The continent still ranks low when it comes to broadband development according to Ovum Research, documented in their yearly Broadband Development Index.
Africa scored 236 out of 1000 points for the combined fixed and mobile broadband development index.
Separately the continent ranked 108 out of 500 in fixed broadband but gained in mobile broadband scoring 119 out of 500.
“The growing rollout and take-up of mobile broadband in Africa means that the continent scores better in mobile broadband development,” Danson Njue an analyst at Ovum said during the East Africa Com held in Nairobi.
More telecom companies in Africa are; however, investing heavily in rollout of 3G and 4G networks to enhance the speed and envelope those still not covered with the mobile broadband.
Companies like Safaricom and Airtel have been given the green light to rollout LTE service in Kenya. In Tanzania Smile and Tigo have rolled out LTE services. In total, 11 operators have launched LTE in Eastern Africa according to Ovum Research.
Fixed broadband has slow growth in Africa due to the huge infrastructure layout and capital required to reach potential customers.
“Africa’s fixed broadband market is particularly underdeveloped and Africa is the lowest ranked region in development,” Njue said.
The only region worse than Africa in the index is Central and Southern Asia. North America and Western Europe occupy the first and the second spot respectively.
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