Mobile operators in Africa have about a quarter less spectrum than operators in other parts of the world, a new GSMA report said. They also pay 24% more for each unit of it, measured against their revenue.
The GSMA is the industry body for mobile operators. Its research arm, GSMA Intelligence, published the report, called Spectrum Policy in Africa, in October 2026, TechCentral reported.
According to the report, African operators held an average of about 570MHz of mobile spectrum below 7GHz at the end of 2025. Operators in the rest of the world held about 750MHz.
The GSMA said African operators pay 0.82% of their revenue for every 100MHz of spectrum. Elsewhere, the figure is 0.66%.
Licence rules can push the real cost much higher, the report said. In Benin, direct spectrum costs equal about 7% of operator revenue. Coverage and service quality rules attached to the licences add a further 66%.
The report said average revenue per user in Africa has dropped by almost 50% in real terms over the past ten years. Revenue per megahertz per connection fell by more than 69%.
The gap in internet use is still wide. 4G networks cover 83% of Africa’s people and 5G covers 15%. But only 28% of people use mobile internet on their own device, compared with 66% in the rest of the world.
The GSMA wants regulators to set lower reserve prices at spectrum auctions. It also wants licences of at least 20 years, and for operators to be allowed to use any technology in any band.
Only nine of Africa’s 54 countries offer licences of 20 years or more, the report said. Only nine have published a spectrum road map.
The body also called for licences to be renewed automatically. More than 200 African licences, worth over US$10 billion, are due for renewal by 2035.
The GSMA estimates its proposals could bring 5G to an extra 170 million people. It said they could add more than $120 billion to Africa’s economy between 2026 and 2035. These are the GSMA’s own projections, and the changes would cut what its members pay governments.
South Africa is in a better position than most countries. It has the fifth largest spectrum holdings in Africa after the 2022 auction, which raised R14.4 billion.
South Africa is not among the 14 markets the GSMA listed as having above average spectrum costs. An earlier GSMA study found the country among the most cost effective mobile spectrum markets in the world.
The report calls for the full upper 6GHz band, from 6.425GHz to 7.125GHz, to go to mobile as the main band for 6G. In July, South Africa’s National Radio Frequency Plan 2026 set aside the whole band for mobile broadband, despite objections from Wi-Fi supporters.
The report also pointed to Rwanda. From 2013 to 2022, Rwanda gave spectrum in two bands to a single wholesale operator to build 4G. After the bands were opened to all operators in 2022, 4G use rose from about 2% to more than 30% of people within two years, the GSMA said.
South Africa tried a similar single network idea for years through its wireless open access network, known as Woan. Communications minister Solly Malatsi formally withdrew the Woan’s spectrum set aside in September 2026.
That leaves Icasa free to license frequencies that had been sitting unused. The regulator is preparing its next spectrum auction for the 2026/2027 financial year.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TechCentral. Image: TechCentral. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.