Telecoms industry body says lower spectrum fees, longer licence terms and regulatory reforms could accelerate 4G and 5G expansion, improve connectivity and unlock investment across Africa.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has urged African governments to reduce the cost of radio frequency spectrum and reform licensing frameworks, warning that high charges are constraining investment in faster mobile networks and limiting the continent’s digital economy potential.

The global telecoms industry body estimated that reforms to spectrum pricing and licensing could add more than $120 billion to Africa’s economy by 2035, while accelerating the expansion of fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks, improving service quality and boosting productivity.

In a report produced by its research arm, the GSMA argued that spectrum policy should prioritise connectivity, economic growth and efficient network deployment rather than maximising immediate government revenue.

The intervention comes as more than $10 billion worth of spectrum licences are expected to require renewal across Africa within the next decade, creating an opportunity for governments and regulators to reassess pricing structures and licensing conditions.

However, the proposed reforms could create tensions between the financial needs of governments and the investment requirements of telecoms operators. Spectrum auctions and licence fees have become significant sources of public revenue in several African countries, many of which are grappling with fiscal pressures, rising debt and competing demands for public spending.

The GSMA said the high cost of spectrum was adding to an increasingly difficult operating environment for mobile operators, which face rising costs alongside declining average revenue per user (ARPU). In real terms, ARPU across the region has fallen by almost 50 per cent compared with a decade ago, according to the report.

The association identified Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique and Zambia among the African markets where spectrum charges are particularly expensive relative to operators’ revenues.

It argued that lower spectrum costs, predictable licensing arrangements and greater flexibility in the use of radio frequencies would enable operators to direct more capital towards expanding network coverage, increasing capacity and improving the quality of mobile services.

The GSMA acknowledged significant progress in mobile network expansion across Africa, driven by substantial investment from telecoms operators.

Since 2015, mobile broadband coverage has increased from 59 per cent to 92 per cent of the population, while 4G coverage has expanded from seven per cent to 83 per cent.

The deployment of 5G has also gathered momentum in recent years, reaching 15 per cent of Africa’s population by the end of 2025.

However, the expansion of network infrastructure has not translated into widespread adoption of mobile internet services.

According to the report, only 28 per cent of Africa’s population were using mobile internet on their own devices at the end of 2025, compared with 66 per cent in the rest of the world.

The distinction highlights two separate challenges facing the continent: extending network coverage to underserved communities and making connectivity accessible and useful to people who already live within network coverage areas.

The GSMA put Africa’s mobile broadband coverage gap — the proportion of the population living where no mobile broadband network is available — at eight per cent. Although relatively small compared with the population covered by networks, the gap was four times the average in the rest of the world.

Africa also continues to lag behind other regions in network quality and data consumption, indicating that the challenge extends beyond the availability of basic mobile services.

For the industry, spectrum policy is an important part of addressing these deficits because radio frequencies determine how effectively operators can extend coverage, accommodate rising data traffic and deliver reliable services.

Lower-frequency spectrum is particularly valuable for extending coverage over long distances and improving indoor reception, while mid-band frequencies are important for providing additional capacity in urban areas and other locations with heavy network demand.

The GSMA argued that African operators need access to more spectrum, under conditions that support sustainable investment, if the region is to narrow its connectivity gap and keep pace with growing demand for digital services.

The report identified a significant disparity between the amount of spectrum assigned to mobile operators in Africa and the allocation available to operators elsewhere.

At the end of 2025, African operators had an average of approximately 570 MHz of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) spectrum below 7 GHz assigned to them, compared with about 750 MHz in the rest of the world.

This means operators in other regions had, on average, more than 30 per cent additional spectrum available to support their networks.

The gap affected both low-band frequencies, which are important for extending coverage, and mid-band frequencies, which support greater capacity and better service quality.

The GSMA also argued that African operators paid more for each 100 MHz of spectrum when costs were measured relative to revenue and adjusted for the amount of spectrum assigned.

On this basis, the cost of spectrum in Africa was 24 per cent higher than the average in the rest of the world, according to the report.

The association warned that the actual financial burden could be considerably greater when additional licence obligations were included.

In many African markets, spectrum licences come with requirements relating to network coverage or quality of service. Operators must finance these obligations in addition to paying one-off spectrum auction costs and annual fees.

In four markets examined by the GSMA, the cost of meeting licence obligations was between three and 45 times the cost of the spectrum itself.

While such conditions can be designed to encourage network expansion and improve service delivery, the GSMA argued that their financial implications must be assessed alongside the cost of spectrum to avoid undermining the commercial viability of investment.

The issue is particularly important in markets where operators are expected to extend coverage to rural and low-income communities, which may require substantial investment without generating revenues comparable to those available in densely populated urban centres.

The association maintained that regulators should ensure that the combined cost of spectrum and associated obligations leaves operators with sufficient capacity to invest in network development.

Beyond pricing, the GSMA identified shortcomings in licensing frameworks as another obstacle to network investment.

The report found that 21 of Africa’s 54 countries did not have a fully technology-neutral licensing framework, while 26 lacked a unified licensing framework.

Technology-neutral licensing allows operators to use spectrum for different generations of mobile technology without incurring additional regulatory costs or delays simply because the technology has changed.

It can enable operators to repurpose frequencies previously used for second-generation (2G) and third-generation (3G) services for 4G and 5G, subject to applicable technical and regulatory requirements.

Service neutrality similarly allows operators to offer services suited to the technology and spectrum they hold.

The GSMA argued that these arrangements would give operators greater flexibility to modernise networks, phase out legacy technologies and respond to changes in consumer demand.

The association also highlighted the limited availability of long-term spectrum roadmaps, which help operators anticipate future frequency allocations and plan investment accordingly.

Only nine of the 54 African countries covered by the report had published a spectrum roadmap.

Without clear information on when additional spectrum will be released and the conditions attached to its allocation, operators may struggle to prepare investment plans, secure financing and schedule network deployments efficiently.

The report further found that only nine countries had spectrum licence durations of at least 20 years.

The GSMA argued that longer licence terms could improve investment certainty by giving operators a more predictable period over which to recover the substantial costs associated with network infrastructure.

It recommended licence durations of at least 20 years, while suggesting that terms of 30 to 40 years or indefinite licences could provide even greater predictability.

The association also advocated a presumption in favour of renewing existing, active spectrum licences, ideally through automatic renewals or indefinite licence arrangements.

It said spectrum trading and leasing should be enabled to help ensure that frequencies are used by operators capable of deploying them efficiently.

At the centre of the GSMA’s recommendations is a call for governments to reconsider the primary objective of spectrum allocation.

The association argued that spectrum should be assigned to users capable of generating the greatest social and economic benefits, rather than treated principally as an instrument for raising public revenue.

It cautioned regulators against basing spectrum prices on historical auction results or outdated benchmarks, recommending instead that fees reflect the forward-looking value operators could reasonably derive from using the frequencies.

Where auctions are employed, the GSMA recommended setting low reserve prices to allow the market to determine value through competitive bidding and reduce the risk of spectrum remaining unsold.

It also argued that annual spectrum charges should not be imposed where operators have already paid for the spectrum through an auction, warning that overlapping fees could increase the cost of access.

On licence obligations, the association recommended that the cost of meeting coverage and quality-of-service requirements should be matched by appropriate discounts in spectrum fees to preserve commercial viability.

It further argued that the cost of such obligations should not exceed their incremental social benefits and that regulators should consult licence holders to develop practical and sustainable arrangements.

These proposals reflect the tension between governments’ interest in maximising proceeds from spectrum allocation and the wider economic benefits that could arise from lower-cost connectivity.

Spectrum auctions can generate substantial revenue for governments, but the GSMA contends that excessive charges may leave operators with less capital to expand networks, potentially limiting the wider economic activity supported by digital services.

The report therefore calls for a longer-term approach in which the value of spectrum is assessed not only by the amount paid for licences but also by its contribution to connectivity, productivity, investment and economic inclusion.

The GSMA also urged African regulators to make all spectrum allocated to mobile services available to operators, arguing that artificial scarcity could undermine coverage, network quality and capacity expansion.

It recommended technology- and service-neutral spectrum licensing within unified licensing frameworks, alongside the publication of long-term spectrum roadmaps to give operators adequate time to plan investments.

Looking ahead over the next 10 to 15 years, the association called for the allocation of the full upper 6 GHz band for mobile use to help meet mid-band spectrum requirements in densely populated urban areas and high-demand markets.

It also recommended allocating the 600 MHz band for mobile services to improve coverage and capacity in rural areas and deep indoor locations.

The proposals reflect the anticipated growth in data traffic as digital services become more widely used across commerce, education, healthcare, financial services and public administration.

As demand rises, operators will need additional capacity to prevent congestion, maintain service quality and support applications requiring reliable, high-speed connectivity.

However, expanding spectrum availability will require regulatory decisions that balance the needs of mobile services with other potential uses of radio frequencies.

The GSMA’s recommendations place the emphasis on ensuring that spectrum is allocated in ways that support efficient use, investment and the development of digital infrastructure.

The debate over spectrum pricing has wider implications for African governments seeking to expand digital access while managing fiscal pressures.

High spectrum charges can provide immediate revenue, but they also increase operators’ costs at a time when many face declining real revenues per user and growing demands for network investment.

Conversely, reducing fees does not automatically guarantee improved connectivity. The benefits would depend on whether operators use the additional financial capacity to expand networks, improve service quality and reach underserved populations.

The GSMA’s proposed reforms therefore raise questions about how governments and regulators should balance the financial returns from spectrum allocation with the longer-term economic benefits of widespread, affordable connectivity.

The report’s $120 billion estimate represents the potential economic contribution of reforms by 2035, rather than a guaranteed outcome. Realising that potential would depend on implementation, sustained investment, consumer adoption and broader measures to make mobile internet accessible.

For Africa, the scale of the usage gap suggests that spectrum reform would need to operate alongside efforts to address affordability, digital skills and other barriers that prevent people from using available networks.

The GSMA’s central argument is that spectrum policy should support a sustainable investment environment in which operators can expand coverage, improve network performance and respond to rising demand without being constrained by excessive fees or unpredictable licensing conditions.

With more than $10 billion in licences expected to require renewal over the next decade, the association sees an opportunity for African governments to reconsider their approaches to spectrum allocation and pricing.

Whether the proposed changes produce wider economic gains will depend on how effectively regulators reconcile public revenue needs with the investment requirements of a continent still seeking to close substantial gaps in digital connectivity.