West Africa is in throes of a mobile revolution with dynamic growth in mobile market as more and more people join the subscriber base, thanks to new alternatives.
A research report by RNCOS, “African Mobile Handset Market Analysis (2006-2009)” has drawn the conclusion that the over 130 million population of West Africa is being quickly won over by the Western concept of consumerism which has affected the mobile industry for the better. The expected increase in the total mobile subscribers in the region is at a CAGR of nearly 9.25% between 2007 and 2011, which would mean a mobile subscriber base exceeding 130 million by the close of 2010.
There has been a 58% growth in the cell phone market in West Africa in 2006 with an expectation of a rise by an additional 35% in 2007, mainly owing to intense competition and a thriving Nigerian market. According to Informa Telecoms & Media, the expansion of mobile phone subscribers in Wet Africa has ballooned to 49.3 million in 2006 end, a rate that exceeds other parts of the continent where there has been a 395 growth, as reported by the news from Reuters Africa.
Nigeria’s massive size also contributed to the region’s growth. As the most populous country in the continent, it is poised to become the biggest mobile market in Africa (outdoing South Africa) by the end of 2007 averaging 40 million subscribers.
The escalation of mobile service growth in West African region has primarily been fuelled by the entry of GSM-based services. This cot-effective communication alternative easily scored over fixed-line telephone services as the advantage was to the benefit of both the network operators as well as the consumers.
Prepaid billing availability also contributed majorly to the speed of growth in terms of subscriber base in this region as a major part of the populace falls under the low per-capita income bracket. Therefore, mobile services are easily accessible to the people with payment made much more convenient for them.
The last four years registered the addition of 16 million subscribers, which is barely 12.3% of the nearly 130 million population. Vast changes have altered African mobile markets in the recent years, with the evolution of competitive markets from state-run possessions. In last few years, most of the rapid growth was due to this liberalization. The market is currently making the transition to a more mature and controlled stage, which is changing the perception of mobile operators.
Related Market Research Reports:
African Mobile Handset Market Analysis (2006-2009)
African Mobile Market Forecast (2007-2011)
Changing Faces of The Global Mobile Handset Market (2007)
