The Communication Market Structure
The Gambia’s Communications industry comprises of the telecommunications and internet service markets. The Telecommunications market consists of five operators. GAMTEL serves as the fixed network operator coupled with four mobile operators, GAMCEL, AFRICELL, COMIUM and QCELL. The fixed network operator offers telephone, and Internet services whilst the mobile operators provide GSM cellular voice and data services. The Internet market comprises of five Internet Service Providers (ISP’s), these are; GAMTEL’s ISP, UNIQUE SOLUTIONS, AFRICELL, NETPAGE, INSIST NET, DK TELECOMS and QCELL.
Below are highlights of Telecoms Sector Statistics over the years:
4G Subscribers
| 4G Subscribers | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Africell | 21,723 | 36,529 | 49,651 |
| Qcell | 9,383 | 21,296 | 42,174 |
3G Subscribers
| 3G Subscribers | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Gamcel | 150,165 | 159,600 | 115,677 | 118,222 | 103,867 |
| Africell | 257,587 | 382,155 | 512,609 | 570,565 | 650,882 |
| Qcell | 70,551 | 121,756 | 159,924 | 230,053 | 274,817 |
Total Subscribers
| Total Subscribers | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Total Mobile Broadband (3G + 4G) | 819,316 | 976,665 | 1,121,391 |
| Total Subscribers | 3,181,393 | 2,584,714 | 2,677,954 |
| Mobile Broadband (% of Total Subs) | 26% | 38% | 42% |
Usage
| Usage | 2020 Q1 | 2020 Q2 | 2020 Q3 | 2020 Q4 |
| On Net Minutes/ Subscriber | 167.29 | 169.09 | 153.99 | 152.03 |
| Off Net Minutes/ Subscriber | 24.32 | 23.26 | 22.20 | 23.48 |
| ARPU/Qtr (GMD) | 356.53 | 366.73 | 362.93 | 386.52 |
| ARPU/Qtr (USD) | 7.13 | 7.33 | 7.25 | 7.7 |
Water
| YEAR | PRODUCTION m3 | SALES m3 | LOSSES % |
| 2011 | 28,309,264 | 18,501,049 | 35 |
| 2012 | 29,930,553 | 20,563,417 | 32 |
| 2013 | 29,772,311 | 20,611,310 | 31 |
| 2014 | 35,395,881 | 25,944,355 | 27 |
| 2015 | 37,375,261 | 30,971,741 | 20 |
| 2016 | 40,226,849 | 24,137,070 | 40 |
| 2017 | 40,303,775 | 27,615,840 | 31 |
| 2018 | 39,278,276 | 27,695,207 | 29 |
| 2019 | 42,892,605 | 27,780,820 | 35 |
| 2020 | 44,293,774 | 27,555,956 | 38 |
Key Electrical Statistics
| ITEMS | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Customer population | 145141 | 146435 | 169432 | 182931 | 219352 | 221445 | 249678 |
| Sales MWH -Credit | 71789 | 88157 | 20277 | 44321 | 88298 | 75490 | 65,288 |
| Sales MWH-Prepayment | 146577 | 138079 | 149162 | 125607 | 205346 | 352784 | 305,340 |
| Rev. collection Credit (’000) | 723.309 | 836.648 | 832.4001 | 800,093 | 923,519 | 860,131 | 553,547 |
| Prepayment sales (’000) | 1,254,764 | 1,400,113 | 1,614,551 | 1,809,093 | 2,345,317 | 2,705,134 | 2,862,509 |
| System Losses Powerhouse Consumption | 24 | 14,509 (MWh) | 10.3 | ||||
| Power Demand MW | 160 | 166 | 173 | 184 | 193 | 197 | 201 |
| Energy Demand MWh | 735,309 | 794,345 | 862,419 | 931,258 | 1,005,759 | 1,060,702 | 1,096,275 |
| Customer growth p/a % | 8.87 | 1 | 15.7 | 8 | 19.9 | 1 | 13 |
| Energy Demand Growth rate | 5 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |
| Power Demand Growth rate | 7.2 | 3,7 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |
| Revenue growth rate | 7.79 | 13 | 9.4 | 7 | 25.28 | 9 | 6 |
