Telegeography reported that the number of mobile subscribers reached 8.05 billion at the end of 2020. The article reported:
Figures from TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database show that the global wireless subscriber total has passed 8 billion. User numbers were up 1% in 2020, ending the year at 8.05 billion.
The cellular market showed year-on-year growth despite the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to downturns in user take-up in a number of countries.
Of the end-2020 wireless user total, 55% were located in Asia; China and India alone accounted for 34% of the global base.
Asia saw year-on-year growth of 1%, with Pakistan registering the biggest jump in percentage terms. Customer numbers increased 6% in 2020 to 177 million. And there’s still room for expansion in Pakistan. The country’s wireless population penetration was around 80% at the end of 2020, compared to a regional average of 104%.
As for other regions, the U.S. & Canada also saw a 1% increase in customers, while overall user numbers in the Middle East and Latin America remained virtually static during 2020.
In Latin America’s largest market by subscribers, Brazil, the year finally saw an end to a long-running decline in user numbers. The customer total had fallen from over 280 million in 2014 to below 200 million as of June 2020. But the second half of 2020 brought a turnaround as the country ended the year with 205 million cellular subscribers. However, Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay all experienced annual decreases of 5% or more in 2020.
The fastest-growing region was Africa, which saw a 6% increase in subscribers during 2020 to 1.16 billion. This annual growth is on a par with the previous year’s figure.
Of the top 40 fastest growing markets globally in 2020, Africa was home to 29. It was led by South Sudan, which recorded an annual subscriber increase of more than 23%, while larger markets such as Kenya and Nigeria also recorded double-digit growth (up 13% and 12% respectively).
At the other end of the scale, the number of wireless subscribers in Europe has been in decline for the last six years. Of the 41 countries in Europe with a population above 200,000, 27 witnessed a drop in their wireless subscriber bases between December 2019 and December 2020.
Eastern and southeastern Europe saw some of the region’s biggest customer losses, with countries such as Moldova, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece all registering annual declines of more than 5%.
Although Namibia was slow to introduce competition in the mobile market, with a second operator not licensed until 2006, since then penetration rates have risen to well above the regional average.
The country’s growth in broadband services has been helped by developments with 3G and LTE network rollouts, as well as by investments in national fibre backbone infrastructure. Several WiMAX and other wireless broadband services offer additional access options and are standing by to bring additional competition to the voice market as well, once internet telephony is deregulated.
Namibia has very low population density. However mobile phone coverage is quite good in populated areas and along the main highways. Some level of coverage is nearly always available throughout the country with exception to some National Parks (like Etosha), where you get data and phone services only in the rest camps.
In 2017 mobile coverage stood at 95% of population, and 4G was only available in large towns and some villages.
Namibia has two major network operators: MTC and Telecom Namibia (TN mobile). 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 2100 MHz only. 4G/LTE has started on both operators on 1800 MHz (B3) in major towns. The third operator Paratus Telecom has a 4G/LTE network on 1800 MHz (B3) in Windhoek only and migrates its customers from WIMAX to TD-LTE 2600 MHz mostly for stationary use similar to Telecom Namibia's TD-LTE 2600 MHz home network in some towns.
MTC is the largest operator in Namibia by far: GSMA Intelligence figures for Q4 2019 showed it held an 88 per cent market share on 2.7 million connections.
In June 2018 MTC has made 4G/LTE service available to its 2 million plus prepaid subscribers. MTC prepaid customers can now get internet service at significantly higher speeds and quality by accessing its LTE network service, which was only available to postpaid customers before. All customers accessing MTC's network with a 4G SIM card and a 4G-enabled device will automatically be supplied with the service.
MTC have completed the first phase of the 081Every1 network expansion that they began in July 2017. The operator plans to spend a total of NAD1.2 billion (US$79 million) on the initiative, expanding its footprint with 524 new sites to extend coverage to almost 100% of Namibia’s population. It aims to deliver 3G infrastructure in rural regions and upgrade urban areas to 4G.
Recently MTC denied rumours that the company has secretly been installing 5G towers while the Khomas and Erongo regions are locked down. Some conspiracy theories have been linking 5G networks, which is the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks, to the coronavirus pandemic. In a press statement, MTC rubbished the conspiracy theory suggesting the lockdown was planned so that Namibians remain indoors and not oppose the erection of 5G towers and insisting MTC has and will always trial a new technology first like they have always done with the full permission of all relevant authorities.
Telecom Namibia donated cell phones, unlimited data access and free minutes to the church fraternity under the auspices of the Council of Churches in Namibia, and its affiliate Association of Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches in Namibia. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/UN9E2i3tfM
Telecom Namibia Ltd. Mobile was previously called LEO Mobile and Cell One and is also called TN Mobile. It's the smaller network with a slightly lower coverage and lower prices.
Telecom Namibia also runs a TD-LTE network on 2600 MHz (band 38) in some towns. This replaces their old WIMAX network and is intended for stationary home use mostly.
Paratus Telecom holds licenses for 4G/LTE on band 3 (1800 MHz) in Windhoek and refarms its old WIMAX customers to 2600 TD-LTE (Band 38). It boast with the lowest prices for data in the country, but its network is limited to 4G/LTE and a very small area in the capital so far.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest mobile market, with about 173 million subscribers and a penetration rate of 123%. The number of subscribers fell in 2017 as consumers responded to a poor economic climate and as regulatory measures that required operators to disconnect unregistered SIM cards, though growth into 2019 was strong. The initial rapid growth in the number of subscribers had led to problems with network congestion and quality of service, prompting the regulator to impose fines and sanctions on network operators. These operators have responded by investing billions of dollars in base stations and fibre transmission infrastructure to support the increasing demand for data. The migration from the CDMA platform to GSM technology is almost complete, and though GSM still dominates the market there is a growing shift to services based on LTE. Although LTE coverage remains relatively low, investment among operators is extending the reach of services and is helping to develop consumer use of mobile data services.
