Praia, Aug. 6, 2026 (Lusa) - The number of internet subscriptions in Cabo Verde fell by 4% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2025, whilst the total number of active mobile SIM cards rose by 0.2%, according to statistics released by the regulatory authority on Thursday.
At the end of March, the archipelago had 511,702 internet access subscriptions, including mobile and fixed-line services, and 588,603 active SIM cards, according to the Report on Statistical Indicators for the Electronic Communications Market published by the Multisectoral Economic Regulatory Agency (ARME), which Lusa consulted today.
The year-on-year decline in internet subscriptions is mainly due to a 16.4% drop in mobile internet access, despite a 12.9% increase in fixed-line internet services.
Compared with the final quarter of 2025, the total number of subscriptions rose by 1%.
Internet access via mobile phones remains the primary access method, accounting for 86% of subscriptions.
In the electronic communications market, Cabo Verde's operator CVTelecom retains the largest share of services.
The company accounts for 72% of internet subscriptions, 68% of active mobile SIM cards and 99.3% of landline customers.
Unitel T+, another operator operating in the country, accounts for 27.3% of internet subscriptions, 32% of mobile subscriptions and 0.7% of landline customers.
Starlink, a satellite internet service, has a residual share of the internet market, at 0.64%.
The fixed-line telephone service had 62,490 subscribers at the end of March, 1.55% more than in the same period of 2025, whilst the mobile market recorded a penetration rate of 113.9 mobile lines per 100 inhabitants.
The report also indicates that voice traffic on the fixed network reached around 3.28 million minutes in the first quarter, up 4.8% from the previous quarter but down 15% from the same period in 2025.
ARME's statistical bulletin is based on information collected from electronic communications operators operating in Cabo Verde.
RS/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
