Chairman of the MTN Group, Mcebisi Jonas, has highlighted two major reasons for the low 5G internet penetration across the continent. They include the lack of price-appropriate 5G devices and vandalism of telecoms infrastructure.
He made this note in response to a question during a chat with fellows of the Media Innovation Programme in his office in Johannesburg. Since Vodacom and MTN launched the first major 5G networks in South Africa in 2020, the technology has slowly expanded across the continent.
GSMA projects that Africa will have more than 340 million 5G connections, representing one-fifth of all mobile links. Together, 4G and 5G will account for nearly two-thirds of the continent’s total connections. GSMA also estimates that 5G alone will contribute 26 billion dollars to Africa’s economy by the end of the decade, with major benefits for retail, manufacturing, and agriculture.
Yet, these entrenched challenges persist.
According to Mr Mcebisi, at the heart of the device problem is the question of cost. “It is one thing to lay the cables and provide connectivity. It is another to have enough subscribers who have the required devices to use the service. What we have observed in Nigeria, Ghana, and other countries is that many users do not have 5G compatible devices to provide us a complimentary financial return”, he explained.
For consumers in Africa, 5G network uptake will be a function of device affordability. For one, 5G-enabled smartphones are increasingly available in most African countries around the 150-dollar range. Yet, the prices must drop below the 50-dollar level, like the 4G-enabled phones, for mass adoption to be guaranteed.
According to a recent GSMA report, affordability is a major disincentive that could deter customers from adopting of 5G. While device costs are falling, they’re still priced at a significant premium over 2G, 3G, and 4G devices.
He added that MTN plans to invest in 5G-enabled phone acquisitions to boost penetration, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana. “To address this challenge, we will have to invest in landing network-appropriate devices at an affordable price range and compatible with country-specific regulations,” he said.
Recall that MTN South Africa launched a 5G-enabled smartphone priced at $137.22 last November. Similarly, Airtel Nigeria announced that it is working closely with device manufacturers to reduce the cost of 5G smartphones as part of a broader strategy to make 5G Internet access more accessible to Nigerians.
At a media event, CEO Dinesh Balsingh explained that the 5G ecosystem requires both network deployment and widespread device penetration to succeed.
“5G is not only about telecom infrastructure. It’s an ecosystem where devices and networks must come together,” he said. “Rolling out the network is important, but it’s just as crucial to ensure that consumers have access to 5G-enabled phones.”
In all, while smartphone financing schemes are predominantly led by the private sector, governments and policymakers have a role to play in providing an enabling environment to support such schemes. For example, regulators must allow operators to offer mobile handsets with fixed SIM (carrier-locked) features as part of measures to de-risk handset financing.
Similar: MTN’s 5,478 fibre cuts in 2025 signal an urgency for Nigeria’s CNI enforcement
5G: The problems of vandalism and talent
He also listed infrastructure vandalism and talent retention as common problems that telecoms operators face across African countries. “Destruction of telecoms infrastructure is a major challenge. I think that we need to develop a model that will involve communities as custodians and protectors”, he explained.
Service disruption is a recurring challenge in the Nigerian telecoms industry. Last month, MTN Nigeria announced that it suffered 760 fibre cuts nationwide in July 2025. That brings its total year-to-date tally to over 5,478 incidents.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s live incident portal revealed that telecommunication services were severely disrupted in at least nine states (Rivers, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Akwa Ibom) across Nigeria in June 2025, following multiple incidents of fibre cuts.
The data showed that the disruptions affected major operators, including Airtel, MTN, 9Mobile, and Globacom. Mr Mcebisi is worried about its impact on service cost. “The problem is that you will have to do more than what other people in other jurisdictions do, and it has an implication for the cost of the service”, he added.
Broadband fibre optic cables are at the core of modern communication infrastructure. They enable the high-speed data transmission that drives a wide range of social and economic activities. Hence, ensuring zero downtime is a priority for all players.
Bloomberg reports that repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables cost Nigerian telecom players about N27bn ($23m) in 2023. MTN alone reported that it relocated 2,500 kilometres (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fibre cables between 2022 and 2023, spending over N11bn.
That sum is sufficient to build over 870 kilometres of new fibre lines in uncovered areas.
To solve this challenge efficiently and affordably, MTN plans to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology in collaboration with Huawei Technologies to monitor and protect its fibre optic cables nationwide. The technology will detect vibrations, identify the cause, and alert relevant personnel for swift response within minutes.
But there is so much that technology can do when the human factor is left unaddressed.
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