to lag behind most of other regions in terms of high-speed broadband connectivity, said a new research by global analyst firm Ovum. Ovum via its Broadband Development Index expects Africa’s mobile subscriptions to cross the one billion mark in 2016 and reach 1.23 billion by the end of 2019, growing at 9.8% year on year. As at the middle of this year, the number of mobile subscriptions in this region hit 851 million. The expected growth in Africa exceeds the expected global rate of 6.3%, making Africa as the highest growth region compared in the world.
At the same time, Ovum projects the number of mobile broadband connections on the continent to rise from 96 million as at the end of last year to 950 million by the end of 2019 (equivalent to 77.3% of total mobile subscriptions). However, fixed broadband household penetration in Africa was just 5.2% as at the middle of this year, the lowest rate among major world regions. South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Nigeria are among the countries in this region with the most advanced broadband markets, added Ovum.
Matthew Reed, Practice Leader for the Middle East and Africa at Ovum
But with the rate of growth in mobile subscriptions slowing – the number of mobile subscriptions in Africa will increase by only about 5% year-on-year in 2019 – the more significant development within Africa’s mobile market is the growth in mobile data connections and services. Despite the growth in mobile data connectivity on the continent. Ovum’s data shows that despite the remarkable advances made by Africa’s telecoms sector, the continent remains behind most of the rest of the world in terms of its adoption of fast broadband services. Bridging that digital divide should be a high priority for African governments, regulators and the industry, because of the economic, social and commercial benefits that it could bring.
