3 million 5G subscriptions at the end of 2022 could reach 140 million outside North Africa by 2028
There will be a 47-fold increase in 5G subscriptions in Africa in the next five years, outside of North Africa, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report 2023.
Of course this is starting from a base of just 3 million, as of last December, to reach a forecasted 140 million by 2028.
North Africa and the Middle East will have 290 million 5G subscriptions by 2028, accounting for 32% of total mobile subscriptions in that region. A substantial portion of them will come from Egypt, as well as countries with an established middle-class Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
The Ericsson report reckons investment is driven by “a large youthful population and a high demand for connectivity” adding “This will also enable new growth opportunities for service providers, driven by advanced mobile data and value-added services like mobile banking and payments.”
South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria were the early 5G adopters, but more than ten African nations are now deploying the technology: the Mail & Guardian report the Gambia’s QCell and Mozambique’s Vodacom were the latest to launch 5G services in June and May 2023, respectively.
Industry analysts say significant barriers remain to wider spread 5G deployment, including that 5G handsets are expensive, poor network coverage of any kind in remote and rural areas, and therefore low levels of digital literacy in many places. The big hope for many people is not so much 5G as the shift from 2G to 4G. As the Ericsson report observes, “4G will be the main contributor to new subscriptions up to 2028, accounting for more than half of all mobile subscriptions at the end of the period