3G BEGINS TO STIR IN AFRICA

Mobile growth in Africa has been spectacular during the last decade. From pretty much a standing start, the continent now boasts an average mobile penetration of over 40%. In some countries, such as Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, mobile penetration is much higher.

Yet the overall pace of annual African mobile growth is on the decline, and has been for a few years. Informa Telecoms & Media, a research firm, calculates that annual mobile subscriber growth in Africa was 26% during 2009, compared to a 35% growth rate in 2008 and a 42% jump in 2007. With 2G growth weaker than before, 3G is creeping up the agenda of many African operators as a potential way to bolster revenue growth through mobile data and internet access services, particularly in urban areas where fixed-line broadband is patchy and expensive. But it is still early days for African 3G.

READ FULL STORY IN AFRICA TELECOMS - RELEASED JUNE 2010

CONNECTING THE NEXT BILLION

Where is Africa in the great data race and will cellular connectivity be the way the continent bridges the digital divide?

Where South African users have begun to embrace the power of mobile Internet connectivity with telecommunication companies starting to look beyond HSPA and HSPA Plus technologies towards fourth generation solutions such as LTE and Wimax, the rest of Africa is at the point where 3G connectivity is only now becoming an option. And depending on who you speak to, the story varies between being extremely positive and downright disheartening. While on paper a number of telcos have technically rolled 3G out in their regions of operation, that should by no means imply that 3G is available across the entire reach of their coverage area – or even in areas with a healthy saturation of users. It seems like, 3G is still reserved for the most built-up urban areas and set up as an overlay of a blanket GPRS or EDGE network.

READ FULL STORY IN AFRICA TELECOMS - RELEASED JUNE 2010

3G TECHNOLOGY

One thing that really characterises the cellphone industry is how consistently wrong we are when we estimate its potential. Press archives are littered with now clearly ridiculous comments by industry players who massively underestimated its possibilities. Vodacom could win 150,000 subscribers by 2000, according to studies when Telkom was first setting up its mobile subsidiary. It took just four months to exceed that figure after it launched in 1994. Vodacom’s licence application was equally laughable: it forecast 320,000 subscribers within five years and 500,000 in a decade. Today it serves 40 million customers across five countries. Similar low expectations were set for SMS, yet long-time customers will remember how the networks jammed up every Christmas and New Year as millions of people sent greetings simultaneously. The obvious conclusion is never to underestimate people’s eagerness to stay in contact. That’s a lesson African operators must bear in mind as they decide whether to venture into 3G by upgrading their GSM networks that offer voice and basic text messages.

READ FULL STORY IN AFRICA TELECOMS - RELEASED JUNE 2010

IP-PEERING FEDERATION FOR SOUTH AFRICA

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Multisource, the South African wireless services provider, and London-based XConnect, providing next-generation interconnection and carrier ENUM-registry services, have formed a partnership to help South African service providers take advantage of growing opportunities in the country’s increasinglycompetitive telecommunications market.

AN INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE The partnership, known as XConnect SA, will establish a multilateral peering federation, which will offer operators advanced VoIP and next-generation network (NGN) peering capabilities via an in-country interconnection hub. The Federation will provide a simple, cost-effective means for exchanging traffic within Southern Africa and globally. The newly appointed CEO of XConnect SA, Christopher Geerdts, said the partnership underpins the principles of Interconnect 2.0, ushering in the next generation of VoIP in South Africa.

READ FULL STORY IN AFRICA TELECOMS - RELEASED JUNE 2010