South Africans spend more on mobile: report
South Africans spend more on their mobile bill than the global average, new research from the GSMA shows.
According to the “Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Economy 2013” report by the GSMA, South Africa’s Average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) is recorded at $25.4 (R264) – above the global average of $25 (R260) and a Sub-Saharan Africa average of $13.6 (R141).
It follows a study commissioned by Informa Telecoms & Media in July 2013, which found that smartphone users in South Africa spend on average US$31 (R321) per month on their mobile phone bills.
ARPU levels vary significantly across the SSA region – largely driven by differing GDP per capita and income levels – but remain in line with the developing market average, the GSMA said.
The only exception is South Africa which, of the larger markets, has ARPUs above the global average level – reflecting mainly high average income levels in the country.
ARPU in Africa
Expressed as a proportion of the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) – South Africans spend a relatively paltry 4% of their income on mobile access, compared to other Sub-Saharan countries like Nigeria (16%), Kenya (18%) and the DRC (36%).
This is in-line with the average for developing countries (3-5%), the GSMA said, but still higher than first world countries (1%) like the USA and Europe.
“There is a strong negative correlation between subscriber penetration rates and the affordability of mobile services. In countries where subscribers spend a lower percentage of their income on mobile services then penetration rates tend to be higher,” the GSMA said.
The GSMA pegs South Africa’s unique mobile subscriber rate at 64.6% versus a SIM penetration rate of 134.7%.
Leading in mobile broadband
According to the GSMA, mobile has become the leading access point to broadband in SSA, mainly due to the high cost of PCs and a lack of fixed-line broadband infrastructure.
At the end of 2012 smartphone penetration in SSA stood at 4%, “well below” the global average figure of 17%; however, South Africa’s current smartphone adoption levels are seen slightly ahead of global averages – with the penetration rate forecast to exceed 45% by 2017, up from 8% in 2010.
Smartphone penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa
Additionally, South Africa already has a mobile broadband penetration rate approaching 30%, well ahead of the global average, meaning that almost one in three people in the country have a mobile broadband subscription.
The report puts South Africa’s 3G penetration at 39.3%, against an average SSA rate of 7.6%.
MTN South Africa claims to have 68% 3G coverage in the country, while Vodacom reports that it had 83% of South Africa covered for 3G at the end of 2012.
In terms of LTE, of the 9 operators across Sub-Saharan Africa which offer the high-speed mobile Internet access, three of from South Africa (MTN, Vodacom, Telkom Mobile), the the GSMA notes that the face challenges with the delays in the planned spectrum auctions for both the 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands.
“LTE deployments across SSA are still in their early stages, with only nine countries across the region having commercial LTE networks in operation as of August 2013. This leaves SSA trailing the other regions in the world in terms of active LTE networks,” the GSMA said.
The total number of LTE connections in South Africa is forecast to reach 6.5 million by 2017, although at that point this will still account for only 8% of total connections in the market at that time.
(1 US$ = 10.39 ZAR)
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