[zdnet] You have probably seen the ads that claim there are apps for just about everything, and a new study from Flurry shows that apps are replacing the web for a lot of mobile device owners. For the first time ever the statistics show that more time is spent per day using mobile apps than time spent surfing the web. The survey covers all the major mobile platforms, including the two big ones, iOS and Android.
It is not a lot more time spent in the apps over the web, but it is a paradigm shift that demonstrates that mobile users prefer apps with simple focused access to web resources. Mobile browsers are getting nearly as good as the desktop equivalents, but users are spending more time in apps than using those nice browsers.
The Flurry report shows the breakdown of what type of activities comprise that time on the web and using mobile apps. Perhaps not surprisingly, the top two activities are gaming and social networking. Those two activities combined account for a whopping 79 percent of the mobile user’s time on the web.
Mobile app usage kicking the web to the curb
see also Flurry Blog
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Mobile - Hyperintegration or Mobile 3.0 a profound and irreversible co-mingling of what used to be offline and online experiences
[wireless week] If the build-out of wireless cellular telephone networks, making phone calls portable and available to billions more people, was ‘Mobile 1.0,’ then perhaps you’ll agree that Mobile 2.0 was the data revolution. It started a decade ago, leading to a lot of premature predictions about broader economic impact which actually didn’t get underway with any significance until flat-rate data plans and more capable, general-purpose handsets emerged in the last three years. But never mind, that’s all forgiven, for we’re finally through that transition. We realize now that not only can phone calls be anywhere, so can bits of any kind. When my mother starts talking about data in the cloud, I think it’s safe to say that most of us get it.
In the last six months or so there’s been an intensifying wave of further innovation in mobile. It’s increasingly clear to me that we’re building a new layer on the foundations of Mobile 2.0. For analysts who seek to get up over the trees to see the forest, the question is — what the heck is it?
Mobile 3.0, if you will (but truly I hate these cutesy rev numbers, so that’s the last time I’ll use the term) is about integration. Not integration in the more pedestrian sense of making two pieces of software, or two companies, work together — but a larger, more comprehensive integration of mobile with real life. Call it hyper-integration – a profound and irreversible co-mingling of what used to be offline and online experiences to form an essentially new type of activity in every domain it touches — fueled by inventive mobile-centric devices and applications.
A phrase you used to hear only in arcane software development circles is “use case.” But in the course of one day at an event last week, I heard it no less than five times from different speakers. Why? Because in each situation they were emphasizing the coupling of technology with specific times, places, contexts, and more, to determine how to create unique value. The blossoming of the term comes from the realization that, in developing the next wave of mobile services, we aren’t targeting gamers, or soccer moms, or the SMB section of the enterprise space — not specific market segments at all, but rather the tremendous multi-dimensional nature of our activities.
What’s hyper-integrated mobile?
In gaming, it’s using mobile devices and apps to ‘game-ify’ the real-world around us, integrating physical infrastructure with online games. Remember arguing with your childhood friends about which fencepost would serve as second base? Now mobile experiences label the world’s tangible assets as way-stations and goals in games.
In navigation, it’s turning the mobile camera into a heads-up display showing us nearby subway stops and ATMs.
In shopping, it’s in-store, in-aisle assistance, with the likes of Modiv Media, AisleBuyer, Single-Click Checkout, and more stampeding to lead this change. (One mobile commerce startup exec said recently, “This is re-defining retail. People will start shopping by researching online, then complete it offline… but using mobile support. How will you classify that transaction? It won’t be about offline commerce versus online commerce anymore.”)
In basic communications, it’s going from voice or text or video, to experiences that blur the three in weird new ways, moving from silo’d choices to richer blended offerings. At the same event last week, I saw a VC razzed by his peers when he suggested 2011 might be the year of mobile voice apps, but we’ve probably only scratched the surface of voice’s potential to be re-introduced to mobile activities as an easy, familiar input and output element.
In driving, it’s not just adding mobile to the automobile so that drivers get real-time traffic updates and passengers can have WiFi, it’s integrating a connected car+driver pair to the outside world, talking with parking meters, tolls booths, insurance monitoring services, and more.
Back in the 1970s, futurist Ted Nelson coined the term ’intertwingled‘ to describe the potential rich linkages between ideas that he envisioned. I loved the word the first time I heard it as a programmer in the ’80s. Decades later, HTML emerged to make that concept feasible for the world’s text. But I think we’re headed for a world of intertwingled offline and online experiences, all thanks to the next wave of mobile devices and apps.
