Africa’s Mobile Subscriptions Near 900 Million: A Deeper Look into the Telecom Frontier

In a significant milestone for technological advancement, Africa is now on the brink of crossing 900 million mobile subscriptions. According to the recent mobility report by the renowned multinational networking and telecommunications company, Ericsson, there are more than 880 million active lines – signaling a digital transformation in the continent.

Speaking on this development, Fredrik Jejdling, Ericsson’s Regional Head for Sub-Saharan Africa & Executive Vice President, shared his forward-looking outlook with Nigerian reporters. He projects that by the year 2020, 90% of the global population above the age of 6 will own a mobile phone, reflecting a significant shift towards global connectivity.

Recent data provided by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) support this view, citing over 130 million registered lines within Nigeria alone. However, even with this immense growth, challenges concerning coverage and service quality persist across the African continent.

Smartphone penetration chart by region, courtesy of TechCrunch

Building upon this data, Informa UK’s eminent Africa Telecoms Outlook (PDF) forecasts 334 million African smartphone connections by 2017, encapsulating nearly 30% of the continent’s population.

Despite this positive trajectory, one area that significantly lags behind is internet penetration, which remains below 30%. This gaping disparity has spurred major players like Facebook and Google to launch affordable internet services across the African terrain.

Below is a snapshot as seen on internetworldstats.com that further elucidates the landscape of internet penetration in Africa.

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.