A recent GSMA report has revealed that mobile data traffic will quadruple in Sub-Saharan Africa in the next five years, to 11 gigabytes (GB) per user.
As service providers across Sub-Saharan Africa continue to invest in 4G and users migrate from legacy networks, mobile data traffic will rise considerably.
The GSMA estimates that the growth in mobile data consumption over the next few years in the region will mainly be driven by greater coverage by broadband networks, primarily video streaming and online gaming.
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In Sub-Saharan Africa’s streaming market where most customers rely on mobile broadband for connectivity, competition is already heating up among global streaming providers (e.g. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video) and local providers (e.g. Showmax and Wi-flix).
The projection that mobile data traffic in sub-Saharan Africa is set to quadruple in the next five years is a significant indication of the region’s increasing digital connectivity and the growth of mobile internet usage.
The growth in mobile data consumption will also be the main contributor to the increase in the revenues of operators active in the region, which will increase from 46.6 billion in 2021 to 57.4 billion in 2025.
The report also reveals that mobile connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to increase significantly over the next few years, which is due to the development to the development of the fourth and fifth-generation mobile networks (4G and 5G).
Revenue is expected to grow slowly but steadily in the region as operators continue to invest in 4G and 5G network deployments and diversify their services with new revenue streams.
Growing revenue from mobile money and mobile data services continues to underpin operator growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, at the end of March 2023, Airtel Africa reported year-on-year increases in mobile money revenue of 29.6% and data revenue of 23.8%. MTN also saw double-digit gains across both categories by the end of 2022.
By the end of the decade, Sub-Saharan Africa and India will account for nearly half of the world’s new mobile subscribers. Several factors have reportedly contributed to the expected surge in mobile data traffic in sub-Saharan Africa, which includes population growth, increasing smartphone adoption, and expansion of mobile networks, amongst others.
The growth in mobile data traffic in sub-Saharan Africa is indeed promising as it can support economic development, enhance access to information and services, and foster innovation.
The GSMA report also disclosed that there will be around 53 million licensed cellular IoT connections in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. The region will see growth in IoT applications as 4G and 5G networks expand. Government initiatives to use innovative solutions as part of smart city programs are also boosting IoT deployment in sub-Saharan Africa.
loT devices have reached households and businesses across the region, helping streamline processes and increase efficiency in the utility sector, including through smart sensors for waste management in Kenya.
Operators such as Safaricom continue to build loT use cases and expand their NB-loT activities. Operators are increasing loT coverage by targeting a range of vertical use cases, including digital payments, smart metering and smart utilities, digital agriculture, digital health, telematics, and fleet management.