Africa Edges Closer to 1Bn Mobile Subscriptions

The report foresees that the number of mobile broadband subscriptions in Middle East and Africa (MEA) region will almost triple between 2016 and 2022.

"In Middle East and Africa, where the penetration of mobile broadband is currently lower than in other regions, the number of mobile broadband subscriptions is expected to increase significantly. Driving factors include a growing young population and more affordable smartphones," reads an excerpt from the report.

Ericsson also forecasts that MEA will dramatically shift from a region with a majority of GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions, to a region where 80% of the subscriptions will be WCDMA/HSPA and LTE leading up to 2022.

The firm anticipates that GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions will still account for a significant share of subscriptions in this period. Further analysis by region in the report predicts that in 2022, there will be eleven times more mobile data traffic in Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East and Africa (CEMA).

Heuveldop added that based on measurements made in hundreds of mobile networks, the Ericsson Mobility Report data illustrates the underlying growth in the industry.

He says 4G subscriptions are increasing faster than ever as Voice over LTE uptake accelerates and traffic growth reaches levels not seen since 2013.

The report anticipates that 4G will overtake GSM as the largest access technology by number of subscriptions in 2018.

"The speed with which this technology has been rolled out and adopted is unprecedented. It has taken only five years for LTE to cover 2.5 billion people, compared to eight years for WCDMA/HSPA, or 3G. In the first quarter of this year alone, 250 million new LTE subscriptions were added," the report stipulated.