Efforts are also being made to encourage network sharing and to outsource the management of tower infrastructure to third parties. There remains considerable growth potential in rural areas where development of network infrastructure and operations is expensive, and consequently mobile penetration is lower. The government’s plan to increase broadband penetration to 70% by 2021 largely depends on mobile infrastructure.
The mobile penetration is above 100% because many locals have 2 or more SIM cards. Nigeria is dual-SIM world leader with a market share of 66% dual-SIM phones in 2015. Nowhere else in the world devices holding two SIM cards are more popular. This is because of the variable network situation, many promotions and low starter prices.
South African-based MTN is the mobile market leader. MTN has invested heavily in Nigeria in recent years. They also bought CDMA-provider Visafone and moved their clients to the MTN network. In 2016 MTN launched 4G/LTE in the cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and coverage will be expanded to other parts of the country in the near future (LTE coverage map). It utilises the 2600 MHz (band 7) frequency so far for LTE, but received additional spectrum on 800 MHz (band 20) from the Visaphone acquisition.
Over the next three years, MTN plan to invest about N600 billion in their network. This
investment will enable them to accelerate their 4G network expansion, deepen population
coverage and support the Federal Government’s broadband initiative. MTN have also conducted a 5G trial and have 5G demo centres in Abuja, Calabar and Lagos. However despite the successful 5G trial, MTN is not abandoning older generation cellular networks any time soon. According to a top executive, they will continue to roll-out 3G and 4G networks across the country for the next few years.
A major difference between 5G and 4G, is latency. On 5G, data is sent and received more than 100 times faster than 4G. Here's @MTNNG demonstrating a real-life use case with an AI goalkeeper. #ExperienceTheFuture. pic.twitter.com/ewRHRfQ7vx
Glo Mobile by Globacom is the second major mobile operator in Nigeria. Globacom Ltd. is a Nigerian privatly-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Lagos. It currently operates in 4 countries in West Africa under the Glo brand.
In 2016 their 4G/LTE launched in 9 cities across the country, namely Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Jos, Warri, Eket, Benin City, Yola and Zaria. The 4G network will be extended to other major cities in the near future.
Airtel Nigeria is a subsidiary of Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel. Airtel and Glo are competing fiercely for the number 2 operator spot in the country. Airtel started to roll out its 4G/LTE network in 2018 in major cities and towns in Anambra state, including Onitsha, Awka, Nnewi and are now available in Onitsha, Awka, Amawbia, Nkpor, Obosi, Ogidi, Ogbunike, Umuoji, Nsugbe, Onitsha and Nnewi. Airtel is playing catch-up with its three main rivals which launched LTE services in the second half of 2016.
9mobile is the smallest of the 4 major providers. Formerly Etisalat Nigeria and owned by Etisalat from the UAE until summer 2017. Etisalat suddenly exited the country after debt restructuring talks failed. They were taken over by Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd. (EMTS), who rebranded the operator as ‘9mobile'.However they continue to struggle and are losing subscribers.
With a population estimated at around 200 million, it’s often the case that more than one Nigerian subscription will be held by the same person. However, recent laws on the registration of SIM cards – making both registration and multiple SIM card ownership more difficult – may affect future mobile take-up calculations. Nevertheless the growth of mobile communications can be seen as positive news for Nigeria’s operators at a time when 4G coverage is being phased in/developed across the country.
Due to Coronavirus COVID-19, closure of Nigeria’s schools during lockdown has hit access to learning for poorer children. In Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, about 20,000 children have been given a phone containing an app called Roducate to bridge digital divide. Local authorities plan to roll out the scheme to 300,000 children in the coming weeks. The freely distributed smartphone loaded with data and an app containing the curriculum and video, audio and chat-based classes. Exams will still be held in schools, she said, but officials will conduct studies on the effectiveness of digital learning on results.
There are currently three national mobile operators in Zambia: MTN, Airtel and Zamtel.
The 3 major networks operate on following frequencies: 2G/GSM up to EDGE on 900 MHz, 3G/UMTS up to DC-HSPA on 2100 MHz and 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz (B3) and 2600 MHz (B7). Due to the low quality of landlines, prepaid SIMs are for most Zambians the only way to get internet access.
The operators continue to invest in 3G and LTE-based services, while the government also contracted Huawei to upgrade the state-owned mobile infrastructure for 5G services. The government’s Universal Access Fund has made measurable progress in delivering telecom services to underserved areas, particularly in its funding the GRZ Communication Tower project which will see 1,010 towers installed by the end of 2020.
BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
MTN is the largest network in Zambia with 42% of the market. For data they claim download speeds of up to 42 Mbps. MTN started with rolling out its 4G/LTE network on 1800 MHz (B3) in 2014 and is available in Lusaka and some other larger population areas in Zambia.
The Indian-based company Bharti-Airtel took over activities from Celtel and Zain and is now #2 with 40% market share in the country close behind MTN. Airtel is present in all the 72 districts of Zambia with 200 towers all carrying what they call a 3.75G network: coverage map.
Having initially introduced 4G/LTE services in the Copperbelt in 2017, Airtel Zambia official launched of its LTE network in the nation’s capital Lusaka.
Zamtel launched its GSM services in 2003 and is government-owned. It's the smallest operator with 16% of the market in Zambia and is reported to also be the least customer oriented.
