Smartphone. Photo by Laihiu

The cell phone industry in South Africa, operating under the Department of Trade and Industry Communications sector, has seen tremendous growth in the past 17 years. It started slowly and then spiked in 2001 with a whopping 32.3% increase in the number of South Africans with cell phones. Then, in 2007, the figure ballooned to 72.9% of the population owning a cell phone. In 2006, the cell phone industry contributed 10% to the country’s GDP, which makes it one of the top industries in South Africa today. It is now considered to be the 4th fastest growing market for GSM in the world.

Since 2006, the decline in landline phones became obvious with a drop of more than 3% in the demand for landline subscriptions. Clearly, South Africans prefer the ease of mobility with cell phones.

The top 3 cell phone operators who have a virtual monopoly on the cell phone market are Vodacom, MTN, and the Cell C group. A fourth player that appears to be garnering more share of the market is Virgin Mobile, which is a company that has partnered with Cell C.

With more than 33 million cell phones in the country, many of which are internet-ready, the result has been a surge in internet-related activities. As of 2008, there were about 5.4 million internet users, and over 700 000 people were still using dial-up connections. By 2014, the estimate for cell phones with internet capabilities is expected to reach more than 9 million users.

All cell phones in South Africa have a 2 digit prefix using either the numbers 7 or 8 followed by a 7 digit number. Long distance domestic calls using the cell phone have to have an additional number prefix of 0. For international calls, dial the international access code for South Africa of 00 before punching in the country code, area code, and phone number.

Much of the success of the cell phone industry and its wide acceptance among South Africans can be credited to the efforts of the Universal Services and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa). Through their work they have been able to provide essential support in the establishment of media centres, cell sites, cyberlabs, and telecommunication centres throughout the country.

With the Electronic Communications Act which was promulgated in 2005 and the Telecommunications Amendment Act of 2001, access to cell phones, internet, and IT has become more liberal and affordable. The Acts put emphasis on setting up a digital framework in 2008 and in November 2011, they were able to shut down the old analogue signal.

In July 2009, a year after the digital signal was launched, the government implemented a new law requiring all cell phone users to be registered. This means that all cell phone and telecommunications providers have to keep an active file of their clientele including full name, cell phone number, ID details, and address. No SIM card can be activated without the cell phone owner providing this information to the seller of the SIM card. This law includes visitors who want to use a local SIM during their stay.