Nigeria Mobile Subscriber Base to Hit 168m by 2017 - report

The number of mobile subscriptions in Nigeria will reach 168.99 million by the end of 2017 increasing from 100 million threshold in the second quarter of 2012, according to forecast by Informa Telecoms & Media.

The country will be followed by Egypt with 129.4 million subscriptions at end-2017. it added that Africa will cross the 750 million mark during the fourth quarter of 2012 and reach one billion before the end of 2015.

Africa has the highest rate of growth in mobile subscriptions among major world regions, with the number of mobile subscriptions in Africa forecasted to grow by 17.5% over the year to end-2012, a higher rate than in any other major world region and above the world average of 10.75% over the same period.

Africa has the world's second-biggest mobile market region by subscription count, behind Asia-Pacific but ahead of Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East. Africa's mobile-subscription count overtook that of both Western Europe and Latin America during 2011.

"Africa's mobile market continues to grow robustly, driven by competition among mobile operators, , the availability of new data services and strong economic growth on the continent," said Matthew Reed, principal analyst for Africa and the Middle East at Informa Telecoms & Media.

"And substantial opportunities for further growth remain, because the rate of mobile penetration in Africa is the lowest among major world regions and fixed networks are under-developed or absent across much of the continent."

The number of mobile subscriptions in Africa will reach 761 million at end-2012 and will rise to 1.13 billion at end-2017, according to Informa forecasts.  The rate of mobile penetration in Africa at end-September was 67.55%, which was the lowest rate among major world regions and some way below the world average of 91%.

The take-up of mobile data services is growing strongly in Africa, as a result of the roll-out of 3G networks, the increasing affordability of data-enabled devices and huge improvements in international connectivity following the deployment of new submarine cables connecting the continent to the rest of the world.

Remarkably, operators in five African countries (Angola, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania) have launched LTE services in recent months, ahead of some ostensibly more-developed European markets.

However, LTE subscription numbers in Africa are very low at present, at an estimated 5,000, and take-up of LTE services is likely to be limited to niche markets of more-affluent business and consumer customers for the coming few years.