The number of mobile broadband connections in Africa will reach 1 billion in 2020, up from 147 million at the end of 2014, according to new forecasts by Ovum.
The rapid growth of mobile broadband in Africa over the next few years will be driven by factors such as the ongoing roll-out of 3G and 4G networks on the continent and the increasing affordability of smartphones and other data devices, the market researcher said.
As a result, mobile broadband will account for an increasingly substantial share of the overall mobile market in Africa.
Mobile broadband accounted for just 17 percent of the 884 million total mobile subscriptions in Africa at end-2014, but mobile broadband is forecast to make up 76 percent of the total of 1.32 billion mobile subscriptions in Africa at end-2020.
The number of total mobile subscriptions in Africa is expected to cross the 1 billion mark during 2016.
Ovum also expects Africa’s fixed-broadband market to grow strongly, albeit from a low base, as operators on the continent step up their deployments of wireless and fibre networks for home and business broadband.
The number of FTTH/B subscriptions in Africa will rise from about 166,000 at end-2014 to 1.2 million at end-2020, forecasts Ovum.
–
Source: Telecom Paper