There are massive numbers of mobile-based hyper-integration opportunities yet to be unlocked. And I think the principle impediment at this point is not whether we will have to develop for two major handset OSes or three, or whether flat-rate mobile data pricing reverts to tiered pricing, or indeed how any other real but prosaic technical issue is settled. No, the major obstacle is that our collective imagination about these opportunities is still very limited today. It’s as if we’re all inhabitants of Flatland, unable to understand the existence of a three-dimensional Spaceland. It’s going to take the patient evangelism of some thoughtful people to bust open our closed mindsets, to stretch our thinking into this new dimension.
Olof Schybergson, a designer whose firm works on connected interfaces, points out that we’re only now tapping into the true utility of a handset’s camera and other sensors. “The camera is an input device as important as the keyboard or the finger gestures we’re learning. Why not decline an incoming phone call by waving it away — letting the camera see your hand wave over the lens?”
Ted Morgan, CEO of location intelligence leader Skyhook Wireless, remarked to me recently that though he talks constantly to web companies about integrating location with their content and activities, still very few get it. But he sees a huge wave of opportunity he calls “geo plus anything”, meaning any activity enhanced with location intelligence. “Geo-reading, for instance: what are people around me on the beach reading? Is that what I might feel like reading right now, too? Geo-music: The music hit list shouldn’t be the sales across all of iTunes… it should be the purchases of the people like me, around me.”
This looming interconnectedness of functionality, with people conjuring new words and phrases like ‘mobile social local gameified commerce’ to describe their efforts, means that those of us who carve up the world to analyze and invest in it will be confounded. Our Venn diagrams and 2x2s and other tricks to pigeon-hole innovation and structure markets don’t work all that well with a richly blended, integrated world. That’s the bad news. But the good news for Yankee Group, at least, is that we’re focusing on research now on the connected user experience. And for my money, that’s not just about the connection of the devices and content to the user, but the interconnectedness of those experiences with the entire ambient environment. Welcome to mobile hyper-integration.
Mobile hyperintegration: is your brain ready?
In the last six months or so there’s been an intensifying wave of further innovation in mobile. It’s increasingly clear to me that we’re building a new layer on the foundations of Mobile 2.0. For analysts who seek to get up over the trees to see the forest, the question is — what the heck is it?
Mobile 3.0, if you will (but truly I hate these cutesy rev numbers, so that’s the last time I’ll use the term) is about integration. Not integration in the more pedestrian sense of making two pieces of software, or two companies, work together — but a larger, more comprehensive integration of mobile with real life. Call it hyper-integration – a profound and irreversible co-mingling of what used to be offline and online experiences to form an essentially new type of activity in every domain it touches — fueled by inventive mobile-centric devices and applications.
A phrase you used to hear only in arcane software development circles is “use case.” But in the course of one day at an event last week, I heard it no less than five times from different speakers. Why? Because in each situation they were emphasizing the coupling of technology with specific times, places, contexts, and more, to determine how to create unique value. The blossoming of the term comes from the realization that, in developing the next wave of mobile services, we aren’t targeting gamers, or soccer moms, or the SMB section of the enterprise space — not specific market segments at all, but rather the tremendous multi-dimensional nature of our activities.
What’s hyper-integrated mobile?
In gaming, it’s using mobile devices and apps to ‘game-ify’ the real-world around us, integrating physical infrastructure with online games. Remember arguing with your childhood friends about which fencepost would serve as second base? Now mobile experiences label the world’s tangible assets as way-stations and goals in games.
In navigation, it’s turning the mobile camera into a heads-up display showing us nearby subway stops and ATMs.
In shopping, it’s in-store, in-aisle assistance, with the likes of Modiv Media, AisleBuyer, Single-Click Checkout, and more stampeding to lead this change. (One mobile commerce startup exec said recently, “This is re-defining retail. People will start shopping by researching online, then complete it offline… but using mobile support. How will you classify that transaction? It won’t be about offline commerce versus online commerce anymore.”)
In basic communications, it’s going from voice or text or video, to experiences that blur the three in weird new ways, moving from silo’d choices to richer blended offerings. At the same event last week, I saw a VC razzed by his peers when he suggested 2011 might be the year of mobile voice apps, but we’ve probably only scratched the surface of voice’s potential to be re-introduced to mobile activities as an easy, familiar input and output element.