They launched 4G/LTE in 2014 in Kitwe only on 2600 MHz (B7) and current coverage of 4G/LTE beyond Kitwe is not known as coverage maps are not available. The operator said it has deployed LTE sites in Kitwe, Chingola, Mufulira, Chambishi, Lufwanyama, Chililabombwe and Kalulushi, including the border town of Kasumbalesa.
Back in 2017, Zamtel launched 4.5G LTE-2300 network in the Copperbelt in its quest to improve communication services, pushing forward its technology vision by deploying state of the art, cutting edge 4.5G long term evolution communication. Their press release said:
"Zamtel, Government owned total telecommunications provider has officially launched its 4.5G LTE-2300 network coverage on the Copperbelt Province.
The network will enable Zamtel to offer its fixed network subscribers significantly higher data speeds, thereby enhancing customer experience on the Zamtel network.
The 4.5G LTE-2300 technology has been rolled out in Kitwe, Kalulushi, Chambishi, Chingola, Chililabombwe, Mufulira and Solwezi. The network solution will not only be advantageous to the company but to Zamtel customers as well, as customers will connect with a far more superior data experience from their homes or offices."
Right now, Zambia's priority is to improve the 3G & 4G coverage, and make mobile broadband reliable and affordable for everyone. It still has some way to go before jumping on the 5G ship.
The Australian mobile market is dominated by the three major mobile network operators Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone. All three operators provide comprehensive population coverage with their LTE networks and have launched 5G services.All three Australian mobile operators are now investing billions of dollars in their networks annually, with a view to securing new customers and retaining existing ones. Increasingly, consumers are looking to mobile communications for their broadband needs.
In common with most mature markets, in Australia there are significantly more subscribers to mobile services than there are people. Growth is being driven by population increases as well as a rise in the number of people using two or mobile subscriptions – commonly one is for personal use and another for business use. Very slow growth is predicted over the next five years to 2024 with penetration rates predicted to rise only slightly above projected population increase.
Telstra Australia launched its 5G service on the 3.6 GHz band at the end of May 2019 as it had switched on over 200 5G sites since August 2018. The 5G service was available in over 10 cities, including parts of Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Launceston, Toowoomba, and the Gold Coast. Twenty-five additional cities should be covered before end-June 2020 including the major regional cities in Australia. However, the operator announced it is ahead of its target and 5G services are now available in 47 cities across the country.
Telstra added it has seen a massive expansion in the number of potential customers, growing from 4 to 8 million. Swedish vendor Ericsson has announced collaboration agreements with the operator to provide 5G equipment and upgrade Telstra’s network.
The Australian operator previously acquired spectrum in the 3.6 GHz auction for AUD 386 million (EUR 240 million), giving it 60 MHz of contiguous 5G spectrum in all major capital cities and between 50 MHz and 80 MHz in regional areas.
Telstra has also begun trialling faster millimetre-wave 5G mobile phone technology, which could be up to eight times faster than 4G, in sites at Parramatta and on the Gold Coast as the company announces its 5G network is now available in more than 700 towns across the country.
The trial marks the next step in the construction of 5G networks in Australia. 5G networks in Australia could only use lower-spectrum bands they already had licences for, meaning the much faster mm-wave 5G could not be used in Australia because it needs to use spectrum in higher bands (upwards of 26GHz).
The higher-end spectrum allows data to transfer at much higher rates, and with lower lag in communication to devices. Lower-spectrum (3.6GHz currently) 5G is around two times faster than 4G, but using the higher spectrum, 5G can be significantly faster, just over a shorter distance. Ericsson, the company behind the technology in Telstra’s 5G network, reported earlier this year speeds of up to 4.3 gigabits per second in its lab test.
Australia's @Telstra joins the small club of operators that actually report their 5G customer base: Early January, Telstra has nearly 100k customers with 5G gear. Telstra has 800 operational 5G sites. https://t.co/mRpVbyGHd3
Rival mobile network operator Optus announced the commercial launch of 5G mobile and 5G residential fixed broadband services covering selected areas in November 2019. 290 5G network sites went live and 1,200 sites were planned by March 2020. Recently, the company announced that by the end of May 2020 customers in parts of the western Sydney suburbs of Bonnyrigg and Minchinbury, Niagara Park on the NSW Central Coast, Cook in the ACT and the Brisbane suburb of Kenmore will be able to order 5G services. The telco is using equipment from both Ericsson and Nokia in its rollout of 5G.
Australia is very large - but the 5G coverage of @Optus and @Telstra is visible even on a country-scale map. 3G/4G can't be deselected on the Telstra map, so look for the purple areas. Telstra says it covers 700 suburbs to at least 50%. 5G using 3.6 GHz, Optus also 2.3 GHz. pic.twitter.com/jrw08DzrgR
Optus secured spectrum in the 3.6 GHz spectrum auction for AUD 185 million (EUR 110 million) in late 2018.
Optus have now launched a dual-band 5G network in Sydney using the 2300MHz and 3500MHz bands, with plans to extend coverage to Melbourne in the coming weeks.
The operator said it is testing Samsung Galaxy S20 5G devices on the dual-band network, which it claimed in a world first. The network uses Ericsson’s 5G Radio System equipment and Optus said initial findings indicate it has the potential to increase capacity and coverage. They have also worked with Nokia and Qualcomm last year.
Meanwhile Vodafone Australia switched on its 5G network at Parramatta in March 2020. They expect 650 sites in other parts of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Canberra, will be live from mid-2020.
Vodafone Australia has teamed up with Nokia to conduct what the pair are calling the first field test of 700Mhz spectrum in Australia and APAC. Nokia said the use of low-band spectrum and its AirScale equipment would improve indoor coverage and will be combined with the operators 3.5GHz holdings. 700Mhz spectrum in Australia has previously been used for 4G networks.
