IT World • Created November 9, 2017 17:10

Sub-Saharan Africa: Ericsson forecasts 310 million LTE subscriptions by 2023

The Ericsson Mobility Report has predicted that LTE subscriptions will expand by 47 percent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023 in Sub-Saharan Africa. The report, expected to be released later this month, also announces that mobile subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow by six percent from 700 million mobile […]

Sub-Saharan Africa: Ericsson forecasts 310 million LTE subscriptions by 2023

The Ericsson Mobility Report has predicted that LTE subscriptions will expand by 47 percent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The report, expected to be released later this month, also announces that mobile subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow by six percent from 700 million mobile subscriptions in 2017 to 990 million subscriptions by 2023.

It also stated that mobile traffic in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49 percent while mobile subscriptions for the total MEA region are expected to grow at four percent CAGR from 1.59 billion in 2017 to 2.03 billion by 2023. This equates to three percent growth in the Middle East and North Africa, from 890 million mobile subscriptions to 1.04 billion subscriptions between 2017 and 2023.

Similarly, Sub-Saharan Africa mobile broadband subscriptions are forecasted to grow by 16 percent from 350 million in 2017 to 880 million by 2023.

The Head of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, Rafiah Ibrahim, said: “Total mobile traffic for the region is forecasted to grow by around 49 percent annually between 2017 and 2023. “

“This rapid growth is seeing operators increasingly exploring methods of optimizing their networks with more capacity and coverage. We are supporting operators across the region throughout the different phases of the network evolution, enabling best performing networks and differentiated customer experience,” she added.

According to the report, when it comes to LTE subscriptions, the MEA region is expected to grow by 29 percent from 190 million to 860 million by 2023. This means that LTE subscriptions in the Middle East and North Africa will grow by 23 percent from 160 million in 2017 to 570 million by 2023. For the Sub-Saharan Africa region, LTE subscriptions will expand by 47 percent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023.

The report further stated that in the Middle East and North Africa, strong growth is forecasted for both WCDMA/HSPA and LTE during the period.

“Combined, these technologies will see a rise from 50 percent to over 90 percent of total subscriptions by the end of the period. The first 5G subscriptions in the Middle East and North Africa are expected from 2020, reaching around 17 million subscriptions by the end of 2023,” it read. 

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