In driving, it’s not just adding mobile to the automobile so that drivers get real-time traffic updates and passengers can have WiFi, it’s integrating a connected car+driver pair to the outside world, talking with parking meters, tolls booths, insurance monitoring services, and more.
Back in the 1970s, futurist Ted Nelson coined the term ’intertwingled‘ to describe the potential rich linkages between ideas that he envisioned. I loved the word the first time I heard it as a programmer in the ’80s. Decades later, HTML emerged to make that concept feasible for the world’s text. But I think we’re headed for a world of intertwingled offline and online experiences, all thanks to the next wave of mobile devices and apps.
There are massive numbers of mobile-based hyper-integration opportunities yet to be unlocked. And I think the principle impediment at this point is not whether we will have to develop for two major handset OSes or three, or whether flat-rate mobile data pricing reverts to tiered pricing, or indeed how any other real but prosaic technical issue is settled. No, the major obstacle is that our collective imagination about these opportunities is still very limited today. It’s as if we’re all inhabitants of Flatland, unable to understand the existence of a three-dimensional Spaceland. It’s going to take the patient evangelism of some thoughtful people to bust open our closed mindsets, to stretch our thinking into this new dimension.
Olof Schybergson, a designer whose firm works on connected interfaces, points out that we’re only now tapping into the true utility of a handset’s camera and other sensors. “The camera is an input device as important as the keyboard or the finger gestures we’re learning. Why not decline an incoming phone call by waving it away — letting the camera see your hand wave over the lens?”
Ted Morgan, CEO of location intelligence leader Skyhook Wireless, remarked to me recently that though he talks constantly to web companies about integrating location with their content and activities, still very few get it. But he sees a huge wave of opportunity he calls “geo plus anything”, meaning any activity enhanced with location intelligence. “Geo-reading, for instance: what are people around me on the beach reading? Is that what I might feel like reading right now, too? Geo-music: The music hit list shouldn’t be the sales across all of iTunes… it should be the purchases of the people like me, around me.”
This looming interconnectedness of functionality, with people conjuring new words and phrases like ‘mobile social local gameified commerce’ to describe their efforts, means that those of us who carve up the world to analyze and invest in it will be confounded. Our Venn diagrams and 2x2s and other tricks to pigeon-hole innovation and structure markets don’t work all that well with a richly blended, integrated world. That’s the bad news. But the good news for Yankee Group, at least, is that we’re focusing on research now on the connected user experience. And for my money, that’s not just about the connection of the devices and content to the user, but the interconnectedness of those experiences with the entire ambient environment. Welcome to mobile hyper-integration.
Mobile hyperintegration: is your brain ready?
USA - Fiber To The Home (FTTH) available in 18 Percent of North American Homes
[tmc] Fiber to the home (FTTH) service is available to 18 percent of homes in North America, according to a new study.
A recent report from market research firm RVA said that FTTH connectivity lets telecom providers offer high definition TV and quick Internet speeds.
In addition, there are over a half million homes in North America which get FTTH service featuring speeds of at least 50 Mbps, the study said, reports Digital Home.
About 170,000 homes in North America get FTTH service featuring speeds of at least 100 megabits per second, according to RVA.
And the new numbers are over double the ones presented in the 2010 RVA report. Also, the survey also found that overall satisfaction among FTTH users leads satisfaction levels of other broadband subscribers.
In the survey of over 2,000 broadband subscribers, those responding “very satisfied” to the question were at 74 percent – compared to 71 percent in 2010. The numbers contrast with 54 percent for cable users and 51 percent for DSL.
Concerning download speeds, FTTH homes excel subscribers of other services, given their average speeds at 19.7 Mbps – compared to 16.6 Mbps in 2010.
The numbers contrast with an average 13.3 Mbps for cable households and 2.9 Mbps for DSL.
Concerning upload performance, FTTH subscribers average 5.4 Mbps and cable subs average 2.7 Mbps. There is a 0.7 Mbps average upload speed for DSL.
“This year’s survey shows that end-to-end fiber services are extending their lead over other broadband technologies in speed, value and customer satisfaction,” Dan O’Connell, president of the FTTH Council, said in a recent statement. “We expect this trend will continue as bandwidth requirements for the latest video and other applications continue to accelerate, and growing numbers of consumers expect to be able to access them through their telecommunications providers.”
Canada’s Bell Aliant expects to have FTTH service available to over 600,000 households and businesses by the end of next year.
In a related matter, last year Bell announced several new fiber initiatives supporting its broadband investment strategy, such as deployment of fiber-to-the-home in Quebec City and to new housing developments in Ontario and Quebec, according to TMCnet.
