Mobile Phones Catching On In Africa
Quick, what’s the fastest growing region for mobile phone penetration? I’d bet most people would have no idea it’s Africa. That’s right, Africa’s mobile phone subscribers grew 37% last year, more than any other region. Of course, the statistics-understanding population out there will point out (correctly!) that this doesn’t mean much, since it’s based on such a small base number. Still, it does suggest that there is potential for mobile phone services in Africa. One thing to note about economies that are behind in technology and telecom services is that they tend to catch up fast – in part because they’re not held back by legacy systems. Of course, there are big economic hurdles to deal with, but as the article points out, improved telecom services in the form of mobile phones has the potential to help out those economies as well.
