IN 2017, Microsoft’s decision to serve its cloud from data centres in Cape Tow
n and Johannesburg proved to be a game-changer, accelerating the pace of broadband expansion across the African continent.
According to a market study conducted by TeleGeography, one of the key findings is the significant increase in transit route capacity and the remarkable growth of intra-Africa traffic. More digital content is now being served within Africa at a rapidly growing rate, a testament to the expanded capacity in subsea cable and terrestrial fiber, resulting in substantial IP bandwidth growth, declining bandwidth prices, and the emergence of localised data centres. As a result, connectivity has been enhanced, leading to improved user experiences and fostering a thriving telecommunication ecosystem.
Africa is now leading the global bandwidth
market’s growth, with projected compound growth of 42 percent between 2022 and 2029, outpacing the global average projections of 32%. Content providers have experienced an impressive 80 percent compound annual growth rate in African bandwidth between 2018 and 2022, highlighting the continent’s potential as a burgeoning digital landscape.
The introduction of new submarine cable systems is set to further increase capacity for both coastal and landlocked countries, expand intra-African routes, reduce transit prices along key African routes, and stimulate local digital content growth.
South Africa, in particular, has emerged as a thriving regional hub for intra-Africa internet capacity, with a growing percentage of traffic serving sub-Saharan Africa, surpassing the historical reliance on European routes. The rise of internet exchange points (IXPs), content delivery networks (CDNs), points of presence (PoPs), and data center construction has sparked the growth of new ecosystems within Africa, bringing the internet edge closer to African end-users and shifting prominence away from Europe.
Teraco, an active player in 26 countries in the region, is at the forefront of supporting the increasing demand for reliable and scalable digital infrastructure. Michele McCann, Head of Platforms at Teraco, stated, ‘With these substantial bandwidth investments, CDNs, cloud services, and SaaS providers can unlock unprecedented growth opportunities in Africa’s evolving digital landscape by leveraging Teraco’s state-of-the-art facilities, deep ecosystems, and our position as the hub of Africa’s digital infrastructure.’
The tremendous potential in Africa’s growing digital market has attracted service providers seeking to establish a successful presence in the region. With increased transit route capacity, projected bandwidth growth, improving pricing dynamics, a flourishing content ecosystem, and an evolving data centre landscape, Africa offers a promising landscape for digital expansion and innovation.