Fiber to the Home Available in 18 Percent of North American Homes: Study
A recent report from market research firm RVA said that FTTH connectivity lets telecom providers offer high definition TV and quick Internet speeds.
In addition, there are over a half million homes in North America which get FTTH service featuring speeds of at least 50 Mbps, the study said, reports Digital Home.
About 170,000 homes in North America get FTTH service featuring speeds of at least 100 megabits per second, according to RVA.
And the new numbers are over double the ones presented in the 2010 RVA report. Also, the survey also found that overall satisfaction among FTTH users leads satisfaction levels of other broadband subscribers.
In the survey of over 2,000 broadband subscribers, those responding “very satisfied” to the question were at 74 percent – compared to 71 percent in 2010. The numbers contrast with 54 percent for cable users and 51 percent for DSL.
Concerning download speeds, FTTH homes excel subscribers of other services, given their average speeds at 19.7 Mbps – compared to 16.6 Mbps in 2010.
The numbers contrast with an average 13.3 Mbps for cable households and 2.9 Mbps for DSL.
Concerning upload performance, FTTH subscribers average 5.4 Mbps and cable subs average 2.7 Mbps. There is a 0.7 Mbps average upload speed for DSL.
“This year’s survey shows that end-to-end fiber services are extending their lead over other broadband technologies in speed, value and customer satisfaction,” Dan O’Connell, president of the FTTH Council, said in a recent statement. “We expect this trend will continue as bandwidth requirements for the latest video and other applications continue to accelerate, and growing numbers of consumers expect to be able to access them through their telecommunications providers.”
Canada’s Bell Aliant expects to have FTTH service available to over 600,000 households and businesses by the end of next year.
In a related matter, last year Bell announced several new fiber initiatives supporting its broadband investment strategy, such as deployment of fiber-to-the-home in Quebec City and to new housing developments in Ontario and Quebec, according to TMCnet.
Fiber to the Home Available in 18 Percent of North American Homes: Study
UK - Regulator has approved spectrum trading to help improve mobile network capacity
[ofcom] Ofcom has today given the go-ahead for mobile phone operators to trade the rights to the radio spectrum they hold, in a measure aimed at helping to increase mobile network capacity and deliver faster and more reliable mobile services for consumers.
There are 80 million mobiles in the UK and more than 12.8 million of these are smart phones, used by people to access the internet. This is placing big demands on mobile spectrum.
The new regulations, which cover spectrum at 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz, are aimed at giving operators added flexibility, which could help them to meet some of these demands.
For example, it will allow operators with a greater need for spectrum to make offers for spectrum from those who need it less. It is hoped that this added flexibility will help operators to respond more efficiently to demand.
More efficient use of spectrum
Over the past two decades, mobile phone companies in the UK have acquired licences for blocks of spectrum. In general, the more spectrum an operator holds, the more telephone conversations and internet traffic it can carry over its network. Not all operators hold the same amount of spectrum, and the level of demand for mobile services also differs from area to area.
By allowing operators to trade their spectrum, Ofcom believes that there will be greater opportunity to use it more efficiently. Ultimately, it is believed that this will bring benefits to citizens and consumers in terms of improved mobile services.
As part of a wider initiative to promote improvements in mobile services, the Government directed Ofcom to make mobile spectrum licences tradable in December 2010. Ofcom has now made the regulations necessary for this to happen.
Administering mobile spectrum trading
Ofcom will be responsible for the administration of spectrum trades – publishing the details of proposed trades online, confirming that they are acceptable, and then issuing revised licences to implement the trades.
Ensuring healthy competition
Under the regulations Ofcom must take into account whether competition is likely to be distorted before deciding whether or not to consent to a trade of mobile spectrum.
There are 80 million mobiles in the UK and more than 12.8 million of these are smart phones, used by people to access the internet. This is placing big demands on mobile spectrum.
The new regulations, which cover spectrum at 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz, are aimed at giving operators added flexibility, which could help them to meet some of these demands.
For example, it will allow operators with a greater need for spectrum to make offers for spectrum from those who need it less. It is hoped that this added flexibility will help operators to respond more efficiently to demand.
More efficient use of spectrum
Over the past two decades, mobile phone companies in the UK have acquired licences for blocks of spectrum. In general, the more spectrum an operator holds, the more telephone conversations and internet traffic it can carry over its network. Not all operators hold the same amount of spectrum, and the level of demand for mobile services also differs from area to area.
