This report highlights developments and trends in the telecom market across Middle East & Africa in March 2022. It covers service provider strategies, 5G spectrum auctions and launch plans, digital migration, and submarine cable deployment.
The Analyst Team

Danson Njue
Senior Research Analyst, Africa Markets
Danson Njue is a Senior Research Analyst with Omdia. He works as part of the Middle East and Africa team, focusing on providing insights on telco and vendor strategies across Sub-Saharan Africa. His research includes operator network and digital strategies, disruptive technologies, and regulatory frameworks in sub-Saharan Africa.
Danson joined Omdia, formerly Ovum, in March 2011 as a Research Analyst. Before that, he was a wireless training engineer at Huawei Technologies Limited in Kenya and has also worked as a base station subsystem engineer at Safaricom PLC. Danson holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering, specializing in telecommunications, a master’s degree in electrical and electronic systems, and an honors degree in electrical and electronics engineering.

Srushti Ghisad
Senior Manager, MEA Service Provider Markets
As part of Omdia’s Middle East and Africa team, Srushti oversees the creation of high-quality syndicated research deliverables and execution of successful consulting engagements in the region. She provides detailed analyses on individual countries and across many areas including mobile, broadband, digital media, regulations, as well as vendor and operator strategies.
Srushti has an extensive background experience in telecommunications having worked with top industry players such as HTC, Nokia, and Qualcomm. Her different roles have included being responsible for launching the first Android handset in the Middle East to delivering strategic insights for business planning and development on topics such as 3G, 4G, mobile handsets, portable devices, IoT, applications, and ecosystems, as well as business models of handset vendors in emerging markets.
At Omdia, Srushti aims to produce quality reports with valuable market intelligence and analyses to support the clients’ business needs. She holds a degree in engineering, majoring in electronics and telecommunications.

Thecla Mbongue
Senior Analyst, Africa Markets
Thecla analyzes telecom, media, and technology trends as part of the Middle East and Africa team. She researches regional operator strategies, network deployments, and regulatory development. Specific areas of her research include broadband technology deployments (4G, 5G, FTTx), smartphones, OTT, and mobile financial services.
Thecla joined Omdia in 2003 as a telecom researcher and has over 20 years’ experience in the industry. She is a regular speaker and chair at industry conferences and comments on industry developments for regional and international media. Previously, Thecla worked for global telecom carrier Vectone in London.
Further Reading
Fiber Development Index: 2021
Subscription Required
Data / 15 Oct 2021 / Michael Philpott
Tracks and benchmarks fiber development across 81 countries. Includes fiber household coverage, household penetration, business penetration, mobile cell site fiber penetration, total fiber investment, and average download/upload speeds.
Service Provider Regional Outlook: Africa – 2021
Subscription Required
Report / 20 Jul 2021 / Danson Njue
This report provides an outlook of the African service provider market, with recommendations for service providers, and Omdia’s 2021–26 outlook for subscriptions and service revenue in the mobile and fixed broadband segments.
Service Provider Regional Outlook: Middle East
Subscription Required
Report / 27 Aug 2021 / Srushti Ghisad
This report provides an outlook of the Middle East service provider market, with recommendations for service providers, and Omdia’s 2021–26 outlook for subscriptions and service revenue in the mobile and fixed broadband segments.
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