A new report by the GSM Association (GSMA) has revealed that although internet connectivity revenue is growing, the proportion of value captured by connectivity players is declining.

GSMA's Internet Value Chain Report states that connectivity revenue grew from €199 billion in 2008 to €508 billion in 2015, but this represents a smaller share of the total internet value chain, declining from 18% to 17%, with a continued slide to 14% expected by 2020.

In 2015 alone, online services captured nearly half of the revenues of the entire internet ecosystem (47% or €1.4 trillion).

Africa is yet to experience this, says Nigerian telecoms industry analyst Wale Oladipo. "Without any doubt, the connectivity service providers are still the ones making most of the money here in most parts of Africa while online service providers are making just a fraction of the total revenue in the ecosystem."

He says while the future is bright for online service providers in Africa, the industry is still in its early stages and the focus is largely on providing access to everyone.

"For the next ten years, I believe Africa's tech ecosystem will continue to be vibrant for access providers. Take a look at the tech powerhouses on the continent – countries like Nigeria and Kenya still have a larger part of the population without access. As long as this is the case, connectivity providers will continue to have opportunities for growth and expansion," he said.

In addition to the untapped access market for connectivity operators in Africa, a good number are also venturing into provision of online services and MTN is one of them.

The operator acquired a stake in African Internet Group (AIG) which owns ecommerce platform Jumia and several other online companies. Millicom and Tigo are doing the same thing while Vodafone, Globacom and several others are also providing online services.

"African operators are really smart and they are well aware of what the future will be for the online space. They want to still be relevant and they are positioning themselves to be the ones in charge of the ecosystem by providing access and owning the big online companies," Oladipo added.