By allowing operators to trade their spectrum, Ofcom believes that there will be greater opportunity to use it more efficiently. Ultimately, it is believed that this will bring benefits to citizens and consumers in terms of improved mobile services.
As part of a wider initiative to promote improvements in mobile services, the Government directed Ofcom to make mobile spectrum licences tradable in December 2010. Ofcom has now made the regulations necessary for this to happen.
Administering mobile spectrum trading
Ofcom will be responsible for the administration of spectrum trades – publishing the details of proposed trades online, confirming that they are acceptable, and then issuing revised licences to implement the trades.
Ensuring healthy competition
Under the regulations Ofcom must take into account whether competition is likely to be distorted before deciding whether or not to consent to a trade of mobile spectrum.
Niger - Govt terminated privatisation agreement with LAP Green because it failed to pay Network
[bloomberg] Niger’s government has canceled an agreement for LAP Green Network of Libya to buy 51 percent of state-owned telecommunications companies Sonitel and Sahel Com, said Salifou Labo Bouche, communications minister.
“We are currently looking for another buyer,” the minister said on national television yesterday. The decision comes after the government “waited in vain” for a payment from the Libyan company, he said.
Niger Government Cancels Pact for Libya’s LAP Green to Buy Telecoms Stake
“We are currently looking for another buyer,” the minister said on national television yesterday. The decision comes after the government “waited in vain” for a payment from the Libyan company, he said.
Niger Government Cancels Pact for Libya’s LAP Green to Buy Telecoms Stake
Monday, June 20, 2011
China - Govt has a target of 50 million TD-SCDMA customers by the end of this year i.e. China's own 3G standard
[china daily] The Chinese government has set a target of achieving more than 50 million third-generation (3G) mobile users by the end of 2011 for its homegrown telecommunication standard, but analysts predict the technology may not be the biggest winner in the 3G era.
Zhao Bo, deputy director of the electronics and information department with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on Wednesday that China should continue to push forward its TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) 3G technology.
"The TD-SCDMA technology should realize its strategic target of acquiring at least one-third of China's market, and grab 50 million users by the end of this year," Zhao said.
He said he is confident that China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest telecom carrier by users, will achieve the goal within the schedule.
China Mobile is building the TD-SCDMA 3G network in China, while its domestic rivals, China Unicom Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd, adopted the WCDMA and CDMA2000 3G technologies.
Ye Lin, an official from the technology department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said since the three Chinese telecom operators obtained 3G licenses in early 2009, China has made major progress in 3G network development.
The three carriers have invested a total of 289 billion yuan ($44.6 billion) in 3G network construction in the past three years, Ye said. More than 697,000 3G base stations have been set up in the same period, he added.
The ministry recently announced that the number of 3G users in China reached 67.6 million by April.
China Mobile topped the list with 29.4 million, and China Unicom followed with 20.4 million. The smallest telecom carrier, China Telecom, had 17.8 million by April.
Though China Mobile remains No 1 in terms of customer numbers, industry analysts pointed out it has been facing severe challenges from its rivals.
Wang Jinjin, the Asian telecom research head of UBS AG, wrote in a research note that a better ecosystem may be the most important factor in determining who will win in the telecom industry.
"The WCDMA technology has advantages over the other two 3G technologies, because it has a global customer base, and strong support from chip and phone makers. In addition, buyers have more choices of cell phones within every price range," Wang said.
Goal for domestic 3G network set at 50m users
Zhao Bo, deputy director of the electronics and information department with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on Wednesday that China should continue to push forward its TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) 3G technology.
"The TD-SCDMA technology should realize its strategic target of acquiring at least one-third of China's market, and grab 50 million users by the end of this year," Zhao said.
He said he is confident that China Mobile Ltd, the world's biggest telecom carrier by users, will achieve the goal within the schedule.
China Mobile is building the TD-SCDMA 3G network in China, while its domestic rivals, China Unicom Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd, adopted the WCDMA and CDMA2000 3G technologies.
Ye Lin, an official from the technology department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said since the three Chinese telecom operators obtained 3G licenses in early 2009, China has made major progress in 3G network development.
The three carriers have invested a total of 289 billion yuan ($44.6 billion) in 3G network construction in the past three years, Ye said. More than 697,000 3G base stations have been set up in the same period, he added.
The ministry recently announced that the number of 3G users in China reached 67.6 million by April.
China Mobile topped the list with 29.4 million, and China Unicom followed with 20.4 million. The smallest telecom carrier, China Telecom, had 17.8 million by April.