Open Signal notes that while 5G may be the focus for Australian operators, 4G continues to play a vital role because it is the network generation that handles the vast majority of users’ traffic and is the technology that most smartphones are using. Additionally, the early 5G networks continue to rely on 4G connections in order to operate because they use 5G non-standalone access. All three of Australia’s national operators have surpassed the 90% mark in 4G Availability and Optus is approaching the coveted 95% mark with a score of 94.9%.
In this report, Open Signal analyze the mobile network experience of Australia’s three national operators in the 90 days starting January 1, 2020. They monitored the network experience at a national level and across six cities, to see how Telstra, Optus and Vodafone performed.
In Opensignal’s regional analysis of six of the largest cities in Australia, Telstra is the operator to beat. The wireless carrier won awards in more cities in each of their metrics than any other operator. In Download Speed Experience, Telstra was the winner in five cities and tied with Optus in one city. They also saw the download speed Telstra users enjoy soar to 73.4 Mbps in Adelaide, which was 26.1% higher than its national score of 47.3 Mbps.
Mobile services in the UAE are primarily provided by two mobile operators: Etisalat and du. The country remains is a duopoly with two state-protected providers. Both of them are partly state-owned. Etisalat is the oldest and leading mobile service provider in the region with over half of the total mobile phone service market. Du launched just over a decade ago and has seen phenomenal growth thanks to their flexible plans and by-the-second billing system.
2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 2100 MHz up to DC-HSPA+. 4G/LTE is on 1800 MHz (B3) and 800 MHz (B20). The coverage of both operators is very good in the cities, populated areas and along the desert highways on 2G, 3G and even 4G/LTE, giving good speed and performance.
Etisalat is the biggest telco operator with 13 million customers and the best mobile 3G and 4G coverage in the UAE. It's partly state owned and more focused on the internal market. Their prepaid SIM called Wasel is open for 4G/LTE, already covering 90% of population. Etisalat quickly opened up stores in tourist areas and now competes with du for prepaid plans.
Etisalat was the first operator in the Middle East and North Africa region to commercially launch 5G service and the device in the UAE. The operator has tied up with Chinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE to offer the service. Subscribers using the ZTE Axon 10 Pro, the first available 5G device from Etisalat, can now enjoy the blazing speed of the 5G network up to 1Gbps and lower latency around 1 millisecond. However the 5G network will be available for all Etisalat postpaid, prepaid, consumer and business customers using a 5G devices. All customers will be able to use existing data packs on the 5G network.
Du is the second largest mobile network operator in the UAE and 39.5% state owned. They now care for about 9 million users and are preferred by most expats, migrant workers and visitors. Du has also rolled out its 5G network in collaboration with ZTE.
In Open Signal's latest report on the UAE mobile market, Etisalat’s dominance continues to prevail in mobile network experience. It won six out of our eight award categories and also established a new benchmark in Download Speed Experience with speeds averaging above 40 Mbps. In this report its was also observed that users in the UAE are finding it increasingly easier to get a 4G connection as both operators have now passed the 90% 4G Availability mark.
As 4G connectivity becomes more ubiquitous, the country is turning its attention to 5G. In November last year both the operators — Etisalat and du — were allocated frequencies in the 3.3GHz-3.8GHz spectrum range with 100 MHz blocks each to establish their 5G networks, and both operators launched their 5G services in the middle of 2019. Besides the frequencies mentioned above, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) is also looking to assign further spectrum in the 24.25GHz-27.5GHz bands for 5G use ahead of the Dubai 2020 Expo, while it could also assign spectrum above 40GHz after 2020.
Etisalat held onto the 4G Availability award, increasing its score by 3.6 percentage points to reach 93.1% in the past six months . But du also saw its score jump by 3.3 percentage points, as both operators passed the 90% national 4G Availability milestone. Etisalat also won our inaugural 4G Coverage Experience in the country with a score of 9.6 (on a 10-point scale), while du was slightly lower with a score of 9.2 points.
If you follow the 5G developments closely, you may have thought that 5G was available in Japan for a while. NTT Docomo has been talking about 5G for the last 5 years. Finally, 5G has launched commercially in the country.
Three out of four Japanese mobile service providers launched 5G services on three successive days at the end of March 2020. The fourth local player Rakuten Mobile is expected to follow in June 2020.
The three Japanese incumbents @docomo, @au_official and @SoftBank are all launching 5G this week. Here a comparison of their premium 5G plans. KDDI's au takes a wholehearted step into unlimited with two plans at launch (adding a third unlimited in June with 2 more services). pic.twitter.com/gEG9PHgJY3
NTT DoCoMo launched Japan’s first 5G smartphone service on March 25, 2020. The network is live in 150 areas in Japan covering 29 of the nation’s 47 prefectures. Customers can get 1 GB of data at 1,980 JPY (16.8 EUR) or 100GB of data at 7,650 JPY (62 EUR) per month, excluding taxes.
According to the operator, the network will continue to expand throughout June, ultimately reaching 500 cities by March 2021, and will have an initial maximum downlink data rate of 3.4 Gbps, followed by a speed of 4.1 Gbps expected in June. In addition, the uplink will start at a 182 Mbps peak, before increasing to 480 Mbps. NTT Docomo anticipates it will have 10,000 base stations by the end of June 2021, and 20,000 by the end of March 2022.
While KDDI launched 5G mobile services in 15 of Japan’s 47 prefectures on March 26, 2020. The operator said it aims to install 10,000 base transceiver stations by 31 March 2021 and another 10,000 BTS by the end of March 2022. Customers can get unlimited data and 30 GB for tethering at 3,460 JPY (29 EUR) per month, 60 GB for tethering at 4,260 JPY (36 EUR), and 80 GB for tethering at 5,460 JPY (46 EUR). Last plan includes streaming from Netflix, YouTube Premium and Apple Music.
