Africa has made significant progress in expanding mobile network coverage over the past decade. Yet millions of people still do not use mobile internet, while those who are connected often contend with slower speeds and less reliable service than users in other parts of the world.
High spectrum costs are part of the problem.
A new report by the GSMA, Spectrum Policy in Africa: Enabling Investment and Empowering Consumers Through Effective Spectrum Pricing, identifies the cost of accessing radio spectrum as a major constraint on the continent’s digital growth. Spectrum refers to the radio frequencies mobile networks use to carry calls and internet data.
The report argues that African telecom operators pay more for relatively less spectrum, limiting the resources available to expand their networks and improve service quality.
According to GSMA Intelligence, spectrum costs account for 0.82% of mobile operators’ revenue per 100 MHz in Africa, compared with 0.66% in other regions. African operators also hold an average of about 570 MHz of spectrum below 7 GHz, 24% less than the global average of approximately 750 MHz.
The challenge extends beyond pricing. Only nine African countries routinely issue spectrum licences lasting 20 years or more, while longer-term or indefinite licences are common in Europe, North America and developed Asian markets.
Reducing spectrum fees could free up money for network investment, but lower prices alone will not close Africa’s digital divide. Regulators must ensure that more affordable spectrum translates into better coverage, faster connections and more affordable internet access, particularly in underserved communities.
Coverage is growing, but internet use remains low
The gap between network coverage and actual internet use highlights the scale of Africa’s connectivity challenge.
According to the GSMA report, mobile broadband coverage across Africa increased from 59% of the population in 2015 to 92% in 2025. Over the same period, 4G coverage rose from 7% to 83%, while 5G reached 15% of the population by the end of 2025.
Despite this progress, only 28% of Africa’s population used mobile internet on their own devices in 2025, compared with 66% in the rest of the world.
The report estimates that 64% of Africans lived in areas with mobile broadband coverage but did not use mobile internet. Another 8% remained outside the reach of mobile broadband networks.
These figures reveal two problems: millions of people still need access to mobile networks, while many others cannot or do not use the services already available to them.
The reasons go beyond network coverage. Smartphones remain unaffordable for some households, data costs can be prohibitive, and limited digital skills prevent some people from making full use of online services. In some communities, unreliable electricity also makes staying connected difficult.
Network performance is another concern. Average mobile download speeds in Africa stood at just over 27 Mbps in 2025, compared with 98 Mbps elsewhere. Monthly mobile data consumption averaged about 3 GB per connection in Africa, against 14 GB in other regions.
Expanding coverage is therefore only part of the solution. Africa also needs networks capable of handling growing demand and services that people can afford to use.
Why spectrum costs matter
Spectrum is a critical resource for mobile operators. It determines how much data networks can carry and helps operators manage growing demand for internet services.
But African operators have less spectrum available to them than their counterparts in other regions, despite facing a higher cost burden relative to revenue.
At the end of 2025, operators in Africa held an average of 570 MHz of mobile spectrum below 7 GHz, compared with 750 MHz elsewhere. The combination of limited spectrum and high costs can make it harder for operators to expand capacity, improve speeds and reach more customers.
The pressure is increasing as telecom revenues come under strain.
The GSMA report estimates that average revenue per user across Africa fell by about 49% in real terms between 2015 and 2025. Revenue earned per gigabyte also declined as mobile data became more affordable.
Operators are consequently expected to serve more customers and carry more data traffic while earning less from each connection.
High spectrum fees can further reduce the money available for network upgrades and expansion. They may also discourage operators from acquiring additional frequencies, even as demand for mobile data increases.
That could become a bigger concern in the coming years. Mobile data traffic in Africa is forecast to grow by around 160% between 2025 and 2030, according to the GSMA.
Without sufficient spectrum and sustained investment, networks could struggle to keep up, leading to congestion and weaker service quality.
Egypt and Tanzania offer contrasting lessons
The experiences of Egypt and Tanzania show how spectrum pricing and licensing decisions can shape the conditions for telecom investment.
