The introduction of the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable will see the Senegalese communications sector grow into one of the most robust in Africa.
According to Pyramid Research, the country boasts 88 per cent mobile phone penetration, expected to increase to 105 per cent by 2017.
Despite the high mobile phone penetration, the country is still the smallest in West Africa in terms of mobile revenue, averaging US$906 million last year. Neighbour Nigeria brought in US$8.8 billion in revenue from the telecom sector, though its market size will grow by just one per cent over the next five years.
Senegal, on the other hand, is headed for a great telecommunications future with the recently-landed fibre optic cable, and will push the demand for voice and data even higher. Total revenue is predicted to increase to US$1.9 billion in 2017.
“The Senegalese government expressed commitment to support various e-government, e-health, e-education and local content efforts could represent a real opportunity for third-party providers to invest in these new growth drivers,” the report said.
The ACE cable was launched last year in Gambia and will run across the Africa coast connecting to Europe.
Operators like Orange Senegal and Tigo have been in the forefront in pushing the sector forward.
