Last updated: 26 Mar 2008 Update History
Report Status: Archived
Report Pages: 212
Analyst: Stephen McNamara
Publication Overview
Subjects covered include:
Researcher :- Peter Evans
Current publication date:- March 2008 (14th Edition)
Next publication date:- March 2009
Executive Summary
BuddeComm’s Annual Publication provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in telecommunications, broadcasting and pay TV markets in:
Afghanistan
As the political and social rebuilding of the country proceeds following years of war and civil unrest, the country has been busy putting new national telecommunications infrastructure in place. Telecommunications has already started to play a big role in helping repair the
A properly functioning basic telephone network has been and continues to be a high priority for the Afghani Government. As part of this commitment, an important step was the creation of the Ministry of Communications in 2002, followed by the establishment of a regulator, the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority in 2005.
With ongoing unrest in the country and the recovery from war not yet complete, one of the big challenges for the country has been to attract and manage foreign investment. There have been some positive signs in the telecom sector in this regard and, interestingly, for a period the telecom sector was the only one in the country that was attracting any foreign capital.
With two mobile operators already in place, the MoC announced in late 2005 that two more mobile licences had been awarded. In July 2006, the Investcom/Alokozai consortium launched its Areeba
Bangladesh
Despite being one of the poorest, most densely populated, least developed countries in the world,
So it is with some fascination that the outsider observes what has been and continues to be a booming mobile market in
The
The
Dhiraagu’s monopoly was officially set to run out in 2008, but the government was keen to open up the market earlier than that. The licensing of a second ISP in 2002 signalled the government’s intention to move ahead of time. Then, in 2004, a second mobile licence was issued. Although the new mobile operator Wataniya Telecom was tardy in becoming operational, it launched in 2006. By September 2007, it had 62,000 subscribers, an almost 25% share of the market. For the country overview, see chapter 3, page 79.
Pakistan
Pakistan has begun to experience sustained growth in its telecom sector, and especially the mobile segment of the market. This pattern has emerged after many years of relatively low growth and market uncertainty. The 2006/07 period has been a remarkable period for the mobile operators in the country, as the total subscriber base moved from 22 million at the beginning of 2006 to 77 million at the end of 2007. By early 2008, the 50% penetration milestone had been reached, probably much faster than most people expected.
There is no doubt that the arrival of two new operators - UAE-based Warid Telecom and
In the meantime, fixed-line penetration in the country stood at just over 4% (7 million lines) in early 2008, leaving plenty of room for further expansion. The government has indicated that it is continuing to pursue its targeted national teledensity of 7% (around 10 million lines) by 2010. To achieve this target, though, around 1 million additional lines need to be installed each year. Internet penetration remains low in the country, with little apparent interest in the marketplace in broadband access. With competition spreading through the market, however, development is accelerating and it may impact on the Internet segment soon. For the country overview, see chapter 4, page 91.
Sri Lanka
A modern progressive telecommunications sector still remains a high priority for
The country’s fixed-line teledensity stood at 12% by end-2006, the number of fixed line subscribers having jumped by 100% in a two year period. This was evidence that low fixed-line penetration levels have been more a result of acute supply constraints rather than a lack of demand for service. The growth surge was spurred on by the extensive use of WLL services to meet demand. There were still a significant number of customers waiting for a basic telephone, but there were healthy signs that infrastructure problems were being addressed.
Market reform still demands attention as this is central to ensuring continuing growth. The market has undoubtedly benefited from the liberalisation of the market and the competition that comes with having four mobile operators battling for market share. This is despite one of these – Dialog – having close to 55% market share. Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) progressively losing its monopoly on a range of services has led the way as the market is made more interesting for new players. For the country overview, see chapter 5, page 154.
Key highlights
· Afghanistan’s rapidly expanding mobile market was impressive, with 100% growth in 2007;
· Early signs of a boom in Internet usage in
· In
· The
· Wataniya has quickly grabbed 30% of the mobile market in the
· Pakistan has also seen its mobile sector boosted by increased competition, with newcomers Warid Telecom and Telenor claiming a big stake in that market;
· By end-2007, their combined share of the almost 80 million strong
· Fixed-line subscriptions have experienced a surprisingly big surge in
Mobile subscriber growth and forecast - by country – 2004 - 2007; 2011
Country 2004 2005 2006 2007 2011 0.6 1.0 1.6 2.0 4.9 4.0 10.4 22.0 35.0 70.0 0.11 0.17 0.28 0.32 0.35 7.9 15.5 48.2 80.0 150.0 2.2 3.3 5.4 6.8 13.2
(Source: BuddeComm data, forecasts)
Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.
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