Orange money and network upgrade to 4G are both increasing subscriber numbers
Sonatel, which trades as Orange through its Senegalese control, has launched a commercial 5G pilot to provide fixed and mobile internet to residential and business customers in the country. The carrier invited potential customers to see 5G in action at Dakar’s Orange Digital Center (ODC).
Sonatel’s commercial 5G launch comes about seven months after Sonatel secured Senegal’s first 5G operating license from the Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARTP) for $57 million. It took a while, considering carriers first discussed 5G in 2020 and then announced successful testing in December 2021. We launched 5G ODC in July 2022.
According to Ecofin, in the 5G segment, Sonatel outperforms its main competitors Expresso Sénégal and Saga Africa Holding Limited (Free). The latter received an operating license in December 2023 for CFA 13.5 billion.
According to ARTP data, Orange had 12.5 million mobile subscribers in Q3 2023, with a market share of 56.47%. Expresso and Free account for 16.8% and 23.89% of the national mobile subscriber base, respectively. In the Internet sector, Orange held a market share of 66.52%.
Last month, Sonatel Group, which operates in five countries (Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone), announced strong 2023 results on the back of high-speed data, mobile and orange money. The company’s fixed-line, mobile and Internet customer base increased by 6% compared to 2022, reaching 41.1 million people, thanks to growth in all countries, mainly Guinea, Senegal and Mali. did.
The Group currently has 19.1 million active mobile data customers, an increase of 10.1% year-on-year. The number of active 4G-based customers reached 14.4 million, an increase of 35.5% compared to 2022. Sonatel wants to offer his complete 4G mobile network in all countries of deployment and has already done so in Senegal and Mali.
Orange Money’s customer base reached 31.6 million customers, an increase of 19.8% compared to 2022, thanks to the diversification of the offer portfolio and price adjustments implemented in several countries.
Sonatel’s fixed broadband customer base had 741,000 customers, including 659,000 fiber and Flybox (4G router) customers, an increase of 25.1%. Households can also subscribe to fiber starting from 15,000 CFA per month, with 710,000 fiber optic sockets to be rolled out by the end of 2023, mainly in Senegal and Mali.
