Up to now there was no controversy that MTN is the largest telecommunications company in Africa in terms of revenue and user sleep. Despite Orange Africa & MiddleEast's annual revenue of approximately $1.2 billion, MTN's vast subscriber base is by far the largest on the continent, making it top of this list.

The MTN was officially launched in South Africa in 2001 and has grown exponentially over the years to the point that the bright yellow brand has become ubiquitous in Rainbow Nation and beyond. The company has a significant market share and has expanded its business to many African countries, including Nigeria, one of the largest telecommunications companies in Nigeria.

Headquarter: Johannesburg, South Africa
Founded: 1994

Revenue: $5.6-billion (2021)
User Base: 277.3-million

Website: www.mtn.com , www.mtn.co.za

Orange Africa and ME are represented in 18 countries, mainly in Africa, with the addition of Jordan in the Middle East and Belgium in Europe. The company claims that 1 in 10 African customers buy an orange.

Orange is investing €1 billion per year to enable and promote digital transformation in Africa and is a major investor in many submarines and terrestrial cables that provide the best internet access on the continent, including ACE, 2 Africa, Djoliba, and more.

Headquarter: Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
Founded: 1976

Revenue: $6.8-billion (2021)
User Base: 130-million

Website: https://www.orange-business.com/en/regions/africa

Vodacom Group Limited is a South African mobile telecommunications company serving more than 32 African countries including Nigeria, Zambia, Angola, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.

British Vodafone Group, a partially owned (64.5%) company, provides mobile services and internet connectivity.

Headquarter: Midrand, South Africa
Founded: 1994

Revenue: $6.8-billion (2021)
User Base: 123.7-million*

Website: www.vodacom.com

Airtel Africa provides telecommunication and mobile money services in 14 countries on the continent, mainly in East, Central and West Africa, Airtel Nigeria is the company's most profitable division.

Airtel Africa is owned by Bharti Airtel, an Indian telecommunications company. Its services include mobile and broadband Internet access as well as 4G.

Headquarter: 53 Grosvenor Street, London, United Kingdom
Founded: 8 June 2010

Revenue: $3.5-billion (2020)
User Base: 78-million

Website: https://airtel.africa/

Safaricom is Kenya's ubiquitous telecommunications group and is the undisputed leader in Kenya's telecommunications sector with over 90% of the market.

Safaricom, a subsidiary of South Africa's Vodacom Group, founded in 1993, offers a wide range of services and solutions from MPesa to mobile devices and more. It is also Kenya's fastest mobile internet provider.

Headquarter: Safaricom House, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
Founded: 1993

Revenue: $2.4-billion (2021)
User Base: 39.90-million

Website:www.safaricom.co.ke

Ethio Telecom, headquartered in Addis Ababa, is part of the Ethiopian government's "Big 5" public enterprises along with Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopia Commercial Bank. The company has been at the center of much controversy since 2012 and is accused of interfering with the country's online freedom of speech by order of the Ethiopian government. The government has recently started a bidding process for the sale of a 40% stake in Ethio Telecom. Many potential investors lined up, including Orange and Vodafone.

Ethio Telecom provides mobile, wireline and broadband Internet access.

Headquarter: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Founded: 2010

Revenue: $1.29-billion (2021)
User Base: 56.2-million

Website: https://www.ethiotelecom.et/

Founded in 1998, Maroc Telecom is Morocco's largest telecommunications company. It is a parastatal company similar to Telkom, in which the Moroccan government owns 22% of the company and the Etisalat Group owns 53%. The rest are owned by other investors such as French multimedia company Vivendi.

In 2016, Maroc introduced fiber-optic internet to the country with speeds of up to 200 Mbps.

Headquarter: Rabat, Morocco
Founded: February 3, 1998

Revenue: $997-million (2021)
User Base: 73-million

Website: https://www.iam.ma/index.aspx

Also known as Etisalat Misr, this wing of the UAE Etisalat group serves the Egyptians. Etisalat Egypt is the third mobile communication operator to enter the Egyptian market and the first integrated communication operator in Korea. It was also the first company to offer 3.5G and 4G services.

Etisalat Egypt, like most other companies on this list, is a fast growing company. In 2020, the company reported a 22% YoY growth compared to 2019.

Headquarter: Cairo, Egypt
Founded: 2007

Revenue: $1.1-billion (2021)
User Base: 26.4-million (2020)

Website: www.etisalat.eg

As one of South Africa's largest ICT service providers, Telkom also operates in more than 38 African countries. The company is SA's main internet provider, 39% state-owned.

Telkom offers a variety of internet service packages and options, from LTE to fiber optics.

Headquarter: Centurion, Gauteng, South Africa
Founded: 1991

Revenue: $763-million (2021)
User Base: 16.1-million

Website: www.telkom.co.za

Founded in 2003, Globacom is now considered one of the largest telecommunications companies in Nigeria and is part of Nigeria's Big Four along with MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, and 9Mobile.

Globacom Limited offers products ranging from mobile data to cloud storage.

Headquarter: Lagos, Nigeria
Founded: 2003
Revenue: $402-million (2019)
User Base: 51-million (2021)

Website: https://www.gloworld.com/ng