Mobile telephony in Africa
Encyclopedia
Mobile telephony
is well spread in Africa
just like in the Western World
; while in Europe
and North America
there is a trend towards an average of two cell phones (or two SIM
cards) per person, more and more Africans own cell phones. The percentage keeps increasing year after year. Furthermore, the African mobile telephony market has been growing at a fast rate since the 2000s: between 2004 and 2007, for example, this growth has been three times the world's average. Mobile telephony is already both more widespread (in terms of number of subscribers) and more profitable than POTS
(fixed-line) telephony.
as a whole had less telephone lines than Manhattan
alone. Fixed line networks hardly reach the remote rural areas where a relevant percentage of the African population lives. Of about 400.000 rural settlements that are estimated to exist in Africa, less than 3% have PSTN access. Mobile telephony providers have taken advantage of this situation, implementing a very aggressive diffusion strategy for mobile networks. In 2006, 45% of rural settlements in Africa had GSM coverage. More recently, coverage has reached 90% of the territory in several countries, including Comoros
, Kenya
, Malawi
, Mauritius
, Seychelles
, South Africa
, and Uganda
. Other countries that in 2007 reached above 50% of GSM coverage are Botswana
, Burkina Faso
, Burundi
, Cape Verde
, Guinea
, Namibia
, Rwanda
, Senegal
, Swaziland
, and Togo
. As a consequence of the larger diffusion of GSM networks over fixed line networks, "mobile-telephone booths" are common in some areas of Africa.
The fixed line market in Africa is generally based on monopoly
(often state monopoly), with a few number of incumbent operators who did not invest in spreading their networks much farther than the larger urban areas. While this situation is changing (for example, both Telecom Kenya and Botswana Telecomunnications Corporation have recently been privatized, and a market liberalization
strategy has been initiated in several countries), the mobile telephony market is generally more competitive and dynamic.
The table below outlines the percentage of African countries where telecommunications markets (fixed line telephony, mobile telephony, Internet
) are fully competitive, partially competitive, or monopolistic, either de iure or de facto (data refer to 2007).
s explicitly designed to reach the poorest (and largest) section of the population, with low-priced mobile phone
s and small denomination prepaid cards.
Another key success factor in the providers' strategy in Africa has been the cutting down of roaming
costs. This is especially relevant in Africa since strong relationships often hold between neighbouring communities that happen to be separated by national borders. Celtel
was the first operator to provide free roaming with the 2006 One Network campaign, whereby roaming became free between Uganda
, Kenya
, and Tanzania
. In 2007 this has been extended to Gabon
, DR Congo
, Congo-Brazzaville
, Burkina Faso
, Chad
, Malawi
, Niger
, Nigeria
, and Sudan
. After Celtel, other providers operating in African markets have announced their intent to gradually reduce and eventually abolish roaming costs for certain areas.
had more than 10 million active mobile telephone numbers.
The table below depicts the number and growth of subscriptions, in 2005-2006, for the 10 main mobile telephony provides in Africa.
traffic goes through the mobile network. An example is Seychelles
, that is the African country with a larger percentage of Internet subscribers, where most Internet users access the net through the mobile network.
Nevertheless, Internet access trough the GSM is very slow (9.6 kbp
s). The advent of 2.5G and 3G
networks did not really affect the African market as terminals
are more costly, video telephony is emphasized with respect to data transmission, and many African governments have been slow or ineffective in defining their UMTS licencing strategy. In perspective, it is likely that the key to the diffusion of Internet in Africa in the future will be Broadband Wireless Access
technologies such as WiMAX
technology.
Mobile telephony
Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Mobile phones connect to a terrestrial cellular network of base stations , whereas satellite phones connect to orbiting satellites...
is well spread in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
just like in the Western World
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
; while in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
there is a trend towards an average of two cell phones (or two SIM
Subscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
cards) per person, more and more Africans own cell phones. The percentage keeps increasing year after year. Furthermore, the African mobile telephony market has been growing at a fast rate since the 2000s: between 2004 and 2007, for example, this growth has been three times the world's average. Mobile telephony is already both more widespread (in terms of number of subscribers) and more profitable than POTS
Plain old telephone service
Plain old telephone service is the voice-grade telephone service that remains the basic form of residential and small business service connection to the telephone network in many parts of the world....
(fixed-line) telephony.
Growth of mobile telephony in the 2000s
Several factors contributed to the "boom" of mobile telephony in Africa in the 2000s.Limitations of African PSTNs
A major success factor of mobile telephony in Africa is the scarce diffusion of PSTNs (fixed line networks). In 2000, Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
as a whole had less telephone lines than Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
alone. Fixed line networks hardly reach the remote rural areas where a relevant percentage of the African population lives. Of about 400.000 rural settlements that are estimated to exist in Africa, less than 3% have PSTN access. Mobile telephony providers have taken advantage of this situation, implementing a very aggressive diffusion strategy for mobile networks. In 2006, 45% of rural settlements in Africa had GSM coverage. More recently, coverage has reached 90% of the territory in several countries, including Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. Other countries that in 2007 reached above 50% of GSM coverage are Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, and Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
. As a consequence of the larger diffusion of GSM networks over fixed line networks, "mobile-telephone booths" are common in some areas of Africa.
