Uganda’s wireless market has been rocked by the announcement of the imminent closure of number-three player Africell.
Scandinavian telco groups Telenor, Telia, and Tele2 have followed a similar international strategy over the past decade: exit most or all of their Eastern European and Asian operations to concentrate on business closer to home.
The disposals have been attributed to a number of factors depending on the market, including financial pressures, political unrest, and allegations of corruption.
Figures from TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database show that the global wireless subscriber total has passed 8 billion. User numbers were up 1% in 2020, ending the year at 8.05 billion.
The cellular market showed year-on-year growth despite the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which contributed to downturns in user take-up in a number of countries.
