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- Internet technology in Africa relies on older 2G and 3G technology
- More than half of the data connections on the continent are 3G
- 4G connections expected to double by 2030
The mobile technology in most parts of Africa is predominantly 2G and 3G. The G stands for generation. More than half of all data connections on the continent are 3G.
South Africa is in the process of retiring 2G and 3G, which were launched in 1991 and 2001 respectively. But things are changing rapidly.
4G connections, which launched in 2009, are expected to almost double by 2030 to reach close to half of all connections, according to GSMA Intelligence’s The Mobile Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa 2023 report.
GSMA estimates that mobile operators will spend about $75-billion on their networks between now and 2030, mostly on 4G.
Two of the biggest mobile companies in Africa are MTN and Vodacom, both of which originated in South Africa.
Only about 1% of the continent uses 5G, which was introduced in 2019. 5G holds promise for delivering faster speeds and supporting advanced technologies such as IoT and AI.
— 3 July, 2024Subscribe to the weekly newsletter for more charts like this
