Mobile data traffic in sub-Saharan Africa to grow 12 times by 2025

18th June 2020

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the fastest growing mobile markets, with mobile traffic set to expand 12 times its current rates by 2025.

The latest edition of global information and communication technology giant Ericsson’s Mobility Report shows mobile traffic in sub-Saharan Africa growing from the current 0.33 Exabytes (EB) a month to 4 EB a month by 2025.

Average traffic per smartphone is expected to reach 7.1 GB over the next five years, while mobile broadband subscriptions are set to account for 72% of all mobile subscriptions in the region by 2025.

Mobile broadband subscriptions currently make up 77% of all mobile subscriptions globally.

Long-term evolution (LTE) subscriptions in the region are expected to triple, increasing from 90-million in 2019 to 270-million by the end of the forecast period.

While LTE, which accounted for 11% of subscriptions in 2019, will account for about 30% by the end of the forecast period, HSPA will remain the dominant technology with a share of around 40%, which is similar to 2019, said Ericsson Middle East and Africa president Fadi Pharaon.

“Driving factors behind the growth of mobile broadband subscriptions include a young, growing population with increasing digital skills and more affordable smartphones,” he pointed out.

During the five-year forecast period, discernible volumes of fifth-generation (5G) subscriptions are expected from 2022, reaching 3% by 2025.

Meanwhile, more than one-billion households in the world do not have a fixed-broadband connection.

“Given the current speed and capacity of cellular networks with LTE, there are opportunities for African service providers to deliver broadband services to homes and small and medium-sized enterprises economically using fixed-wireless access (FWA),” he added.

“FWA delivered over fourth-generation (4G) or 5G is a cost-efficient alternative to providing broadband in areas with limited access to fixed broadband services such as DSL, cable or fibre,” Pharaon explained.

Demand from consumers and businesses for digital services, along with government-sponsored programmes and subsidies will drive the FWA market in Africa.

“At the end of 2019, global FWA data traffic was estimated to have been around 15% of the global total. It is now projected to grow nearly eight-fold to reach 53 EB in 2025.”

FWA connections are forecast to reach nearly 160-million by end of 2025 – generating about 25% of global mobile network data traffic.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION