SAJIC Issue 6, 2005

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Mobile Cellular Telephone: Fixed-Line Substitution in Sub-Saharan Africa
(LINK Centre, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, 2005-12-15) Esselaar, Steve; Stork, Christoph
Mobile cellular telephones have been the success story of communications globally. In the developed world, mobile telephony is traditionally seen as being complementary to fixed-line telephony, primarily because of its pervasiveness but also because the fixed-line network provides access to other technologies such as broadband. This article finds that, in nine African countries, in contrast to the developed world, mobile telephony is a substitute for fixed-line telephony – across all income groups and not just low income households as previously thought. The article argues in addition that pre-paid payment options (not just for mobile phones) are key to increasing use by low income households because irregular incomes do not support regular financial commitments in terms of contracts.