Though China Mobile remains No 1 in terms of customer numbers, industry analysts pointed out it has been facing severe challenges from its rivals.
Wang Jinjin, the Asian telecom research head of UBS AG, wrote in a research note that a better ecosystem may be the most important factor in determining who will win in the telecom industry.
"The WCDMA technology has advantages over the other two 3G technologies, because it has a global customer base, and strong support from chip and phone makers. In addition, buyers have more choices of cell phones within every price range," Wang said.
Goal for domestic 3G network set at 50m users
Bharti Airtel - CEO sees expansion in Africa with 3G across its extensive geographic footprint
[money control] Bharti Airtel is going gung ho on its African operations. Manoj Kohli, its chief executive for international operations, in an interview with CNBC-TV18’s Siddarth Zarabi, said that the telecom operator is seeing faster network rollout in two to three quarters.
Expanding it footprints in the continent, Bharti Airtel is expecting more 3G licenses in Africa in one year.
"3G is one big focus for us. We are talking to the government and maybe in a year’s time we will get more licenses but in 16 countries we are focusing on 3G network. We have no price of war intention at all," Kohli said.
According to the company, it has gained market share in all African operations including doubling the number of distributors and retailers.
Kohli is worried that Zain’s tariff at 30-40% premium was not sustainable. Bharti bought Zain’s Africa business for USD 9 billion last year.
Noting that tariffs are now stabilising in Africa, Kohli stressed that Airtel is taking cost efficiency measures like tower sharing. Currently Airtel has 12,000 towers across Africa and is planning to move present towers to new tower companies very soon.
“Cost structure in Africa is too high and we cannot bring down prices. We
will take two years for cost structure to go down in Africa,” he added.
Airtel dances to African tune, sees more 3G licenses there
Expanding it footprints in the continent, Bharti Airtel is expecting more 3G licenses in Africa in one year.
"3G is one big focus for us. We are talking to the government and maybe in a year’s time we will get more licenses but in 16 countries we are focusing on 3G network. We have no price of war intention at all," Kohli said.
According to the company, it has gained market share in all African operations including doubling the number of distributors and retailers.
Kohli is worried that Zain’s tariff at 30-40% premium was not sustainable. Bharti bought Zain’s Africa business for USD 9 billion last year.
Noting that tariffs are now stabilising in Africa, Kohli stressed that Airtel is taking cost efficiency measures like tower sharing. Currently Airtel has 12,000 towers across Africa and is planning to move present towers to new tower companies very soon.
“Cost structure in Africa is too high and we cannot bring down prices. We
will take two years for cost structure to go down in Africa,” he added.
Airtel dances to African tune, sees more 3G licenses there
South Africa - Regulator will delay local loop unbundling beyond 2011 because of problems at Telkom
[the new age] An intense brawl between telecom operators and The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is looming as analysts warned this week that the regulator would not meet its November 2011 deadline for local loop unbundling (LLU).
Spiwe Chireka, who is the programme manager for telecoms at the Industrial Development Corporation, said it would be a mammoth task for Icasa to meet the deadline and that operators were “likely to create a stink”.
LLU is a process that covers a series of regulatory measures intended to provide new operators with rights to use the Telkom-owned copper based local loop in a competitive environment.
Unbundling is aimed at increasing innovation, enhancing the quantity and quality of services, and reducing prices paid by end consumers. It will in addition, increase business opportunities.
The LLU is now being used by Telkom to offer telephony and internet services.
According to analysts, unbundling of the loop will offer new players access to Telkom’s network, leading to greater competitiveness and a reduction in prices.
Other networks in the country are paying Telkom a fee to access the loop.
Were it to be opened, Telkom would lose its monopoly over the last mile and would therefore take a cut in its revenue.
“I don’t think the unbundling will be done by November until Telkom’s performance improves. The other operators, like Vodacom and MTN, will certainly complain as they have been promised the November deadline,” Chireka said.
Chireka is of the view that Telkom’s current position will probably be used as a reason for further Icasa delays.
Telkom on Monday acknowledged that LLU would impact on its bottom line.
“The risk that LLU poses to Telkom’s profitability is dependent upon the form and details of implementation that will be imposed by Icasa, neither of which are known at this point in time,” the operator said in a statement.
Telkom went on to say that it was not the same company it was when LLU was first considered and the market had changed significantly, particularly where access to technology was concerned. Chireka agreed with this view.
