South African smartphone subscribers experience the fastest and most consistent connectivity services in Africa, according to industry bench markers Opensignal.
Opensignal analysed 15 African countries for its research: South Africa, Morroco, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Algeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, Ethiopia and Sudan.
It detailed that South Africans are connected to 4G and 5G services for the highest proportion of time with the fastest download speeds at 27.3Mbps – 16.8% faster than second place Morocco. Egypt and Kenya are in third place, with download rates between 16.2Mbps and 16.3Mbps.
Meanwhile, Moroccans have the fastest upload speed recording up to 7.5Mbps. The North African nation also has the best games experience and voice app quality.
Sudan was the worst in both download and upload speeds with scores of 5.7Mbps and 2Mbps respectively.
In several African markets over 40% of smartphones rely on mobile services only and not WiFi. For example, Ghana has 60% of users being mobile signal only. This showcases the lack of fixed infrastructure in Africa and its “mobile-first character”.
However, 3G is still commonplace in some African markets with smartphone users in Angola and Ethiopia spending just under half (40%) of their time connected on 3G. In contrast, users in Uganda, Ghana and Sudan spend more than 30% on 3G.
Network quality is affected by limited spectrum bandwidth, heavy reliance on 3G and low maximum data transfer rates can adversely affect the quality of the overall mobile network experience in African markets. Currently, certain African markets are seeing backlash for poor quality of service.
Opensignal added 2G continues to be notable in some African markets. Smartphone users spend over 5% of their time connected to 2G in Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.
The rate is up to 2% in the more advanced markets of South Africa and Morocco. However, Morocco, Sudan, Angola and Cameroon spend the highest proportion of time with no signal among African markets ranging from 3.3% to 4.9%.