SoftBank turned-on its 5G network on March 27, 2020. 5G mobile services are available in selected areas in seven prefectures across Japan for an additional charge of 1 000 JPY (8 EUR) per month. The operator aims to install over 10,000 5G base stations by the end of March 2023 and expects population coverage to reach 90% by the end of 2021.
KDDI and SoftBank had in 2019 cemented a 5G network sharing agreement, by establishing a joint venture to oversee build-out of the technology in rural areas. In a joint statement, the companies said the 50:50 joint venture 5G Japan would oversee “mutual use” of their existing base stations along with construction design and management of new sites. At time they explained joint trials were being readied in Asahikawa City in Hokkaido, Narita City in Chiba prefecture and Fukuyama City in Hiroshima prefecture.
On its newly inaugurated website, 5G Japan explained the higher frequency bands being used for the next-generation technology, including the 28GHz and 3.7GHz bands, required a long-term commitment to, and large investment in, infrastructure construction.
KDDI and SoftBank committed to “rapidly” construct 5G networks to serve all industries with the aim to raise “Japan’s international competitiveness by contributing to its industrial development, regional revitalisation and national resilience.”
Rakuten, the new operator on the market has already garnered 2.3 million customers on its MVNO network. Rakuten Mobile made a full-scale entry into the mobile phone market on April 8, 2020, when the company turned on its 4G network. The greenfield operator plans to launch its 5G operation in June 2020.
Even as the Japanese operators make significant 5G progress, it cannot be ignored that the COVID-19 pandemic is threatening 5G deployments.
The mobile services market in Algeria showed significant growth in the last couple of years, having been relatively stagnant previously. Much of this growth was stimulated by the government’s efforts to improve connectivity in rural areas.
Intensifying price competition between the three MNOs – Mobilis, Djezzy and Ooredoo Algeria – together with increases in taxes on voice and data services, have had a negative effect on operator revenue. A new roaming agreement with Tunisia will place further pressure on revenue.
With the market becoming more mature, operators in turn are looking to opportunities in the mobile data and mobile broadband segments to generate revenue. To this end they have invested in upgrades to LTE infrastructure and have reported significant increases in data traffic.
According to Analysys Mason, there were approximately 48.8 million mobile customers in Algeria as of December 31, 2019, compared to 51.3 million mobile customers as of December 31, 2018, representing a mobile penetration rate of approximately 112.3%, compared to 120.4% as of December 31, 2018.
Veon operate in Algeria through their operating company, Optimum, and the brand, “Djezzy.”
Djezzy broadcasts 2G on 900 MHz and 3G up to HSPA+ on 2100 MHz in 48 Wilayas. 4G/LTE was launched in 2016 on 1800 MHz (band 3) and is available in most Wilayahs. They provide 4G/LTE services in Algeria in 28 of 48 provinces across the country, including Algiers, and the largest provinces in terms of population. Coverage in cities is good, while outdoors on 4G/LTE, but often falls back to 3G indoors. Rural coverarge ranges from 3G to sometimes EDGE or no service. Speeds on 4G/LTE ranges between 10 and 20 Mbps to occasionally poor or trouble connecting to some websites. Overall, connectivity is fairly reliable, though.They generally offer customers mobile telecommunications services under prepaid and postpaid plans.
Djezzy is the most popular brand amongst young people with the most aggressive marketing and generally on par with Mobilis.
Mobilis is the brand under which the mobile subsidiary of state-owned Algérie Télécom is marketing its mobile offers. Based on the number of subscribers it's currently the second operator in the country and was launched in 2003.
Mobilis has been offering 3G connection in basically 80% of all the cities and towns since 2012. 4G/LTE was launched in October 2016 on 1800 MHz (band 3). 4G/LTE is available in the Wilayas of Tlemcen, Constantine, Batna, Bordj Bou Arreridj, El Oued, Biskra, Boumerdès, Tipaza, Blida, Tizi-Ouzou et Sidi Bel-Abbès. Current coverage for 4G can be checked online by selecting the Wilayah, the city and the part of the city.
Mobilis has trialled 5G and expected to launch commercial services in 2020. Towards the end of 2018, Mobilis successfully tested 5G connections in the town of Oran with the technical support of its partner Huawei. The data rates achieved were 1.18 Gbps. Oran will not be the only 5G town, as the operator is also working with other partners to conduct the same tests in other towns to be ready for global switch to the new technology in 2020.
The third operator in number of users in Algeria is Ooredoo and used to be called Nedjma before.
Just like the other Algerian operators they operate 2G on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 2100 MHz and since end of 2016 on 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz (band 3) as well. Ooredoo covers with 3G most populated areas in Algeria and 28 out of 48 Wilayahs are covered with 4G so far.
Nokia is helping Ooredoo Algeria take the first step towards next generation networks and reinforce its technology leadership in the region with the successful deployment of North Africa's first virtualized Mobile Gateway. This is a crucial step for the migration of core network elements to the cloud and paves the way for the transformation of the core network to support next generation mobile network technology. The deployment allows Ooredoo Algeria to meet growing data demand in the region, and provide new and innovative services like Internet of Things (IoT), in addition to enhanced broadband to its subscribers. Once deployed, Ooredoo Algeria's subscribers will be able to enjoy high bandwidth-consuming services, delivering the best possible performance and reliability.
The Kingdom of Bhutan has two mobile network operators: B-Mobile (by Bhutan Telecom, state-owned) and TashiCell (privately owned).
