The biggest user loss occurred between 2019 and 2021, when the operator lost 1.2 million subscriptions due to poor voice and internet service quality. By 2024, it had only 520,000 voice subscribers and 350,000 data users.
Movicel has lost nearly 2 million mobile phone subscribers since 2018, when it held over 18% of active SIM cards in Angola, with around 2.4 million subscriptions. In just six years, the operator — majority-owned by Angola’s National Social Security Institute (INSS) — saw 79% of its subscribers abandon its services, leaving it with only 520,959 active SIM cards today, in stark contrast to the growing mobile communications market in Angola.
The steepest drop occurred between 2019 and 2021, when Movicel lost 1.2 million mobile network subscribers from late 2019 to the third quarter of 2021 — a 45% decrease compared to 2018. The exodus from what was once the country’s second-largest operator was driven by poor voice and internet service quality, but inflation and the economic crisis also played a role, pushing customers to stick with just one operator. During this period, the sharp price hikes announced in September 2020 were considered the “last straw” in the “perfect storm” that the operator is now experiencing.
Over the past six years, in a two-player market-share battle, Movicel never came close to threatening Unitel’s leadership, despite having robust infrastructure (partly inherited from Angola Telecom) — which is now outdated. The 2022 entry of Africell drove the operator that emerged from Angola Telecom even further into decline.
Today, the market has 26 million mobile network users — and just since Africell entered the market, the total number of subscribers in the country has grown by 10.7 million. Although there was some growth in 2024, it happened at a slower pace than in previous years.
Unitel leads with 73% of subscriptions (over 19 million), followed by Africell, a U.S.-registered company with Lebanese roots, holding 25% (6.5 million). Movicel holds only 2% of the market, with 521,000 subscriptions, according to 2024 data from the Angolan Communications Institute (INACOM).
With just over 521,000 customers, the operator is now going through an almost total collapse of its services, including store closures, salary delays, and difficulty paying suppliers — which, in turn, result in frequent voice call issues, as reported by several customers who now use Movicel SIMs only for data services. They also complain about poor customer support.
Data Subscriptions Also Dropped
Once hailed as the best mobile internet provider in the country with affordable plans, Movicel has also seen its data subscribers fall by nearly half over the past six years to 350,251, according to Expansão’s calculations based on 2024 INACOM data.
The sharpest drop happened between 2023 and 2024, when over 277,000 subscribers left Movicel’s data network. This was the period when Unitel and Africell aggressively targeted the mobile data market with more diverse and affordable packages, appealing to all income levels. It was also when 5G networks began gaining traction in Angola — a technology in which Movicel has lagged behind.
Source: Expansão
