Previously the paradigm of the mobile telephony sector was only controlled by two players, we are talking about Unitel, which until then had practically all of the market share and Movicel, which was the only competitor. In the first half of 2022, the number of mobile phone users in Angola grew by 26% to 19,4 million, the equivalent of 4 million more than December 2021. A number that skyrocketed with the arrival of Africell, but also with the increase in Unitel customers.
According to Expansion calculations, based on INACOM data for the second quarter of 2022, of the 19,4 million mobile phone users, 78% belong to Unitel, equivalent to 15,1 million users. Movicel, with 7%, remains close to 1,4 million customers, after having lost 1,3 million customers since the beginning of the pandemic. As for Africell, which had a “lion” entry into the Angolan market, the regulator says that the operator has 15% of mobile phone users in the Angolan market, which is equivalent to 2,9 million customers.
From data advanced by INACOM, it is also possible to see that there are 187.982 users in the country using the postpaid mobile service, and 19.196.714 users using the prepaid mobile service. However, since Africell entered the “scene”, operators have lowered the prices of their services through campaigns, some of them aggressive. Unitel launched “Bazza” which, in a free translation, means “let's go”. Movicel recently brought the “Fezada” campaign, which translates, among other things, into “lucky to get something”.