The regulator, Icasa, however, is adamant that it will proceed with its aim to meet the November deadline.
“According to us we are going ahead, we are publishing a discussion document some time this week which will be passed on to role players for input,” said Maseka Paleka, of media and stakeholder liaison at Icasa.
Telkom CEO, Nombulelo Moholi, said the parastatal had analysed various LLU options and would continue to engage with key stakeholders.
“Telkom has neither the agility to seize market opportunities nor the ability to absorb competitive pressures ad infinitum,” said Moholi.
Moholi warned that if LLU proceeded Telkom would bear the brunt of the process, saying, “Therefore, a step change in the way we invest and operate in this business is vital.
“Firstly, we have to aggressively tackle the cost conundrum. Labour support is vital in this area.
“Secondly, we need to grow our agility in order to increase our resilience.
“Operational agility means designing the right business structures and processes to spot and execute quickly on revenue and cost opportunities,” concluded Moholi.
According to another analyst, Lucien Pierce, who is a partner at Phukubje Pierce Masithela Attorneys, writing about LLU back in 2008, said that whoever owned and controlled the local loop, effectively controlled the provision of voice and broadband services to customers.
With the growth of data services and increase in demand for broadband services, the LLU will be a fiercely contested terrain by South African operators.
Icasa ‘will delay loop unbundling’
Spiwe Chireka, who is the programme manager for telecoms at the Industrial Development Corporation, said it would be a mammoth task for Icasa to meet the deadline and that operators were “likely to create a stink”.
LLU is a process that covers a series of regulatory measures intended to provide new operators with rights to use the Telkom-owned copper based local loop in a competitive environment.
Unbundling is aimed at increasing innovation, enhancing the quantity and quality of services, and reducing prices paid by end consumers. It will in addition, increase business opportunities.
The LLU is now being used by Telkom to offer telephony and internet services.
According to analysts, unbundling of the loop will offer new players access to Telkom’s network, leading to greater competitiveness and a reduction in prices.
Other networks in the country are paying Telkom a fee to access the loop.
Were it to be opened, Telkom would lose its monopoly over the last mile and would therefore take a cut in its revenue.
“I don’t think the unbundling will be done by November until Telkom’s performance improves. The other operators, like Vodacom and MTN, will certainly complain as they have been promised the November deadline,” Chireka said.
Chireka is of the view that Telkom’s current position will probably be used as a reason for further Icasa delays.
Telkom on Monday acknowledged that LLU would impact on its bottom line.
“The risk that LLU poses to Telkom’s profitability is dependent upon the form and details of implementation that will be imposed by Icasa, neither of which are known at this point in time,” the operator said in a statement.
Telkom went on to say that it was not the same company it was when LLU was first considered and the market had changed significantly, particularly where access to technology was concerned. Chireka agreed with this view.
The regulator, Icasa, however, is adamant that it will proceed with its aim to meet the November deadline.
“According to us we are going ahead, we are publishing a discussion document some time this week which will be passed on to role players for input,” said Maseka Paleka, of media and stakeholder liaison at Icasa.
Telkom CEO, Nombulelo Moholi, said the parastatal had analysed various LLU options and would continue to engage with key stakeholders.
“Telkom has neither the agility to seize market opportunities nor the ability to absorb competitive pressures ad infinitum,” said Moholi.
Moholi warned that if LLU proceeded Telkom would bear the brunt of the process, saying, “Therefore, a step change in the way we invest and operate in this business is vital.
“Firstly, we have to aggressively tackle the cost conundrum. Labour support is vital in this area.
“Secondly, we need to grow our agility in order to increase our resilience.
“Operational agility means designing the right business structures and processes to spot and execute quickly on revenue and cost opportunities,” concluded Moholi.
According to another analyst, Lucien Pierce, who is a partner at Phukubje Pierce Masithela Attorneys, writing about LLU back in 2008, said that whoever owned and controlled the local loop, effectively controlled the provision of voice and broadband services to customers.
With the growth of data services and increase in demand for broadband services, the LLU will be a fiercely contested terrain by South African operators.
Icasa ‘will delay loop unbundling’
Norway - Telenor has reported on the major network outage on 10 June caused by a software upgrade
[reuters] Telenor on Thursday handed in a report to the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority where the company informs of the breakdown that affected the mobile network in Norway on Friday 10 June. The report also accounts for measures implemented to prevent similar errors from reoccurring.