2G/GSM is on 900 MHz on both providers and 1800 MHz on TashiCell, 3G up to HSPA+ on 850 and 2100 MHz in the major towns only. B-Mobile has started 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz (B3) and TashiCell on 700 MHz (B28).
State-owned incumbent Bhutan Telecom Limited (BT) is the leading provider of telecommunications and internet services in the Kingdom. Besides fixed line telephony and internet services, it provides mobile services under its brand B-Mobile. It has the larger network with more users. 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 850 MHz and 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz.
Bhutan Telecom has now officially launched 4G/LTE services in the towns of Thimphu, Paro, Phuentsholing, Wangdue and Punakha. Customers can convert their existing SIM to 4G free of cost. Bhutan Telecom plans to soon expand its 4G service to other Dzongkhags and Satellite towns.
Bhutan Telecom in partnership with Ericsson have successfully deployed a disaster resilient, emergency telecom core network in Bhutan as a JICA grant project.
This emergency telecom core network has been built with the objective of providing users with a seamless and uninterrupted experience, even during natural calamities. Under the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) grant project, Ericsson has implemented disaster recovery solutions from its Digital Services portfolio to help Bhutan Telecom build this network. Ericsson solutions deployed in the network include Evolved Packet Core, Mobile Switching, OSS and BSS. This network would be helpful both in day-to-day operations as well as in enhancing the preparedness of the network to handle disaster situations.
TashiCell by Tashi InfoComm Ltd. is the only privately owned alternative. It launched in 2008 and has a market share of 30%. It has a lower coverage than B-Mobile on 2G and 3G, but they've added many new site recently. 2G is on 900 MHz, 3G on 850 MHz.
4G/LTE has been launched in 2016 on 700 MHz (band 28) which is still not so common. It's available in Thimphu, Paro and Phuntsholing and Wangdue & Punakha dzongkhag.
Bhutan’s regulator has set out its roadmap towards 5G adoption, with deployments expected to begin in 2022. Both operators are working on this roadmap and intend to start tests soon.
The Bhutan InfoComm and Media Authority (BICMA) has published the Regulator Framework for 5G Deployment in Bhutan. The framework advocates waiting until other markets have deployed the technology so that Bhutan is able to learn from their experiences and “take advantage of the increasingly mature 5G mobile ecosystem.”
BICMA expects to see the first commercial deployments begin in 2022 ahead of a broader rollout from 2024. The regulator has promised to encourage innovation to education around 5G technology in the market. To this end, it will grant permits for 5G research and allow operators to conduct 5G trials via the 2600MHz, 3.5GHz and 26GHz bands without paying licence or spectrum fees.
A wide range of bands are under consideration of 5G usage, including the 700MHz, 2100MHz, 2600MHz, 3.5GHz, 4.5GHz and 26GHz bands. The 2100MHz band is currently used for 3G services and BICMA expects this to be the case “until 2025 and beyond”, while the 2600MHz band is also in use for fixed-wireless broadband and multichannel multipoint distribution services.
As a result, the 3.5GHz is seen by BICMA as the “current frontrunner 5G band”. The regulator noted that the 26GHz band is also a contender but would require “wider deployment of small cells” due to its propagation nature. The 4.5GHz band is currently in use, and so would not be available for 5G purposes until all current users had been migrated – which BICMA expects would take two to four years.
Egypt has one of the largest mobile telecom markets in Africa, with effective competition and a penetration rate of about 94%. Although the country was among the first countries in the region to launch 3G mobile services, the development of LTE services was delayed by the late issuing of licenses. Telecom Egypt (operating under the brand WE) in August 2016 received the country’s first unified services licence, which allowed it to offer LTE services, while the remaining three MNOs (Orange Egypt, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr) followed after having disputed the terms associated with the LTE licences offered. Commercial LTE services were launched in late 2017 under unified licences which also enabled the three network operators to offer fixed-line services using the infrastructure of Telecom Egypt. It has been speculated the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) will start selling 5G spectra to Egypt’s four mobile network operators in 2020.
The three first providers have a similar footprint and 2G and 3G in the populated areas. Orange, once called Mobinil used to be market leader, but lost this position in recent years to Vodafone. Etisalat is the newest arrival, but almost on par in coverage now. So speed and coverage depend heavily on your local position to the closest antenna. 2G is on 900 MHz (and 1800 Mhz on Etisalat only), 3G up to HSPA+ speed on 2100 MHz.
In 2016 landline operator Telecom Egypt became the first operator to acquire a 4G/LTE concession. They've launched in September 2017 offering 2G, 3G and 4G services via Orange Egypt with whom they inked a roaming deal in 2017 for the next years. The other providers also received licenses for 4G/LTE.
For 4G/LTE licences are given out on 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz (Bands 1, 3, 8, 28) with 1800 MHz (B 3) as primary band. Some of these bands are used for 2G and 3G too, what has affected the 2G/3G service. After some delays 4G/LTE services have been finally starting on all providers in 2017.
According to OpenSignal report of March 2019 4G/LTE availability is around 60% through all networks with Vodafone topping the list at 67%. Download 4G speed is on average 8-9 Mbit/s with Orange topping at 10 Mbit/s.
Vodafone Egypt, half owned by Telecom Egypt, has become the biggest provider in Egypt with a 44% share of the market. It overtook Mobinil (now branded Orange) in 2011 and offers a good coverage at pretty high rates. For 4G/LTE Vodafone started in 2017 on 1800 MHz (B3) in major towns and resorts.
Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has signed an initial agreement to acquire Vodafone’s 55 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt for $2.4bn in the latest step to unravel the British group’s global empire.The prospective deal, which values Vodafone Egypt at $4.4bn, comes as Riyadh-listed STC seeks to expand regionally.
