The GSM Association, the worldwide umbrella body of mobile network operators, has stated that the manufacturing sector will profit the most from telecom operators’ deployment of 5G technology.
The Times reported that this was noted in the organization’s most recent ‘Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa’ study.
According to the GSMA, while 5G is likely to help most sectors of the Sub-Saharan African economy, the industrial sector is expected to reap more than 32% of the advantages.
It went on to say that this would be driven by applications like smart factories, smart cities, and smart grids.
According to the GSMA, the services sector will get 29% of the advantages, while every other sector will benefit depending on their ability to implement 5G use cases into their operations.
The GSMA projected the broad effects of technology on Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy over the next seven years.
It said that “In 2030, 5G is expected to benefit the Sub-Saharan African economy by $11 billion, accounting for more than 6% of mobile’s overall economic impact.
“Much of the 5G benefits will be realized between now and 2030, as some countries are still in the early phases of deployment, and 5G economic benefits will grow as the technology gains scale and widespread use.”
While noting that Sub-Saharan Africa would have 226 million 5G connections by 2030, representing a 17% adoption rate, the GSMA stated that this would be driven mostly by Nigeria and South Africa.
“Nigeria and South Africa will account for nearly half of these links. As a larger share of the customer base migrates to 4G, 5G growth in the region will be sluggish but consistent. Growing internet demand is propelling the region’s 5G fixed wireless access industry, with providers such as Orange Botswana and Telkom South Africa launching commercial 5G FWA services.
“FWA will serve as a primary broadband connection, assisting in the improvement of coverage in the region. At the same time, it will allow operators to boost their customer base and develop new use cases, according to the GSMA research.”
According to the survey, the number of unique mobile customers in Sub-Saharan Africa has been steadily increasing.
The organization stated this will continue over the next seven years, bringing the total to roughly 700 million by the end of 2030.
Again, Nigeria and Ethiopia are expected to account for about a third of total African customers by 2030.
Mobile adoption in the region is also expected to reach 50% by 2030, albeit this will be far lower than the global average.
