06 March 2019

5G is expected to reach 30 million subscriptions for enhanced mobile broadband in Africa and the Middle East by the end of 2024, representing two per cent of total mobile subscriptions, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility report.

Revealed at the 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the report said this will make 5G the fastest generation of cellular technology to be rolled out worldwide.

Most of the 5G subscriptions in Africa are expected to come on the back of considerable momentum building up in South Africa.

With regards to mobile data traffic point of view, Africa and the Middle East as a whole is globally the highest with nine times growth forecast (1.8 to 15.4EB/month from 2018 to 2024) with mobile broadband subscriptions to double (860 million to 1.63 billion from 2018 to 2024).

“As 5G now hits the market, its coverage build-out and uptake in subscriptions is expected to be faster than for previous generations,” said Rafiah Ibrahim, head of Ericsson Middle East and Africa.

The key drivers for 5G deployment include increased network capacity, lower cost per gigabyte and new use case requirements.