Cameroon: A potential new player and regulatory pressure to cut prices will help to more than double mobile penetration by 2014

[PRNewswire] A potential new player in Cameroon's mobile market and regulatory pressure to cut prices will help to more than double the country's mobile penetration by 2014, according to a new report from Pyramid Research, the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network.

Cameroon is characterized by high per-minute prices and a lower penetration than its GDP per capita would suggest, reaching only 30 percent at year-end 2008, notes Yejide Onabule, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "However, due to the potential entry of a third mobile operator and the increased use of mobile services due to regulatory pressure to cut prices, Pyramid predicts Cameroon's mobile penetration to more than double in the next five years from 36 percent expected in 2009 to 80 percent by 2014," she says.

"There are currently three main players in Cameroon's telecom market: fixed incumbent Camtel, which dominates the fixed market, MTN, and Orange sharing the mobile space," says Onabule. "The potential entry of Camtel as an operator in the mobile market will hit MTN's share the most, while Orange will maintain a more stable position," she adds.

"Camtel, as the only operator with a fixed wireline network, would have an edge in providing converged services, once it's able to get over its funding problems and privatization process," Onabule explains. "All three operators should consider further investments to upgrade and improve their network and services - with the introduction of higher network speeds and new applications, the use of mobile broadband and other data services will increase," she says

Competition Heats Up as a New Player Enters Cameroon's Mobile Market, Pyramid Research Finds