Spectrum availability and the price of smart devices will drive broadband penetration on the continent, an official has stated.

Magnus Mchunguzi, head of Ericsson South Africa has told ITWeb Africa that mobile broadband is becoming prominent in the sub-Saharan region but it suffers from scarcity of spectrum.

Mchunguzi was speaking on the back of the launch of the Ericsson 2014 sub-Saharan Africa Mobility report, which has noted the significant development of the telecoms sector in the region.   

Now in its sixth edition the Ericsson Mobility report is an indicator of the evolution of the mobile industry, consumer trends as well as future events that can be expected to take place, he explained.   

“Digital technology is fast becoming a part of everyday life in sub-Saharan Africa,” the report reads.

It continues, “The region is a relatively price sensitive market. For mobile services to fully flourish costs must be minimised.”

And according to Mchunguzi the main catalysts that can drive the growth of broadband in the region are spectrum and the cost of devices.

Data usage is increasing “we’re seeing a shift from PC to people accessing their emails, social media via their mobile phones”, he added.

“We are seeing smart device prices come down from $100 but we believe that there will soon be sub $50 devices and maybe in the $30 range then broadband will almost be at a sweet spot,” he told ITWeb Africa.

Mchunguzi explained, “When it comes to data there needs to be a good number of spectrum availability so that consumers will have a good experience. If you give small spectrum then the experience for the user will be very limited. And the biggest asset in each country is spectrum.

“Spectrum is the one thing each country is given an equal amount of so its not like countries in the US have more than African countries every country has an equal amount of spectrum. The question then becomes how do you use it?”

“In South Africa for example we think we need to reach 30% or 40% penetration in order to start feeling the real value of broadband mobility,” he said.

The report notes that mobile broadband is the primary way that sub-Saharan Africa consumers access the internet.

Ericsson expects that by the end of 2014 there would be over 635 million subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa. And this number is predicted to rise and reach 930 million by 2019.

“As telecoms technologies become a central part in the way businesses and society function, key stakeholders in the region… need to put resources in place that assist in dealing with consumer demand. More spectrum will need to be allocated to support networks, as their capacity is not growing as fast as the increase in data traffic,” the report explains.