Africa’s mobile market is among the fastest-growing in the world, again gaining more than 70% in the first three quarters of 2005 alone. The fact that 14 African countries have achieved triple-digit compound annual growth rates (CAGR) for the past five years shows that this growth is not just short-lived. As early as 2001, Africa became the first continent as a whole where mobile phones outnumbered fixed telephone lines, which individually is the case in most African countries today. Every country on the continent now has at least one mobile network in operation. Mobile penetration broke through the 10% barrier in 2005 and exceeded 13% by September, with several countries reaching more than 50%. The first Third Generation (3G) mobile systems were launched in Africa in 2004. This report provides an overview of Africa’s mobile sector and services along with profiles of the major pan-African mobile operators and the providers of satellite mobile services.
