1 / 12

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA: SOME USEFUL CONSIDERATIONS

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA: SOME USEFUL CONSIDERATIONS. MIT November 6, 2000 Guy Engon Zibi, Senior Analyst Pyramid Research. AGENDA. General Overview of the African market Regulatory Trends Market Trends Technology deployments Critical Considerations For local governments

koren
Download Presentation

TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA: SOME USEFUL CONSIDERATIONS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN AFRICA: SOME USEFUL CONSIDERATIONS MIT November 6, 2000 Guy Engon Zibi, Senior Analyst Pyramid Research

  2. AGENDA • General Overview of the African market • Regulatory Trends • Market Trends • Technology deployments • Critical Considerations • For local governments • For investors • For the business • Concluding comments

  3. REGULATORY TRENDS • Evolution of policy mindset: governments are divesting; • Competition is becoming the name of the game; • Strong monopolies still exist; • Regulatory frameworks cannot keep up with the pace dictated by global trends and technology.

  4. Cellular Main lines 20,000 15,000 Subscribers (000) 10,000 5,000 0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000F 2001F 2002F 2003F 2004F MARKET TRENDS • Telephone penetration rates remain low..but cellular is taking over thanks to competition, pre-pay packages. Estimates for 26 markets in SSA Source: Pyramid Research

  5. MARKET TRENDS • Internet, broadband still trailing; major opportunities lie in infrastructure build-out. • Last mile bottlenecks • High backbone connectivity costs • Initial start-up costs are high • Low literacy rates • E-commerce and other Internet-related services have a strong potential in South Africa. • Elsewhere, they remain a difficult proposition.

  6. TECHNOLOGY IN GENERAL, WIRELESS IS MOST OPTIMAL SOLUTION Cellular: for basic voice services, and soon data * Africa is GSM-centric * Solutions exist for urban, rural deployment Fixed Wireless: for basic voice service, rural deployments * Rapid deployment, service flexibility * Watch for standard, frequency, logistics issues VSATs: Still best/only solution for Internet access in many markets

  7. TECHNOLOGY • BUT FIBRE IS BEST FOR DATA SERVICES • Better for high-end, carrier-grade services • Initial capital expenditure is high • But long-term savings in operating costs are considerable

  8. Critical considerations • FOR THE GOVERNMENT • How much money does the government get, short and long-term? • What are the immediate and long-term economic implications of your business? • Will you serve rural areas, lower-end market segments? • If not, what are you ready to do to help the government develop these markets?

  9. Critical considerations • FOR INVESTORS • What is the return on investment? How soon do I get my returns? • Do you have government, international institution support? • What is the level of risk? Are potential returns worth taking that risk? • What is my exit strategy?

  10. Critical considerations • FOR THE BUSINESS • What’s the actual demand for the service I’m going to offer? What are the returns? • How reliable is the regulatory framework? • Who is my local partner? Does my partner have resources/network/influence? • Who are my competitors? How can they hurt me? Do I have any protection? • What is the existing infrastructure in the country? Can I rely on it?

  11. Concluding comments 1. Thoroughly understand the policy and regulatory framework; they can make the difference between success and failure. 2. There is no one-size-fits all for technology. What you use depends on market, service offered. The wrong technology can set you back for years. 3. Don’t let the hype drive your strategy; study the market and give people/businesses what they want and are ready to pay for.

  12. Thank you

More Related