Vodafone has in recent years sold out of or merged with rivals in a number of countries, including India and New Zealand, to focus on expanding its European footprint. Vodafone Egypt is the largest telecoms operator in Egypt by market share and the British telecoms company was the country’s largest foreign investor.
Egypt has been a growth engine for Vodafone in the past but they were criticised by activist groups during the Arab Spring in 2011 after their network was used to send text messages telling Egyptians to “confront the traitors and criminals” on behalf of the government, before it was turned off. The company later defended its actions saying that three of its engineers were being held hostage and that it had no choice but to comply with the law.
Orange were the biggest mobile provider in Egypt back in the days when it was still called Mobinil. In 2016 they were rebranded to the Orange label. They compete with Vodafone and Etisalat and are at no.2 position with 33% of customers They offer a good coverage in the country and 4G/LTE has started in 2017 on 1800 MHz (B3) in major towns and resorts.
It has been announced Orange Egypt will build and operate a data center and cloud computing platform for New Cairo, Egypt’s next capital city. The Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) is a state-backed company contracting the telco's regional subsidiary. Daily News Egypt reported on the signing of the contract between Orange and ACUD on January 12 2020.
According to the deal, Orange Egypt will provide the main infrastructure to help the city provide various services in conjunction with IoT solutions, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
Etisalat is the smallest of the three providers with a market share of 22%. It gives good coverage in some places, but has gaps and slow speeds in others. They combine their own hotspots in their products. Etisalat is said to have the lowest coverage, but are the only provider that publish+es a 2G/3G coverage map. 4G/LTE was launched in 2017 on 1800 MHz (B3) in major towns and resorts.
Etisalat Misr has teamed up with Honeywell to support Egypt’s smart city vision and deliver world-class services for citizens at Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, which is one of the world’s largest smart city projects.
Telecom Egypt (its brand name WE) is the state-owned landline monopolist with more than 6 million customers. In 2016 it acquired a LTE license and the network has been started in autumn 2017. They provide 4G/LTE at first "experiminentally" on Bands 1 and 8 (900, 2100 MHz). 2G and 3G coverage is done through roaming agreements with Orange and Etisalat.
Telecom Egypt also has a 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt which they have stated they have no intention of selling.
Armenia a former Soviet republic, in the mountainous Caucasus region between Asia and Europe, has relatively small population of just under 3 million. However it continues to develop an effective national telecommunications service in place, reports Research & Markets. The telecom sector was slow to capitalise on the country's steadily improving economic conditions, but by 2018 there had been considerable improvement in both the economy and the country's telecom market. Growth has been relatively flat in the mobile market over the past five years. Mobile subscriber growth is expected to remain fairly flat over the next five years to 2023. Mobile broadband subscribers have grown very strongly over the past five years. Strong growth is predicted over the next five years to 2023. The mobile broadband market will be driven by increasingly faster speeds offered by the mobile operators as they roll out their 4G networks and falling prices due to growing competition. The country has three main mobile operators:
VivaCell MTS is the market leader in the country with more than 60% of mobile customers on its network. In 2017 it changed the company name from VivaCell MTS to MTS Armenia, but brand name remains.
2G and 3G coverage is at 99.8% and 98.8% of the population, respectively; with 47% of Armenia’s residents served by its 4G/LTE signal in 2017. It has the best coverage and speed, but at the most expensive prices.
Beeline Armenia by Veon is the 2nd operator in the country and has a good coverage in 2G and 3G. In September 2016, it started 4G/LTE in Yerevan only so far on the unusual frequency of 450 MHz (on band 31). Recently they have completed a large-scale mobile network modernisation program. The wide-scale project includes the upgrade of existing infrastructure to decommission outdated analogue equipment, as well as the deployment of new optical fibre networks.
UCOM (rebranded from Orange) is the smallest operator in the country, but has a still good networkcoverage map at the lowest prices. Their 4G/LTE has been launched in 2017 on 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz. 3G is available on 90% and 4G on 56% of population in 2017. ------ The Armenian government has stated that Nokia could be the company selected to participate in a project designed to ensure the country can roll out a nationwide 5G network. The government has also approved plans to build a new data centre. The data centre is to be built via a public-private partnership. The government is to provide the premises and infrastructure, and the rest handled by a private investor. Last month “Armenia Engineering Week” bought together about 500 participants from different countries of the world, including representatives of engineering and technology sectors from state, science and research, educational, donor organizations, start-up/accomplished engineering companies.The event demonstrated Armenia’s high-tech and engineering capacity – Armenian technologies in the testing of self-driving cars, 5G, industrial IOT, semiconductors etc According to Bagrat Yengibaryan, head of the Enterprises Incubator Foundation:
”Armenia has a huge capacity to develop engineering technologies, which will open a new page in the development of the country’s scientific potential – starting from material engineering, electronics and solutions in robotics.” He emphasised there are many companies in Armenia that present extraordinary engineering solutions especially regarding self-driving vehicles and Armenia has prepared interesting solutions in this area. Hootsuite has a good summary of Armenia Digital 2019 embedded below:
The Russian telecom market is the largest in Europe, supported by a population of approximately 144 million. The market is dominated by the western regions where the main cities and economic centres are concentrated. All sectors have been liberalised, with competition most prevalent in Moscow and St Petersburg, the two largest regional markets. The number of mobile subscriptions has passed 230 million, while SIM card penetration is high, at around 162% by early 2017. Several mobile network operators are active, although the market is dominated by four major operators.
