Regional - Infrastructure - VoIP & NGNs in Africa & Middle East - 2007

Synopsis

Archived report. This report was archived in 2008 and has not been updated since. With poor fixed-line network infrastructure in most African countries, the extent of Next Generation Networks (NGN) and services on the continent is still limited. There are, however, encouraging developments. Given the still large amounts of unsatisfied demand for basic voice services in Africa, VoIP is a primary application at this stage, and this technology is now gaining ground on the continent following steady improvements in Internet bandwidth, deregulation in several countries and the growing number of VoIP service providers entering the market. In the Middle East, much of the industry is highly regulated and demand for Next Generation services limited, however significant investments are being made in IP-based infrastructure as the core of NGNs. This report provides an overview of VoIP and NGNs in Africa in 2007, and a brief look at the Middle East.