Kenya’s Mobile Market (Kenya)
Kenya is among the rapidly growing mobile markets in Africa. With Mobile Operators like Safricom (Vodafone, Telekom), Zain, Econet Wireless, Safaricom has the largest number of subscribers. This can be attributed to it’s many tarrifs which give Kenyanans the opportunity to select the most convenient tarrif depending on one’s requirement.The continent’s bull market is being driven in part by a growing African middle class seeking new investment opportunities. And with the U.S. economy wobbling, American and European investment funds are taking an increased interest in Africa, buying bargain-priced shares of undiscovered companies. At the end of 2007 there were 280.7 million mobile phone subscribers in Africa, representing a penetration rate of 30.4%. Even more interesting, when you look at the major African markets, is to see the huge growth potential for areas that are already very profitable.
Growth rate in Africa has been remarkable over the last couple of years and is forecasted to continue for the next 3-5 years. Major drivers include:
* Pre-paid offerings
* Continued liberalization of the telcom sector
* Low penetration rates
* Expected uptake of 3G services
Growth inhibitors include:
* Taxation – especially in East Africa
* Low income across the continent hampers growth
* Widespread illiteracy decreases the growth of value added services, even SMS
* Unreliable electricity supplies
* Corruption
Interesting Facts
* Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt are the fastest growing markets
* Africa has become the fastest growing mobile market in the world with mobile penetration in the region ranging from 100% to 30%
* Pre-paid subscriptions account for nearly 95 percent of total mobile subscriptions in the region
* Most of the mobile operators are home-grown. In 2005, the continent’s seven largest investors controlled 53% of the African mobile market
* Across most of Africa, SMS is likely to be the only non-voice value-added service to gain mass market popularity in the immediate future
* East Africans pay taxes of between 25% and 30% on mobile phone services, compared with an average of 17% across Africa
* African states with less than 600,000 subscribers and includes Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros (Union of the), Djibouti, Equitorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia (The), Lesotho, Liberia, Mayotte, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland and Rwanda.
Comium Gambia launched by President
Gambia’s third mobile network operator, Comium, was officially inaugurated at the weekend by President Jammeh. Comium, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-registered Lebanese holding company the Comium Group, has rolled out a 2.5G GSM/GPRS network since being awarded a mobile licence in early August 2006. It has announced that it will offer a wider range of advanced value-added services than those currently provided by existing operators Gamcel and Africell, which have around 200,000 and 150,000 subscribers respectively. It also claims that it will be the first cellco to offer complete coverage of the country. A Comium spokesperson announced that: ‘Our strategy involves the acquisition of new licenses across west and central Africa, in countries where mobile phone and internet penetration is still limited and where we feel we can bring tangible, sustained value to subscribers.’ Comium has established mobile networks in Liberia and Sierra Leone and is preparing to launch operations in the C´te d’Ivoire. It was involved in Lebanon’s mobile market as the manager of LibanCell (now MTC Touch Lebanon) until 2004 when the Lebanese government sold the management contract to Kuwaiti cellco MTC.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
MTN nears 35 mln subscribers after Investcom takeover
South Africa-based operator MTN Group has reported 34.768 million subscribers at the end of September, up 37 percent from June following its takeover of rival Investcom. Excluding Investcom, MTN increased its subscriber base 8 percent over the quarter to 27.384 million, while Investcom alone posted 20 percent growth to 7.384 million customers. Growth was driven by MTN’s South Africa operations, which increased customer numbers 7 percent to 11.16 million. In West and Central Africa, Nigeria and to a lesser extent Ghana contributed to the increase. Nigeria posted a 8 percent increase to 10.375 million, and Ghana increased its base 21 percent to 2.436 million. The Middle East and North East Africa region recorded subscriber growth of 17 percent for the quarter, mainly due to continued strong growth in Syria (20% to 2.1 million) and Uganda (14% to 1.4 million). The recent start-up in Afghanistan exceeded expectations and achieved net additions of 99,000 in the quarter. MTN expects the merger with Investcom to lead in 2007 to operatinal savings of USD 80-100 million and reductions in capital expenditure of at least USD 100 million. Limited savings have already been acheived this year.Among other markets, subscribers in Cameroon were up 9 percent to 1.66 million, Uganda rose 14 percent to 1.4 million, Cote d’Ivoire increased 13 percent to 1.26 million, Yemen was up 1 percent to 1.03 million, Sudan increased 30 percent to 771,000, the Mascom unit in Botswana rose 5 percent to 557,000, Benin was up 20 percent to 415,000, Rwanda rose 10 percent to 341,000, Swaziland was up 8 percent to 255,000, Congo- Brazaville gained 9 percent to 250,000, Guinea Conakry grew 75 percent to 201,000, Liberia was up 21 percent to 186,000, Zambia increased 5 percent to 125,000, Guinea Bissau rose 4 percent to 79,000 and the only European country, Levantine Cyprus, was down 10 percent to 70,000. In addition to providing subscriber figures, MTN gives ARPU figres for each subsidiary. South African ARPU rose to ZAR 162 in the third quarter from ZAR 159 in the second. Elsewhere, third quarter ARPU ranges from USD 11 in Yemen to USD 32 in Cyprus, with the next highest being Syria at USD 25. In Nigeria, ARPU was USD 18. The ARPU figure is an average for the time since the July acquisition of Investcom.
Source- telecompaper Wireless Mobile Telecom
Liberia: Libercell Announces New Technology
The management of LiberCell has announced plans to introduce a new technology in its GSM operations in the country.
