Data prices are key in determining the pace of mass adoption of long term evolution (LTE) services in Africa, says an official from global provider of telecom IT solutions Tecnotree.

Timo Ahomäki, chief technology officer at Tecnotree, has told ITWeb Africa on the sidelines at Mobile World Congress 2014 in Spain that LTE network launches in several African countries have been aimed at the top end of the market

In Uganda, for instance, LTE users can expect to pay data prices equivalent to what a small-medium enterprise (SME) could pay, and that can be anything from 180,000 shillings a month, Ahomäki told ITWeb Africa.

"If an operator wants to roll out LTE they can, but it will not attract the mass market," Ahomäki said.

Over the last two years, African nations have rushed to roll-out LTE services.

The likes of Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Zambia, Liberia, Mauritius, Tanzania and Uganda already have the next-generation mobile broadband offering.

But Ahomäki says network operators in these countries could keep LTE prices stubbornly high this year.

Ahomäki further says the rate of LTE launches in Africa could be slower in 2014 with the situation only possibly changing in 2015.

Other research organisations; though, have pointed to strong future growth in Africa’s LTE market.

Earlier this year, ABI Research forecast that 50% of Africa’s population is forecast to be covered by LTE networks by the end of 2018.

ABI has also predicted that the number of African LTE cellular subscriptions are multiplying at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 128% to surpass 50 million by the end of 2018.