MegaFon has the best nationwide coverage and good speeds in cities although at the highest prices. It is considered by many as the premier network in the country and the first one that covered all 83 regions (except Crimea). As of 31 December 2018 their number of mobile subscribers was 76.9 million. MegaFon was the first to start 3G (on 2100 and 900 MHz) and 4G/LTE network in Russia. This is the only network that is available in every region of the country except Crimea and Sevastopol. Their LTE is mostly on 2600 MHz and has reached all 83 regions where they operate. 800 MHz and 1800 MHz exist too, but have very limited coverage and are unlikely to be seen. At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), in May 2017 MegaFon and Huawei set an all-time mobile internet speed record for Russia, demonstrating the operation of a 5G network at speeds of 35 GB/s. At their stand in St Petersburg, MegaFon and Huawei presented a 5G base station in action, using TDD in the 70 GHz (E-band) frequency band with bandwidth of 2 GHz. Aside from its high speed, 5G also ensures unprecedentedly low data transfer latency (less than 1 ms), which opens up new opportunities to use 5G in various areas of life. One such area is driverless cars, where reaction speed is vital. The stand featured a model car and virtual reality, allowing visitors to experience how — thanks to numerous sensors that communicate with each other over wireless 5G internet — the car could react in good time to changes in road conditions, cross junctions without traffic lights, overtake and much more.
“We have entered an era where all areas of life are going digital. As the future network technology, 5G will ensure connectivity anywhere, anytime, when in motion and with virtually no latency and unlimited possibilities for application. This will require the efforts of the entire ecosystem — operators, equipment manufacturers and industrial partners. Huawei is actively collaborating with sector players to develop and improve 5G technologies and create new use scenarios and business scenarios to speed up industrial and social transformation. There is a huge space for collaboration between Huawei and MegaFon — two innovative companies — for development of 5G on the path towards an ideal communications world.”
said Huawei Russia CEO Aiden Wu.
MTS (or MTC in Russian, stands for Mobile TeleSystems, "Мобильные ТелеСистемы" owned by russian Systema group) is at present the biggest operator with more than 100 million customers and it is licensed in 83 regions of the country. It is the only provider operator that can be used in Crimea. It's available in most regions of the country and gives good speeds but at lower prices than MegaFon. MTS is associated with Vodafone, which is also their favorite roaming partner. Nevertheless, MTS roaming prices in foreign countries are very high. Their 3G network is on 2100 MHz and 900 MHz. LTE is on 2600 MHz in the form of both FDD-LTE and TDD-LTE (on bands 7 and 38) and on 800 and 1800 MHz. 4G/LTE coverage has reached all 83 regions where MTS operates in 2016. 55% is on 1800 MHz, the others on 800 and 2600 MHz. As of June 2019 Huawei has signed a deal to develop 5G with MTS. MTS has also started a programme to support start-ups focused on 5G. The operator will provide the start-ups with premises for design, development and testing of digital solutions and devices using 5G technology. The best start-ups will be offered grants and an opportunity for long-term cooperation with MTS. Companies using 5G solutions for the development of cloud transformation, new forms of streaming (Ultra HD, VR/AR, 360 degrees), IoT, new formats of cloud and data storage and other issues are invited to participate in the programme. In September MTS Startup Hub experts will select the best start-ups from the submitted applications for participation in the programme. Nokia acts as a technological partner of the programme and has provided an end-to-end solution with a core network and radio sub-system on the basis of the new generation AirScale module, as well as the 5G Nokia AirScale indoor Radio. MTS plans to invest RUB 100 million in the programme through the end of 2020.
Veon (formerly known as VimpelCom) -owned Beeline is 3rd nationwide operator woking in almost all regions of Russia, their 3G coverage is concentrated in populated places, and is still limited in rural areas. 4G/LTE coverage is available in 246 cities in 58 regions covering roughly half of the Russian population in 2016. Beeline and Huawei signed an agreement to pursue the joint development of 5G in Russia May 2018. Beeline is preparing its network infrastructure and is conducting research on how to make a rational transition to 5G technologies.
Tele2 by Rostelecom became the fourth national network active in 60 regions after they merged into a joint venture in 2014. Tele2’s subscriber base totals 40.6 million
Tele2 Russia commercially launched LTE on 1800 MHz (B3) in 2014 and rollouts in most major cities began throughout 2015. Further LTE networks have been launched on B7 (2600 MHz) and B20 (800 MHz), with smaller LTE-TDD deployments over B40 (2300 MHz) primarily in Krasnodar and Sochi districts. The company commercially launched B31 (450 MHz) LTE under the SkyLink banner in May 2016, initially in regional areas and gradually expanding to cover St. Petersburg and Moscow within the same year. Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has been selected by Tele2 Russia to upgrade its network with the 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System, including software. More than 50,000 base stations will be deployed across the country as part of the five-year network modernization deal signed at Mobile World Congress 2019 . Sergey Emdin, CEO of Tele2 Russia, says:
“Mobile traffic in networks will continue to grow exponentially. We are deploying a high-quality network based on advanced equipment while taking into account the increasing data volumes and technological changes in the industry. Before launching 5G networks, Russia must first address several infrastructure issues. However, when all barriers are overcome, new networks will be built faster than LTE, partly owing to existing infrastructure. This would be possible only with Ericsson’s cutting-edge technology. We are sure that Ericsson’s experience, expertise and market-leading portfolio will allow us to upgrade our network to meet loads and gear up for the launch of 5G.”
Sebastian Tolstoy, Head of Ericsson in Russia, says:
“Tele2 is an important strategic partner. We understand that their subscribers have high expectations on mobile connection speeds. Advanced 4G networks and 5G communication technologies provide the data throughput required. Ericsson’s commercial equipment and software for wireless communications support 5G technologies and we can deploy new functionality as soon as Russian regulators make the necessary decisions on frequencies, enabling operators to provide relevant services.”
Hootsuite has a good summary of Russian Federation Digital 2019 embedded below:
