Retail telecoms revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa will reach a total $69bn (£44bn) by 2016, according to a report from telecoms research and consulting company Analysys Mason. From $40bn in 2010, the revenue will increase at a CAGR of 10 per cent.

Most of this growth, says The Sub-Saharan Africa telecoms market: trends and forecasts 2011-2016 report, will be accounted for by mobile voice services, with revenue growing at 9 per cent CAGR over the period. 3G penetration, meanwhile, will increase from 3 per cent of the population in 2010 to 20 per cent in 2016, as a result of improved network quality and availability.

“With the exception of South Africa, telecoms markets in the region are more heavily dominated by mobile voice services than markets elsewhere in the world,” says Roz Roseboro, lead analyst of Analysys Mason’s Middle East and Africa regional research programme. “The good news is that operators in Sub-Saharan Africa are operating in an environment where there is a lot of growth potential. The challenge is employing the right strategic mix of technological innovation, geographical expansion and consumer offerings to maximise the opportunity.”

Broadband – including fixed and mobile – will generate only 8 per cent of retail revenue in 2016. The number of broadband connections in Sub-Saharan Africa will increase from 9m in 2010 to 50m in 2016, but this represents an overall penetration rate of only 5 per cent of the population, mainly because of the lack of PCs in use across the region.