4G Rollouts Buoy South Africa Telecom Market Despite Currency Decline

Cape Town, South Africa.

[Via Satellite 01-20-2017] South Africa will remain one of the largest telecom service revenue markets in the Middle East and African (MENA) region in 2016, generating estimated revenue of $9.2 billion. Going forward, however, a new report by Report Buyer expects the telecom services revenue in South Africa to decline at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.4 percent from 2016 to 2021, due to local currency depreciation. However, in local currency, the revenue is expected to expand by 3.3 percent, due to increasing uptake of mobile and fixed data services. Operators are investing in upgrading their network infrastructure, including the expansion of 4G services and rollout of fiber networks across the country.

Within the next five years, mobile revenue will account for 75.6 percent of the total telecom revenue in 2021. Operators such as Vodacom and MTN South Africa will dominate the South Africa telecom market, according to the report, as operators continue to invest in fixed and mobile networks focusing on network expansion to roll out next-generation technologies to stay competitive.