The latest report from the Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARTP) for the third quarter of 2024 offers a complete overview of the electronic communications market in Senegal.
If the Internet and mobile telephony continue to grow, fixed telephony is experiencing a marked decline. Here are the key lessons from this report.
Fixed telephony: a sector in decline
The fixed line market recorded a significant decline with a total number of 301,953 lines, a decrease of 24.17% compared to the previous quarter. This fall is explained by the massive termination of residential lines at Sonatel, which alone represents 98.30% of market share. The penetration rate of fixed telephony, now 1.67%, reflects this disaffection for a technology overtaken by mobile and the Internet.
Despite this decline, the professional segment experienced a slight improvement with 15,224 new lines (+28.08%), addressed exclusively by Sonatel.
Mobile telephony: the market locomotive
Mobile remains the spearhead of the sector with a base of 23.26 million lines (+1.06%), boosted by the increase in prepaid lines (+1.02%). The penetration rate reached 128.31%, confirming the massive adoption of mobile phones by the Senegalese.
Market shares:
• Orange maintains its dominant position with 57.12% share.
• Free follows with 22.26%.
• Expresso closes the podium at 16.36%.
• ProMobile, on the rise, posted quarterly growth of 15.54%, reaching 4.14%.
In terms of traffic, 10.23 billion minutes were transmitted, dominated by communications internal to operator networks (72.22%).
Internet: The rise of mobile broadband
With a base of 21.32 million subscribers (+2.52%), the Internet confirms its dynamics, driven by mobile which represents 96.76% of users. The mobile Internet penetration rate reaches 113.80%, with an average consumption of 3.64 GB per month per user.
Dominant technologies for fixed access:
• FTTx (optical fiber): 53.94%.
• FWA (wireless connection): 36.88%.
• ADSL : 9,18%.
Orange reigns supreme on the Internet with 63.18% market share, far ahead of Free (23.04%) and Expresso (9.32%).
Undisputed dominance, but persistent challenges
The report underlines Orange’s supremacy in all segments, but also highlights the limits of a market that is still largely concentrated. The growth of new players like ProMobile, however, could boost competition and offer more options to consumers.
As Senegal advances towards a digital transition, the development of high-speed Internet and the diversification of the offer remain priorities to strengthen digital inclusion and maximize benefits for the national economy.
Although the Senegalese telecoms market shows impressive growth in mobile and Internet, challenges related to competition, quality of service and accessibility remain. The evolution of this sector will be crucial to support the country’s digital transformation and meet the expectations of an increasingly connected population.
