Richard Jin, head of Huawei's Optical Business Product Line.

Africa is one of the world's fastest growing broadband service markets.

In 2022, Africa's broadband user growth rate was 11%, seven percent higher than the global average, and broadband penetration in Africa is expected to hit 20% by 2030.

This is according to the ‘Africa Broadband Outlook 2023’ white paper, produced by global consulting company Omdia. The document examines the industry status, trends, and future broadband development in Africa.

The white paper was released in Dubai at the Broadband Africa Forum2023 hosted by Huawei and The World Broadband Association.

The worldwide home broadband market will rise from 1.4 billion customers in 2023 to 1.8 billion subscribers in 2028, according to the white paper. It also states that Africa is one of the regions with the highest increase in broadband services in the world.

According to Richard Jin, head of Huawei's Optical Business Product Line, the African broadband business has accelerated in the last five years.

Jin said fixed broadband penetration has more than doubled from eight percent to 16%, and network speed has increased dramatically from 10 Mbps to 43 Mbps.

Meanwhile, according to Jin, the share of worldwide optical fibre consumers with speeds of 100 Mbps or above has risen from 20% to 73%. More than 450 global operators, including Orange in Côte d'Ivoire and Openserve in South Africa, have announced gigabit broadband packages.

According to Magalie Anderson, director of the African Union Commission's Management Information Systems Directorate, Africa's transition to a digital society necessitates widespread access to broadband services, but also political support.

“Countries should give priority to broadband infrastructure construction to accelerate the widespread use of broadband networks. The AU will actively provide technical expertise and support mechanisms to promote broadband development and universal access in Africa,” she said.

Oussama Samet, chief network officer of Tunisie Telecom, said the transition to all-optical networks is a core part of Tunisie Telecom's broadband service development and is key to the company's digital transformation.

“2023 marks the first year of all-optical transformation in Tunisia. In the coming years, copper line access networks will be replaced by optical fibre.”

According to Chris Meng, vice president of Huawei's Northern Africa Carrier Business Department, his company will actively collaborate with regional carriers and industry partners to promote the development of the African broadband industry.