Addressing a news conference yesterday in Monrovia, LiberCell’s Chief Executive, Officer, Azzam Sbaity, said that the second phase investment is over US$10 million that will provide State-of-the-Art Technology Third Generation Telephony for the first time in the country and West Africa.
Mr. Sbaity said the new service will be available to its subscribers within a few days, and will be announced as they become available.
Expounding on what is the new state of the Art Technology, Mr. Saibty explained that the GPRS technology is the acronym for General Packet Radio Signal. He said that this technology enables LiberCell subscribers to complete Wireless Internet access via the telephone or computer anywhere and at anytime whether in an office, at home, in the street, on the highway or at any program or game.
Fleet management, GPRS also enables the government, international organizations and companies with large fleets or vehicles to keep an accurate track of each vehicle on matters where it is in Liberia.
EDGE Technology, according to Mr. Sbaity, is the acronym for Enhanced Data Rates for GSM evolution. This technology enables LiberCell subscribers to connect 3 times faster to the internet, which eliminates the long delays often experienced with other internet providers.
MMS Technology is the acronym for Multi-Media Messaging Service. This technology enables a LiberCell subscriber to exchange multi-media messages with other mobile subscribers with the same technology in a revolutionary manner that greatly surpasses simple SMS transmissions.
“Our subscribers can now transmit texts, pictures, videos or a combination of these at an imaginable, high speed. This service will be of tremendous benefit to the Liberian Media in providing fast and easy coverage of activities throughout the country and transmitting same to their respective newsrooms.
“LiberCell subscribers can now keep up-to-date the latest daily local and international news and have fun with their mates by accessing our daily horoscope and compatibility percentage,” Mr. Sbaity added.
He said that the new technology is very expensive, but assured subscribers that the management would ensure that it is cheap and affordable. “We want every one to have access to our services,” he said. He said it is the management’s plan that by the end of November this year, major cities would be covered by the new technology.
The CEO said Liberia will be the third in Africa with the new technology. He said some aspects of the technology exist in South Africa and Tanzania.
He said some people questioned the new technology on grounds of the Liberian market and level of illiteracy. But he said he foresees a better trend in the future.
Mr. Sbaity said his management is convinced that the new services would greatly benefit the Liberian people. He said this was a way of continuously contributing to the country’s economic recovery program.
Source- http://allafrica.com
Huawei helps Comium drive new wave of Mobile Telecom Services in Cote d’Ivoire
Delhi, Delhi, India, 2006-09-20 (IndiaPRwire.com) — [New Delhi - September 20, 2006] Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd (Huawei), a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, has been selected by Comium Mobile, a leading total telecommunications services group and West Africa’s leading mobile service provider, to build its GSM network in Cote d’Ivoire. The contract includes providing a full turnkey GSM, GPRS, 3G and Intelligent Network in Cote d’Ivoire.
The project adopts Huawei’s innovative EnerG GSM solution and new generation GSM Dual Density BTS. Huawei’s EnerG GSM solution first introduces 3G technology to GSM network, enabling the operator to enhance the efficiency and performance of its network, while helping the operator greatly reduce OPEX and CAPEX. Huawei’s new-generation dual-density BTS features both high density and receiving sensitivity capabilities, and is widely adopted by GSM operators globally.
As a leading multinational telecommunications services provider in West Africa, Comium Mobile recently won license to build a new mobile network in the country and thinks much of this GSM network. In consideration of three year’s successful cooperation with Huawei in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Comium Mobile chooses Huawei to deploy the competitive GSM network again. The Ivorian telecoms and mobile GSM market is set to witness exponential growth and Comium Mobile is positioning itself to bring tangible and sustainable value to its customers.
Comium Mobile is committed to go commercial live by 1st quarter 2007. With a population of over 17 million, and a mobile penetration rate of 13.5%, Comium aims to grow the market with the introduction of innovative products and services, highly competitive and cost-efficient pricing strategy, and superior service quality in terms of coverage, customer care, and distribution channels.
“Comium is aggressively pursuing the acquisition of new licenses across West Africa. The success we are enjoying in Liberia and Sierra Leone is inspiring us to grow regionally by providing differentiated customer experience through the provision of innovative products and services including affordable GSM solutions, broadband internet and international voice service offerings. Huawei is an enabling partner for this mission with its technically advanced solutions that help us deliver on our vision to bring new means for the human communication needs,” said Dr. Nizar Dalloul, Chairman and CEO of the Comium Group.
“There is increasing demand for a wider range of telecom applications and services in West Africa,” said Mr. Ding Shaohua, General Vice President of Huawei Technologies. “We have been working with Comium Mobile since 2004 on the development and implementation of its GSM networks in Sierra Leone and Liberia and this new contract cements the relationship between the two companies. Comium Mobile is an ambitious operator in the region with great focus and growth potential. We are jointly working with their world-class team to help them meet their aggressive targets and to bring the latest telecom solutions to West Africa.”
With its vision of enriching people’s life through communications, Huawei continues to make investment in GSM technology innovation. Huawei’s EnerG GSM solution has been adopted by telecom operators in over 80 countries, serving more than 120 million subscribers across the globe. With a total deployment of GSM BTS reaching over 500,000 TRXs worldwide, Huawei has accumulated extensive experience and expertise in the construction of large-scale and densely populated area networking, as well as planning, optimization and performance management of networks, winning the respect and trust of major global telecom operators.
Source- http://www.indiaprwire.com
Technorati : Cote d”lvoire, GSM, Huawei Technologies, Mobile, Telecom
Ice Rocket : Cote d”lvoire, GSM, Huawei Technologies, Mobile, Telecom
