West Africa: Subscriber base hits 82 million

The total connections to mobile telephone networks in the West African sub region is now 82 million, according to a report released at the fifth annual West and Central Africa Com., a major conference for telecommunications and satellite communications professionals held in Nigerian capital city Abuja this week. “Mobile subscriptions grew by 51 percent in West Africa to reach 82 million in the first quarter of 2008, up from the 48 million recorded in 2006,” the report said. The report put mobile telephony penetration at 30 percent of the population of 251 million persons in the sub-region.

It also put fixed lines connections at less than 4 million, adding that Nigeria was the biggest GSM market in the sub-region, accounting for 57 percent of usage.

Others are Ghana, 10 percent; Cote d’ Ivory, 10 percent; Senegal,5 percent; Mali, 3 percent; Burkina Faso, 2 percent; Guinea, 2 percent and others, 11 percent.

In the Central Africa region, the report indicated that mobile subscriptions grew at 41 percent to reach 16 million with a mobile penetration rate of 16 percent and less than 1 million fixed lines.

Source: Xinhua