In Egypt, spectrum costs have risen sharply amid currency depreciation and inflation. Some spectrum and licence fees were denominated in US dollars, while operators earned revenue in Egyptian pounds. As the currency weakened, the effective cost of meeting those obligations increased.
Operators also paid a combined $600 million for 5G licences without receiving additional spectrum in return.
Over the past decade, Egypt’s spectrum costs increased more than fivefold in nominal terms and by more than 50% in real terms, according to the report. During the same period, operator revenues fell by 16% and investment declined by 40%.
The figures do not establish that higher spectrum costs alone caused the fall in investment. However, they illustrate how rising expenses and weakening revenues can put pressure on operators’ ability to fund network development.
Tanzania took a different approach.
In July 2025, the country’s regulator auctioned 200 MHz of spectrum in the 3.6–3.8 GHz band, which is widely used for 5G networks. Reserve prices were set 30% below estimated market prices, and operators were allowed to spread payments over time. Coverage obligations were also designed around achievable rollout targets.
According to the GSMA, the approach increased the amount of spectrum available to operators without significantly increasing the cost burden per unit of spectrum.
The broader lesson is that spectrum policy involves more than setting a price. Payment terms, licence duration, spectrum availability and network rollout requirements all influence how much operators can invest.
Lower fees must translate into better networks
Reducing spectrum fees may give telecom operators more room to invest, but it does not automatically make network expansion commercially viable.
Building and maintaining infrastructure in rural communities can be significantly more expensive than operating in cities. Operators must contend with unreliable electricity, difficult transport routes, costly backhaul connections and the risk of equipment theft.
GSMA Intelligence estimates that remote rural base stations cost 35–40% more to operate than urban sites, on average.
These expenses help explain why some communities remain underserved even when mobile coverage obligations exist. A lower spectrum bill may improve the economics of expansion, but operators still need to cover the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure in areas where expected returns are low.
Licence requirements can add to that burden. In Benin, the GSMA report estimates that coverage and service-quality obligations cost operators the equivalent of 66% of annual revenue, compared with 7% for direct spectrum costs. Similar pressures exist in Rwanda and Uganda.
Coverage obligations serve an important purpose: they encourage operators to extend services beyond profitable urban centres. But requirements that are too expensive or poorly designed can weaken the investment capacity needed to meet them.
Regulators must therefore strike a balance between extending connectivity and ensuring operators can realistically finance the required infrastructure. Incentives or targeted support may be necessary where commercial returns are insufficient to justify expansion.
The GSMA recommends setting spectrum prices according to the value operators can realistically generate, rather than relying on outdated auction benchmarks. It also advocates longer licence terms, predictable renewal rules, technology-neutral licensing and clear plans for releasing additional spectrum.
These measures could make investment decisions easier to plan and finance.
The report estimates that spectrum reforms could bring an additional 50 million people within 4G coverage and 170 million within 5G coverage by 2035. It also projects that average download speeds could rise by 30–50%, generating more than $120 billion in additional cumulative economic output across Africa between 2026 and 2035.
These figures are projections, not guaranteed results. Their realisation will depend on how governments implement reforms and whether operators follow through with investment.
Consumers must see the benefits
For African consumers, the real value of spectrum reform will be measured by the quality of the services they receive, not simply by how much operators save on licence fees.
Governments and regulators need to track whether lower costs lead to greater investment, expanded coverage and better network performance. They must also consider whether improved connectivity translates into increased internet use.
That distinction is important. A network can reach a community without making internet access affordable for its residents. Device prices, data costs, digital skills and access to electricity will continue to influence whether people can benefit from being connected.
Ultimately, consumers should experience the difference through faster downloads, fewer dropped connections, more reliable access to online services and improved connectivity in underserved areas.
Spectrum pricing alone will not solve Africa’s digital divide. But policies that make spectrum more affordable, provide predictable licensing conditions and set realistic coverage requirements could give operators greater room to invest.
The bigger challenge is ensuring that those savings lead to tangible improvements. Africa has made considerable progress in expanding mobile coverage. The next step is making that connectivity faster, more reliable and accessible to more people.