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Africa's high mobile penetration sets the stage for internet revolution
Commenting on the recent “Africa Connected: A telecommunications growth story” study from Ernst & Young that found that market penetration of cellphones in Africa is sitting at 37%, Liebenberg notes that the continent has largely bypassed fixed-line telecommunications solutions in favour of mobile technology. South Africa has cellular penetration of about 98%.
From 2002 until now, Africa has seen its number of cellphone subscribers climb by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49.3% compared to a CAGR of about 27.5% in Brazil and Asia, according to Ernst & Young. By 2012, market penetration in Africa can be expected to climb to more than 60%.