Telecommunications: WhatsApp, Others Stifling Mobile Revenue

The 2017 Mobile Economy report in sub-Saharan Africa shows that the use of over-the-top messaging services in hampering the growth of mobile revenue in Cameroon and other countries.

Despite a rapidly-increasing subscriber base in Cameroon and other sub-Saharan African countries, revenue accruing from mobile telephony operations is dropping, a report by the GSM Association has shown. In the 2017 Mobile Economy report - the definitive and authoritative source of global mobile operator data, analysis and forecasts – experts suggest that the trend which started being observed in 2013 may last until 2020 runs out.

The report posits that mobile telephone network operators are observing a sustained fall in their revenue due to the increasing adoption of over-the-top (OTT) messaging services. Online communication apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, IMO, Tango and Skype are already in vogue in Cameroon. According to the GSMA trade organization, the country already has 9.7 million unique mobile subscribers. Though mobile penetration rate in Cameroon stands at 40%, considerably lower than the global average penetration rate of 66%, more subscribers are turning to prefer making calls and sending SMSs through online platforms. The drive towards online communication is expected to increase in the future as smartphones will in large part be driven by younger, more tech-savvy users, who will account for the majority of new mobile subscribers.

“Revenue growth has been trending downwards since the start of this decade, driven by macroec...