LTE subscriptions will expand by 47 percent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023 in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Ericsson's Mobility Report. Mobile subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow by 6 percent between 2017 and 2023, from 700 million mobile subscriptions to 990 million.
Mobile traffic in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49 percent while mobile subscriptions for the total MEA region are expected to grow at four percent CAGR between 2017 and 2023, from 1.59 billion in 2017 to 2.03 billion by 2023. This equates to 3 percent growth in the Middle East and North Africa, from 890 million mobile subscriptions to 1.04 billion subscriptions between 2017 and 2023.
On the other hand, mobile broadband subscriptions are forecast to grow by 15 percent for the MEA region, from 820 million in 2017 to 1.85 billion by 2023. This is broken down into a 13 percent increase for the Middle East and North Africa, from 460 million mobile broadband subscriptions in 2017 to 980 million by 2023. Similarly, Sub-Saharan Africa mobile broadband subscriptions are forecast to grow by 16 percent from 350 million in 2017 to 880 million by 2023.
When it comes to LTE subscriptions, the MEA region is expected to grow by 29 percent from 190 million to 860 million by 2023. This means that LTE subscriptions in the Middle East and North Africa will grow by 23 percent from 160 million in 2017 to 570 million by 2023. For the Sub-Saharan Africa region, LTE subscriptions will expand by 47 percent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023.
The report mentions that in the Middle East and North Africa, strong growth is forecast for both WCDMA/HSPA and LTE during the period. Combined, these will see a rise from 50 percent to over 90 percent of total subscriptions by the end of the period. The first 5G subscriptions in the Middle East and North Africa are expected from 2020, reaching around 17 million subscriptions by the end of 2023.
