For years, the telecom industry’s logic was straightforward: build the networks, and people will come. Connectivity was the product, coverage was the metric, and revenue followed naturally from usage.

That logic still holds, but less so than it used to. Africa’s operators have largely solved the coverage problem. The GSMA’s 2026 Mobile Economy  report shows the continent’s coverage gap has narrowed to 9%, meaning network expansion is working. But the usage gap has widened to 63%. More people are within reach of a mobile signal than ever before, yet a smaller proportion are actually coming online.

The same dynamic is now playing out in content. Global platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon dominate consumption, capturing the value that flows through the networks operators have spent billions to build. Local streaming services have struggled to turn a profit. Showmax recorded a trading loss of $294 million in 2025 , bringing total losses over three years to approximately $522 million. Canal+ later described it as an “expensive failure.” The platform was shut down in early 2026.

The question underlying this shift is fundamental: In Africa’s digital economy, is distribution or content ownership the real value driver?

In this #TechTalkThursday article, we examine why connectivity alone no longer guarantees monetisation, what Showmax’s collapse revealed about the economics of African streaming, how operators like MTN are pivoting to distribution-led content strategies, and whether telecom companies are becoming the new gatekeepers of Africa’s digital economy.

The ‘Dumb Pipe’ Problem That Pushed Telcos into Content

Africa’s mobile industry is on track to contribute $290 billion to the continent’s economy by 2030, up from $240 billion in 2025. The sector supported 13 million jobs and generated $45 billion in public revenues. Yet for telecom operators facing slowing subscriber growth in traditional voice services, the changing market dynamics are forcing a strategic rethink.

Rather than operating solely as connectivity providers, many are positioning themselves as broader digital transformation partners. More than three-quarters of mobile operators surveyed by the GSMA identified digital transformation as a core strategic objective. The shift reflects growing pressure on telecom companies to find new revenue streams amid increasing competition from internet-based platforms such as messaging apps, streaming services, and digital financial providers that rely on telecom networks but often capture a larger share of digital value creation.

Operators like MTN have huge subscriber bases (over 300 million), but many still do not use data services regularly. Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO of MTN Group, was candid about what that number reveals: 45% of MTN’s customers have never experienced the internet and remain in the voice era. Coverage, he argued, is largely a solved problem after two decades of infrastructure buildout. The real challenge now is usage.

Data usage is growing, but the revenue from data plans mostly goes to operators, while OTT providers capture the value from that data. MTN does not want to be a “dumb pipe,” Mupita said. The average MTN customer currently uses 14 gigabytes per month, a figure he expects to more than double to 30-plus gigabytes within a few years, mirroring India’s trajectory.

“One of the observations that we’ve reflected on is we’ve been so focused on connectivity and we’ve done a good job, as I said, on coverage,” Mupita said. “I think the next frontier is how do we develop the digital services ourselves that we can have our customers consume.”

— Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO, MTN Group

By offering content, telcos can keep customers within their own ecosystem, use airtime and mobile money as payment methods, and reduce the risk of being replaced by cheaper or more attractive services.

MTN’s Latest Bet on Billing Over Content 

MTN One TV, launched in June 2026, is the most recent and significant example of this shift. The platform is rolling out across 16 African countries, giving it immediate access to MTN’s 307.2 million subscribers reported at the end of 2025.

The service combines live television, local productions, and international programming under a flexible business model that includes free-to-view content, advertising-supported viewing, pay-per-view options, and subscription packages depending on market conditions. But the real innovation is in how customers pay. One TV allows payment through airtime deductions, Mobile Money wallets, and other locally supported methods, addressing barriers like limited card access and expensive subscriptions.

This is not MTN’s first attempt at streaming. In 2021, the company launched MusicTime, a music streaming service that allowed customers to buy time on the service, data-inclusive, as opposed to a monthly subscription. But the approach has changed. Previously, MTN partnered with third-party video-on-demand providers like Disney+ and Viu, making money through data bundles. One TV represents vertical integration: owning the platform, the payment rails, and the customer relationship.

“Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation. Through MTN One TV, we are leveraging the scale of our connectivity, fintech, and digital capabilities to make relevant content more accessible while creating new opportunities for Africa’s creative and digital economies.”

— Selorm Adadevoh, Chief Commercial, Strategy and Transformation Officer, MTN Group

Distribution vs. Content Ownership — Which Matters More in Fragmented Markets? 

The barriers; limited payment options, high content costs, and infrastructure instability, point in one direction: distribution, not content ownership, is the more defensible asset in African markets.

Broadcast Media Africa’s 2026 survey found that 35% of operators  cannot guarantee a reliable stream due to connectivity and delivery issues. This infrastructure fragility makes it difficult for any streaming service, global or local, to build a consistent user experience. Telcos, by contrast, control the networks themselves.

Distribution advantage: Telcos have scale. Millions of subscribers, payment infrastructure through mobile money, and the ability to bundle services. They can reach customers that Netflix cannot easily access. Unlike standalone streaming companies that depend on separate subscription relationships, MTN can bundle entertainment services directly with data plans, mobile money services, and customer accounts, potentially lowering customer acquisition costs.

Content still matters: Global platforms are investing in local production. Netflix named 14 young South Africans for its ScreenCraft Pathways programme in June 2026, a 12-month industry placement initiative. Amazon expanded Prime Video in South Africa, bundling entertainment with delivery, gaming, and retail perks. MTN also wants to enable African creators. But content alone does not guarantee profitability, as the struggles of standalone streaming services have demonstrated.

The likely answer: Content creates differentiation, but distribution creates scale and sustainable revenue, especially in markets with fragmented payment systems. Owning the payment rails and customer relationship is the more defensible long-term asset.

Mupita was clear that MTN’s content play is about more than controlling distribution. The longer-term goal is to enable African creators to produce and distribute content through MTN’s platform, shifting the dynamic from consumption to creation.

The Continental Pivot: Infrastructure Providers as Gatekeepers 

The African streaming market is entering a phase and MTN is not alone in this pivot.

• Airtel Africa has offered Airtel TV since 2020.

• Vodacom launched the Value News Network in December 2025.

• Canal+ became the first operator to distribute Netflix across 24 Francophone African countries, cementing its role as the continent’s premier aggregator.

The pattern is consistent. Telecom operators are shifting from infrastructure providers to content gatekeepers, changing who controls access, payment systems, and audience relationships. The battle for Africa’s streaming market is increasingly being fought beyond content libraries and into distribution systems and payment infrastructure.

This shift has not gone unnoticed by regulators. New COMESA regulations  now empower authorities to target large digital platforms serving as critical gateways for business users. The debate over whether telecom operators should be subject to similar rules when they favour their own platforms is likely to keep intensifying.

This tension reflects a deeper structural problem. Operators are projected to invest more than $76 billion in network infrastructure between now and 2030. Yet OTT providers capture most of the value from that investment, paying nothing for the networks they depend on. Now operators are trying to recapture some of that value by becoming gateways.

Whether regulators allow them to do so, and on what terms, will shape the next phase of Africa’s digital economy.

Who Controls Distribution Controls the Market 

Telecom operators are moving into content primarily to control how customers access and pay for digital entertainment, not to beat Netflix at its own game.

In Africa, where payment methods are dominated by mobile money and airtime, the company that controls the billing relationship has a structural advantage. MTN One TV is a clear example of this strategy: it is less about becoming a global content studio, and more about becoming the essential gateway through which digital entertainment flows.

The real platform battle is not about who makes the best shows, but about who owns the infrastructure of distribution and payment.

As Mupita said,

“Africa does not just want to be connected to the future. It wants to help build it.”

— Ralph Mupita, Group President and CEO, MTN Group