Smartphone penetration in Africa and its growth predictions are all the buzz among discussions about the future of tech on the continent, thanks to the emergence of cheap 3G Android handsets and moves by CPU manufacturers like Qualcomm to bring not just 3G, but LTE to its entire range of chipsets. But don’t count out 2G and feature phones just yet, because it still have a very big role to play in making sure more Africans get access to the internet over the next few years.

Mobile phones are the primary means of accessing the internet in Africa, and 150 million Africans used a cell phone to connect by the end of 2013. Around 60% of those cell phones were still using basic 2G services, according to the GSMA  sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Economy report 2014 released today.

“In a number of markets, lower GDP per capita levels may mean that smartphones remain beyond reasonable levels of affordability for a majority of people for quite some time,” the report states. “2G networks and more basic devices such as feature phones will therefore continue to play a vital role in the uptake of internet services in Africa, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas.”

The report also points out that the 2G subscriber base will continue to grow in absolute terms up until 2016 and will still account for seven out of 10 connections by the same year. Literacy issues and limited ICT knowledge will contribute will see some users continuing to rely on feature and the more basic services it offers.

3G connections, meanwhile, are set to increase from 15% in 2013 to 52% by 2020, making Sub-Saharan Africa the second largest region for 3G connections after the Asia-Pacific region and 4G is expected to account for four percent of total connections by 2020.