Africa - Telecoms, Mobile & Broadband Overview & Analysis 2006

Synopsis

While being the world’s most rapidly growing market for mobile telephony and also home to the fastest growing fixed telephony markets in the world, Africa still has the world’s lowest penetration rates. Explosive growth in the mobile sector has meant that by early-2005 mobile users constituted around 80% of all African telephone subscribers. Overall Internet and broadband penetration is very low due to limited fixed-line infrastructures, but demand is high, and the proliferation of new wireless technologies is expected to deliver a major boost. Many African countries are undergoing sectoral reform and foreign investment is flowing in as privatisation and deregulation are progressively being introduced. Overall, Africa’s telecoms future offers great opportunities to service providers, equipment vendors and investors.

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
  
• 2. Telecom market overview
  
• 3. Key developments
  
  • 3.1 Deregulation and privatisation
    
    • 3.1.1 Privatisation highlights 2005/2006
      
    • 3.1.2 Deregulation of fixed-line, international gateway and bandwidth markets
      
    • 3.1.3 Liberalisation of VoIP telephony continues
      
  • 3.2 Infrastructure developments
    
    • 3.2.1 Domestic infrastructure moving towards IP
      
    • 3.2.2 More international infrastructure, pressure on monopolies
      
  • 3.3 Data traffic on the rise
    
  • 3.4 Internet and Broadband markets: Still virtually untapped
    
    • 3.4.1 Limited access
      
    • 3.4.2 Improving regional and international connectivity
      
    • 3.4.3 ISPs become telcos, and vice versa
      
  • 3.5 Major acquisitions in Africa's mobile market
    
  • 3.6 Convergence of Telecoms and Media