5G subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to reach 320 million by 2029 from 11 million in 2023, according to a June report released by Swedish telecommunications giant -Ericsson.

The “Ericsson Mobility Report June 2024” highlights that the rapid growth of 5G in the region will primarily be driven by the release of spectrum in low and mid bands and the decreasing prices of devices compatible with this new mobile technology. By the end of 2029, 5G subscriptions are expected to make up around 28% of all mobile network subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 38% for 4G and 8% for 3G.

The share of 2G mobile network subscriptions, which accounted for 45% of total subscriptions in the region last year, is expected to decline sharply as mobile operators migrate their customers to 4G and 5G networks, dropping to less than 27% by 2029.

The total number of mobile phone subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow from 950 million in 2023 to 1.17 billion by 2029, representing the highest annual growth rate in the world (4% per year).

The region is also expected to see the fastest growth globally in smartphone adoption. By 2029, about 790 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to use smartphones, up from 460 million in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 9%.

Moreover, the report notes that the acceleration of subscriber migration from 2G and 3G networks to more modern networks will significantly boost mobile data traffic in the region. Data traffic across all active mobile networks is expected to increase from 2 exabytes (1 exabyte equals 1 billion gigabytes) per month on average in 2023 to 13 exabytes per month by 2029, reflecting an annual growth rate of 38%.

Monthly mobile data traffic per active smartphone in Sub-Saharan Africa is also forecasted to reach 20 gigabytes (GB) on average by 2029, up from 5 GB last year, with an annual growth rate of 26%.

The anticipated increase in data traffic in the region is expected to be driven by a growing number of connections, wider broadband mobile network coverage, greater smartphone accessibility, and increasing demand for data-intensive content such as gaming and video streaming.

Worldwide, the total number of mobile service subscriptions is expected to reach 9.26 billion by 2029, up from 8.5 billion in 2023. Ericsson also forecasts that the world will have 5.56 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2029, representing 60% of all mobile network subscriptions, up from 1.58 billion last year.