See also: » 24.03.2011 - How cyber-activism lent savvy to North African protests » 06.04.2010 - Is computer learning becoming redundant in Africa? » 24.02.2010 - ICT prices falling globally » 16.02.2010 - Mobile phone connections to exceed 5 billion » 09.11.2009 - African mobile market continues to develop at a rapid rate » 23.10.2009 - ITU approves new universal mobile phone charger » 06.10.2009 - Africa still lagging behind in ICTs » 06.10.2009 - Gateway boosts its pan-Africa network strength Houlihan's coupons

Finn autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden på Verdensmat.no: Gazpacho Børek Kartoffelsalat Taboulé Gulasj Albóndigas Cevapi Rougaille Japrak sarma Zwiebelbrot Klopse Giouvetsi Paella Pljeskavica Pica pau Pulpo a la gallega Flammkuchen Langosj Tapenade Chatsjapuri Pasulj Lassi Kartoffelpuffer Tortilla Raznjici Knödel Lentejas Bœuf bourguignon Korianderchutney Brenneslesuppe Proia Sæbsi kavurma Sardinske calamares

Autentiske matoppskrifter fra hele verden finner du på Verdensmat.no: Réunion Portugal Aserbajdsjan Serbia Tyskland Seychellene Bosnia Spania Libanon Belgia India Kroatia Hellas Italia Ungarn Komorene Georgia Mauritius Østerrike Romania Frankrike

Mobile phones are also reaching rural areas of Africa, including farmers in Kenya

© afrol News/Chris Pearson

afrol News, 17 November - Africa this year crossed the 500 million active mobile subscriptions mark. By now, every second person of Africa's 1,033 million inhabitants can be reached by phone, making Africa a sizable market.

These numbers were presented by Thecla Mbongue, a Johannesburg-based senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. According to the latest data available to Ms Mbongue, the number of active mobile subscriptions in Africa reached 506 million at end-September 2010.

Africa now accounts for 10 percent of the world's mobile subscriptions and remains one of the world's fastest-growing regions - with the subscription numbers increasing 18 percent over the year to September, accord to Ms Mbongue.

This continues fast growth was a result of "the still low mobile penetration rate on the continent as well as demand for new services, such as mobile Internet access, that increase the need for telecoms connectivity."

Although the rate of growth in mobile subscriptions in Africa now would slow as markets mature, "the continent continues to offer great opportunities for investors in the voice segment in under-penetrated markets and also in the non-voice segments with mobile broadband and mobile-money services taking off," according to the analyst.

"By 2015, there will be 265 million mobile broadband subscriptions in Africa, a huge increase from the current figure of about 12 million, and accounting for 31.5 percent of the total of 842 million mobile subscriptions that the continent will have in five years' time," according to forecasts by Informa. "There will be almost 360 million users of mobile-money services on the continent by 2014," Ms Mbongue adds.

The mobile revolution that has swept through Africa had made mobile telephony widely available, "but there are still substantial under-served markets - in rural areas the rate of mobile penetration is typically below 10 percent, for example," she adds, pointing out that these were still markets to conquer for investors.

The l

Africa telecom market analyst Thecla Mbongue

© Informa/afrol News

anding of a series of new submarine cables on both the East and West coasts of Africa over the past 18 months had given the continent a good level of international connectivity for the first time, and had greatly expanded the opportunities for data services.

However, terrestrial backhaul threatened to become the next bottle-neck, Ms Mbongue warned, and this "must be extended if the benefits of the new connectivity are to be made widely available and in particular reach rural communities and countries in the interior of the continent," she advised.

The next big market is the provision of Internet services in Africa. The rate of household broadband penetration in Africa was just 2.5 percent in the beginning of 2010, "so African broadband has a long way to go if it is to emulate the mobile revolution that has already swept through much of the continent," Ms Mbongue holds.

According to data analysed by Informa, Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is also its largest mobile market, accounting for 16 percent of the continent's mobile subscriptions.

Egypt and South Africa are the second and third largest mobile markets on the continent. Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania and Zimbabwe together accounted for 48 percent of the 54 million net additions to Africa's mobile subscription market over the nine months to September.

Over the coming five years, Informa expects the strongest growth rates in mobile subscriptions to be recorded mainly in East and Central African markets, with Ethiopia, Congo Kinshasa (DRC), Eritrea and Madagascar forecast to see mobile subscription numbers increase by more than 100 percent by 2015.

Africa's first mobile network was launched in Tunisia in 1985, so 2010 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of mobile telephony on the continent.

By staff writers

© afrol News

Tweet

Printable version

On the Afrol News front page now

Rwanda

Rwanda succeeds including citizens in formal financial sector afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda. Read more

Famine warning: "South Sudan is imploding" afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries. Read more

Guinea

Panic in West Africa after Ebola outbreak in Guinea afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease. Read more

Ethiopia

Ethiopia tightens its already strict anti-gay laws afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared. Read more

Ethiopia

Ethiopia plans Africa's biggest dam afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries. Read more