Mobile Phones in Africa Development Cooperation News Mobile Phones in Africa Africa, which with only one fixed-line telephone connection per 300 people has the lowest telecoms density in the world, is catching up rapidly in the mobile phone sector. As the recent 'GSM in Africa' conference in Johannesburg noted, the sector is posting an annual growth rate of 100 per cent. That is double the already rapid increase worldwide. Mobile telephony technology can be built up much faster in African cities than laying copper cable, which particularly in the tropical regions is often put out of action by heavy rainfalls. In Guinea, for instance, there are 937 outages per year per 100 connections, and that with a total of only 16,200 telephones.
Mobile telephony is much more reliable.
Africa currently has a total of 5.4 million mobiles in operation, although South Africa, with 3.8 million, has the greatest share of about 70 per cent. The country at present has two mobile network operators, and a third is to be allocated a licence. Eleven million South Africans, more than one-third of the population, are expected to have mobile phones within the next three years. There is similarly rapid growth in other African countries. Many of them, however, must also speed up the issuing of network licences to achieve greater competition.