Esselaar, SteveStork, Christoph2016-02-282016-02-282005-12-15Esselaar, S., & Stork, C. (2005). Mobile cellular telephone: Fixed-line substitution in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Southern African Journal of Information and Communication (SAJIC), 6, 64-73. https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/19806ISSN 1607-2235 (print version)ISSN 2077-5040  (online version)http://hdl.handle.net/10539/19806https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/19806Mobile 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.enArticle