Kathy Gibson reports – Africa will be the fastest-growing market for mobility connections within the next five years.
This is one of the headline findings from Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report, which predicts average use per user to grow from 5,3Mbps in 2025 to 12,2Mbps in 2031.
“That is more than double in the next five years,” says Siseko Ngxola, head of Ericsson South Africa, speaking to delegates at today’s Ericsson Imagine Live South Africa 2026 event.
The potential for growth on the continent is significant, he adds. “Today, Africa sits with 10% 5G coverage, and that is where the opportunity lies.”
Ngxola cautions that artificial intelligence uptake in Africa is premised on the availability of fast, reliable networks.
“AI and connectivity are two sides of the same coin,” he says. “The one cannot be truly realised without the other.
He points out that the main medium by which Africa is connected is mobile, so these networks have to be ready for new AI usage.
“While the focus has been on compute, for AI adoption to be truly realised the AI models must get from the data centres to the consumers
“The way networks will be consumed going forward will no longer be about charging for voice and data, and best effort. It will have to be about guaranteed services and low latency.
“If that cannot be achieved on the network side, the promise of AI cannot be fully realised.
Mobility Report findings
According to Anette Lundvall, strategic marketing director and project manager for Ericsson Mobility Report, 4G is still the dominant technology in terms of subscriptions, but 5G is growing fast, and should overtake 4G by 2027.
By 2031, 5G will account for two-thirds of all mobile subscriptions, at about 6,4-billion. 5G Standalone will account for about 3,9-billion by the end of the forecast period.
During this period, we will also see 6G starting to take off, with e first commercial 6G services by 2023, and about 180-million subscriptions.
Sub-Saharan Africa still has a large percentage of 2G subscriptions at 37%, with minimal 5G penetration. The 5G subscriptions will, however, grow to about 28% by 2031, with LTE accounting for 46%
Lundvall points out that the telecoms sector continues to drive growth in the region. This is assisted by a young population, more affordable smartphones and a rising demand for mobile data digital services
The growth in smartphone subscription will grow from 57% to 73%, reflecting a growing demand and evolving ecosystem.
Service providers are increasingly diversifying their offerings, with a strong focus on fintech and fixed wireless access.
Continued momentum in these developments will depend on infrastructure development and a supportive regulatory environment.
Globally there has been progress in increasing 5G coverage, with an additional 400-million gaining coverage in 2025, Lundvall says.
Devices are increasingly being shaped by AI, Lundvall adds. For instance, there will be double-digital growth in smartglasses shipments in the coming years; and foldable smartphones are becoming a flagship devices.
Ericsson expects there will be full commercial potential for eRedCap from 2028. Already, major smartphone vendors are supporting URSP for communication apps that benefit from networks slicing
The study predicts there will be commercial 6G devices within three to four years.
Fixed wireless access (FWA) is seeing great momentum around the world, and connections are expected to grow from 185-million in 2025 to 350-milloin in 2031.
5G WA and fibre will see the most growth, with 5G representing 85% of FWA connections in 2031.
Lundvall points out that network data traffic growth rates had declined, but stabilised during 2025, with year-on-year growth of 22% in Q1 2026.
Traffic growth will be driven by supply and demand, with continued strong growth in India and North America.
Looking ahead, global traffic growth will be driven by 5G and FWA.
Sub-Saharan Africa, will see the biggest growth at 23%, leading to a 3,5-times growth for the period 2021 to 2031.
In 2025, the global average for monthly data usage is 22Gb; in sub-Saharan Africa, the average monthly usage is 5Mb, expected to grow to 12Gb by 2031.