JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Coinciding with its Telecom Africa 2001 event this week in Johannesburg, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released a report detailing the state of telecommunications in Africa. The report claims that “within a few years, the majority of Africa citizens will be within range of a mobile signal.”
In fact, the report estimates that before the end of 2001, there will be more mobile than fixed subscribers on the African continent. Prepaid cards drove growth in wireless services in Africa, with four out of five subscribers using prepaid options.
The total number of telephone subscribers per 100 people increased from 0.51 to 1.2 from 1995 to 2000, the ITU said. The international telecom body said an aggressive rollout of wireless local loop (WLL) and fixed wireless broadband systems would help alleviate fixed network shortages and enhance Internet access.
