Orange money and network upgrades to 4G are both boosting subscriber numbers as well
Sonatel, which trades as Orange in Senegal through that company’s controlling stake, has launched commercial 5G pilot to provide fixed and mobile internet to residential and business customers in the country. The operator has invited prospective customers to see 5G in action at the Orange Digital Center (ODC) in Dakar.
The launch of commercial 5G by Sonatel comes around seven months after the operator acquired the first 5G operating licence in Senegal from the Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARTP) for $57 million. It’s taken a while given the operator first mooted 5G in 2020 and then announced a successful test in December 2021. In July 2022, it launched the 5G ODC.
According to Ecofin, In the 5G segment, Sonatel is ahead of its main competitors Expresso Sénégal and Saga Africa Holding Limited (Free). The latter acquired its operating licence in December 2023 for CFA 13.5 billion.
According to ARTP data, Orange had 12.5 million mobile subscribers in the third quarter of 2023 for a market share of 56.47%. Expresso and Free respectively controlled 16.8% and 23.89% of the national mobile telephone subscriber base. In the Internet segment, Orange held a market share of 66.52%.
Last month, the Sonatel Group, which operates in 5 countries (Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone) posted strong FY2023 results on the back of high-speed data, mobile and Orange Money. Its fixed, mobile and internet customer base increased by 6% compared to 2022 and reached 41.1 million thanks to growth in all countries and mainly in Guinea, Senegal, and Mali.
The number of active mobile data customers of the Group now stands at 19.1 million, an increase of 10.1% YoY. The active 4G base reached 14.4 million customers, an increase of 35.5 % compared to 2022. Sonatel wants to offer full 4G mobile networks in all its countries of presence – it is already doing so in Senegal and Mali.
The Orange Money customer base reached 31.6 million customers, an increase of 19.8% compared to 2022 thanks to the diversification of the portfolio of offers and the price adjustments carried out in several countries.
Sonatel’s fixed broadband customer base has 741,000 customers, including 659,000 fibre and Flybox (4G router) customers, an increase of 25.1%. Also, from CFA 15,000 per month, households can subscribe to optical fibre with 710,000 optical fibre sockets deployed by the end of 2023, mainly in Senegal and Mali.