评估影响南苏丹移动部门的税收问题

Assessing the Taxation IssuesImpacting the Mobile Sector inSouth Sudan July 2025 GSMA The GSMA is a global organisation unifyingthe mobile ecosystem to discover, developand deliver innovation foundational topositive business environments andsocietal change. Our vision is to unlockthe full power of connectivity so thatpeople, industry and society thrive.Representing mobile operators andorganisations across the mobile ecosystemand adjacent industries, the GSMA deliversfor its members across three broad pillars:Connectivity for Good, Industry Servicesand Solutions and Outreach. This activityincludes advancing policy, tackling today’sbiggest societal challenges, underpinningthe technology and interoperability thatmake mobile work and providing theworld’s largest platform to convene themobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360series of events. We invite you to find out more atwww.gsma.com Follow the GSMA Policy and Regulationteam onLinkedIn:GSMA Policy & RegulationX:@GSMAPolicy Contents 1.Introduction32.Overview of South Sudan’s mobile sector:Development to date and potential for further growth53.Key taxation issues impacting the growth of the mobile sector94.Designing a more efficient tax policy frameworkfor the mobile sector in South Sudan13 1.Introduction Over the past decade, South Sudan’s mobile market has expandedsignificantly due to substantial investments by mobile operators inenhancing mobile broadband networks. Unique mobile subscriberpenetration grew from 20% in 2016 to 35% in 2024, and uniquemobile internet subscriber penetration increased from 5% to 14%.The adoption of 3G services also increased, with 3G marketpenetration rising from 5% in 2015 to 34% in 2024. This increasedaccess to mobile communications has supported livelihoods andsocio-economic development, becoming crucial for accessinginformation and life-saving assistance in the country. Despite this progress, South Sudan still facessignificant challenges in fully leveraging mobiletechnology for inclusive growth and improvedservice delivery. Key challenges include low marketpenetration of broadband-enabled technologies (3Gand 4G) and high usage and coverage gaps. As of theend of 2024, the 4G penetration was only 3%, and theusage gap (the percentage of the population coveredby mobile broadband networks but not using mobileinternet) stands at 64%. To tackle these challenges and accelerate mobilebroadband adoption, GSMA has been workingwith mobile operators in South Sudan to identifypolicy enablers that could create a more supportiveenvironment for the capital-intensive mobile industry.Efforts include increasing the industry’s commitmentto investing in South Sudan and improving theaffordability of mobile services. A major issueidentified by GSMA is the current tax regime , whichimposes a high tax burden on mobile operatorsand consumers, deterring investment and hinderingmobile service adoption. This report: In South Sudan, only 14% of the population isconnected to the internet, significantly below Africa’saverage of 30% and the Eastern Africa average of29%. Additionally, the country has one of the highestcoverage gaps in the region at 22%, far exceeding theaverages for Eastern Africa (10%) and Africa (9%). •Provides an overview of the development of SouthSudan’s mobile sector and highlights the potentialfor further growth.•Identifies key taxation issues that could impedemobile operators’ investment and the take-up ofmobile services by consumers, essential for thegrowth of the sector.•Offers recommendations to establish a morebalanced tax regime to encourage sectordevelopment and increase mobile service adoptionin the country. 2.Overview of South Sudan’s mobilesector: Development to date andpotential for further growth 2.1 Mobile penetration South Sudan’s mobile market has grown considerablyover the past decade. Total mobile (unique subscribers)penetration increased from 20% in 2016 to 35% in2024, while mobile internet penetration rose from 5%to 14% over the same period. However, these levelsremain significantly below the averages for Africa 47% (total) and 27% (internet), and East Africa 41% (total)and 20% (internet), respectively. This gap reveals twocritical growth opportunities: bringing more first-time users into the mobile market and acceleratingbroadband network expansion to boost internetadoption rates. Figure 1:Unique subscribers’ penetration total and mobile internet 2.2 Market penetration by technology Mobile operators’ investments have driven significantgrowth in 3G adoption across South Sudan, with marketpenetration rising from 5% in 2016 to 34% in 2024,establishing it as the dominant network technology. Incontrast, four years after its launch, 4G adoption remains limited: at only 3%. That’s well below Africa’s average of40% and Eastern Africa’s average of 31%. Accelerating the deployment of 4G and eventually 5Gis essential to improve access to vital online services. Figure 2:Market penetration rate (total connectio