Advanced operators and markets in Africa are poised for early 5G launches, with South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, and Mauritius expected to launch mobile 5G services by 2022, according to recent forecasts by Ovum. However, the take-up of 5G in Africa overall will be modest initially, with only 5.9 million mobile 5G connections on the continent at end-2023, Ovum has forecasted. 

  According to Ovum’s new Forecaster data service, mobile data will be the main driver of growth in the African telecoms market, with the number of mobile broadband connections on the continent set to more than double over the coming five years, and rise from 419 million at end-2017, to 1.07 billion at end-2022.

A new study from Ovum has found that one third (33%) of enterprises globally are underprepared for 'digital transformation' – the process of replacing legacy networks and dedicated service platforms with a coherent digital environment that is flexible, cost-effective, and capable of delivering changes rapidly and dynamically.

The fastest growing segment of the information management software market continues to be big data. New findings released by leading global data, market research, and advisory firm Ovum estimate that the big data market will grow from $1.7bn in 2016 to $9.4bn by 2020, comprising ten percent of the overall market for information management tooling.

  According to a new forecast by the independent telecomms analyst firm Ovum, total handset sales are expected to grow from 1.88bn to 2.16bn units between 2014 and 2020, at a CAGR rate of 2.4%.