Africa's mobile networks cover 92% of the population as of 2025. Yet only 28% of Africans actually use mobile internet on their own devices. That gap — between who is covered and who is connected — sits at the heart of a new report that points to spectrum pricing as one of the biggest structural problems in African telecoms.
The GSMA published the report, titled Spectrum Policy in Africa: Enabling Investment and Empowering Consumers Through Effective Spectrum Pricing, on October 20, 2026. It draws on GSMA Intelligence data to show just how lopsided the spectrum burden has become for African operators compared to their global peers.
Paying More, Getting Less
African mobile operators spend 0.82% of revenue per 100 MHz of spectrum, compared to 0.66% for operators in the rest of the world. That is a meaningful premium — and they are not getting equivalent value for it.
The problem compounds when you factor in licence duration. Only nine African countries routinely grant spectrum licences lasting 20 years or more. In Europe, North America and developed Asian markets, 20-year or indefinite licences are essentially the norm. Shorter licences reduce operators' confidence to invest in infrastructure they may not be allowed to use long-term.
The GSMA report argues this combination — high fees, less spectrum, shorter licences — squeezes the capital that operators could otherwise direct toward expanding and improving networks, particularly in rural and underserved areas where returns on investment take longer to materialise.
Coverage Is not the Same as Connectivity
The numbers on coverage look impressive on paper. Mobile broadband coverage on the continent jumped from 59% of the population in 2015 to 92% in 2025. 4G coverage expanded dramatically, from 7% to 83% over the same decade. Even 5G reached 15% of Africans by end of 2025.
But those coverage figures mask a stubborn adoption problem. According to the GSMA report, about 64% of Africa's population lived within reach of mobile broadband in 2025 but did not use mobile internet at all. Another 8% remained completely outside mobile broadband coverage. Together, that is nearly three-quarters of the continent that is not benefiting from all those network rollouts.
Globally, 66% of people use mobile internet — more than double Africa's 28% rate. That is not a gap that spectrum policy alone can close.
Lower Fees Are Necessary, Not Sufficient
The GSMA report is careful not to frame spectrum reform as a silver bullet. It acknowledges that even if African regulators cut spectrum fees tomorrow, closing the usage gap would still depend on smartphone affordability, data costs, digital literacy and reliable electricity — none of which spectrum pricing directly controls.
Extending a network to a community does not mean residents can afford a smartphone or a monthly data bundle. And coverage does not guarantee a fast, stable connection either. These are the realities shaping Africa's digital economy on the ground.
What the report does argue is that high spectrum costs make it harder for operators to justify the capital expenditure needed in low-income areas. If regulators want operators to build where it is financially risky, reducing the upfront cost of spectrum is one lever worth pulling — provided it comes with accountability.
The report's clearest call is for African regulators to link more affordable spectrum access to measurable outcomes: improvements in network quality, increases in internet adoption, and real gains in connectivity for underserved communities. Savings for operators should translate into something tangible for users — that is the test that matters. How countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya structure their next spectrum licensing rounds will say a lot about whether that message has landed.
For anyone tracking Africa's broader connectivity story, the GSMA's data makes one thing undeniable: coverage is no longer the hardest part of the problem.