The fixed line market in Africa is generally based on monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
(often state monopoly), with a few number of incumbent operators who did not invest in spreading their networks much farther than the larger urban areas. While this situation is changing (for example, both Telecom Kenya and Botswana Telecomunnications Corporation have recently been privatized, and a market liberalization
Liberalization
In general, liberalization refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy. In some contexts this process or concept is often, but not always, referred to as deregulation...
strategy has been initiated in several countries), the mobile telephony market is generally more competitive and dynamic.
The table below outlines the percentage of African countries where telecommunications markets (fixed line telephony, mobile telephony, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
) are fully competitive, partially competitive, or monopolistic, either de iure or de facto (data refer to 2007).
| Internet | Mobile | Fixed line | |
| Monopolistic | 10 | 9 | 55 |
| Partially competitive | 12 | 41 | 23 |
| Fully competitive | 69 | 43 | 25 |
Market strategies
Mobile telephony providers that introduced mobile telephony in Africa in the 2000s adopted business modelBusiness model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
s explicitly designed to reach the poorest (and largest) section of the population, with low-priced mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s and small denomination prepaid cards.
Another key success factor in the providers' strategy in Africa has been the cutting down of roaming
Roaming
In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...
costs. This is especially relevant in Africa since strong relationships often hold between neighbouring communities that happen to be separated by national borders. Celtel
Celtel
Celtel was a telecommunications company that operated in several African countries. It was founded by Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim.-History:Originally known as "MSI Cellular Investments", the company began operating in 1998...
was the first operator to provide free roaming with the 2006 One Network campaign, whereby roaming became free between Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
. In 2007 this has been extended to Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, DR Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Congo-Brazzaville
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, and Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. After Celtel, other providers operating in African markets have announced their intent to gradually reduce and eventually abolish roaming costs for certain areas.
Current situation
As a consequence of the booming of mobile telephony in the 2000s, Africa now contributes for about 7% of the world's mobile market. In 2006, Africa had 198 million mobile telephony subscribers, and in January 2008, KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
had more than 10 million active mobile telephone numbers.
The table below depicts the number and growth of subscriptions, in 2005-2006, for the 10 main mobile telephony provides in Africa.
| Provider | Country | Subscribers (2005) (thousands) |
Subscribers (2006) (thousands) |
Growth % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel | Kenya, Uganda | 37600 | 31800 | 54.9 |
| Vodacom Vodacom Vodacom is a pan-African mobile telecommunications company, and was the 1st cellular network in South Africa. It provides GSM service to more than 35 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2008... |
South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
17600 | 21800 | 23.9 |
| MTN | South Africa | 10235 | 12483 | 22 |
| MTN | Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in... |
8370 | 12281 | 47 |
| Glo Mobile | Nigeria | 9000 | 11000 | 22 |
| Maroc Maróc Maróc is a village located in Zala county in Western Hungary.-References:... |
Morocco Morocco Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara... |
8237 | 10707 | 30 |
| Djezzy | Algeria Algeria Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab... |
7109 | 10531 | 48 |
| Mobinil Mobinil Mobinil is one of Egypt's three mobile phone operators. Founded in 1998. The company is majority-owned and fully consolidated by France Télécom , which holds 71.25% of the shares in "Mobinil Telecom," the rest of the shares being held by Orascom Telecom... |
Egypt Egypt Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world... |
66960 | 9267 | 38 |
| Vodafone Vodafone Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of... |
Egypt | 6125 | 8704 | 42 |
| Mobilis | Algeria | 4908 | 7476 | 52 |
| Celtel Celtel Celtel was a telecommunications company that operated in several African countries. It was founded by Sudanese-born Mo Ibrahim.-History:Originally known as "MSI Cellular Investments", the company began operating in 1998... |
Nigeria | 5400 | 6400 | 18 |
Mobile telephony and Internet
As a consequence of the wider availability of mobile telephony with respect to fixed telephony, in many African countries most InternetInternet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
traffic goes through the mobile network. An example is Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, that is the African country with a larger percentage of Internet subscribers, where most Internet users access the net through the mobile network.
Nevertheless, Internet access trough the GSM is very slow (9.6 kbp
KBP
KBP can mean:* KBP Knowledge Based Processor, is used for processing packets in computer networks* Kilo-base pair , a unit of measurement of DNA or RNA length used in genetics, equal to 1,000 nucleotides....
s). The advent of 2.5G and 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
networks did not really affect the African market as terminals
Terminal (telecommunication)
In the context of telecommunications, a terminal is a device which is capable of communicating over a line. Examples of terminals are telephones, fax machines, and network devices - printers and workstations....
are more costly, video telephony is emphasized with respect to data transmission, and many African governments have been slow or ineffective in defining their UMTS licencing strategy. In perspective, it is likely that the key to the diffusion of Internet in Africa in the future will be Broadband Wireless Access
Broadband wireless access
Wireless Broadband refers to technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area.-The term broadband:...
technologies such as WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
technology.