"This is the most extensive breakdown that Telenor has experienced since the mobile network was established in 1993 and the demand for information is huge. We have now composed a report, which will answer the questions posed by the authorities. We will also continue the dialogue with the authorities to ensure that everybody get he answers they need," said CEO of Telenor Norway, Ragnar Kårhus.
Telenor's report shows that the error occurred in connection with a restart and software upgrade on a centrally located server for mobile broadband.
Telenor has delivered report to the Norwegian Post and Telecommunication Authority
"This is the most extensive breakdown that Telenor has experienced since the mobile network was established in 1993 and the demand for information is huge. We have now composed a report, which will answer the questions posed by the authorities. We will also continue the dialogue with the authorities to ensure that everybody get he answers they need," said CEO of Telenor Norway, Ragnar Kårhus.
Telenor's report shows that the error occurred in connection with a restart and software upgrade on a centrally located server for mobile broadband.
Telenor has delivered report to the Norwegian Post and Telecommunication Authority
Nigeria - The govt may liquidate NITEL following the failure of the latest of several privatisations
[234 next] The Federal Government may be compelled to press the liquidation button in the sale of the moribund national telecommunications carrier, Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), if by close of business today the reserve bidder, Omen International Limited, failed to meet the deadline for the payment of its bid security.
Omen International Consortium had emerged the reserve bidder during the February 16, 2010 financial bid exercise with an offer price of $956 million.
Following the disqualification of the preferred bidder, New Generation Consortium, on the heels of its inability to pay up the mandatory 30 percent bid security for its $2.5 billion offer after several deadline extensions, Omen was invited to revalidate its April 4, 2010 bid bond in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.4.3 of the Request for Proposal (RFP).
The decision of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to invite Omen Consortium was sequel to the adoption of the recommendation of the ad-hoc committee constituted to review the confusion that had trailed the sale of NITEL and its mobile subsidiary, MTel, for government to either invite the reserve bidder to take over the bid, or for the bid process to be restarted.
Irrevocable decision
But the director general of BPE, Bolanle Onagoruwa, hinted yesterday in Abuja that government may be compelled to resort to the irrevocable decision to liquidate the national carrier should the reserve bidder be unable to meet the extended deadline for the payment of the bid security by Wednesday (today).
Ms Onagoruwa, who was speaking as special guest on the Eminent Speakers lecture series of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) organised for key government agencies and departments to educate staff of the commission on their achievements and challenges, said though the deadline for Omen to make the payment lapsed last Friday, an extension was granted till Tuesday.
"After the preferred bidder, New Generation, failed to pay, in spite of several extensions, we (BPE) resorted to the reserve bidder in line with the requirements of the bid process, requesting them (Omen) to pay for the bid security, which comes to about $105 million.
"They also asked for extension, claiming that apart from the elections, their financiers were worried about the stability of the Nigerian government, and therefore that they should be given up to June 10, 2011 for them to come up with the payment.
"But June 10 was last Friday. As of that day, they brought in a letter saying that they had transferred the money, and that BPE should expect the money to hit its account latest by Wednesday (today). The point is that the money should have been in BPE's account before Friday. However, nothing like that has happened as at now. But, we want to give them up till that Wednesday, to see whether the money is going to come."
Guided liquidation
"We already know what we are going to do if by Wednesday the money is not in. There is no equivocation about the fact that the transaction would have to be terminated and we move to the next stage," she explained.
According to her, among the various ideas the Bureau has already suggested to government is the process of guided liquidation, which entails the liquidation of the enterprise without breaking it up into units.
Though she likened this option to being almost similar to the normal privatisation transaction, the BPE boss identified some inherent benefits, particularly in terms of what would be available to stakeholders at the end to settle all existing debts.
"We are giving thought to this, to enable us sell the company and still have one single entity. The reason for this is because the contract that is applicable has certain clauses that would make it difficult for BPE to break NITEL up into little entities. But, we are also considering negotiated sale as the other option, which government, at the end of the day, would have to make that call, though we have made suggestions to the appropriate authorities for approval," she said.
The negotiated sale option, she explained, would entail government going out to look for some big players with the right financial clout and technological ability to run the place, to take it off the ground and manage it.
Government may opt for NITEL liquidation
Omen International Consortium had emerged the reserve bidder during the February 16, 2010 financial bid exercise with an offer price of $956 million.
Following the disqualification of the preferred bidder, New Generation Consortium, on the heels of its inability to pay up the mandatory 30 percent bid security for its $2.5 billion offer after several deadline extensions, Omen was invited to revalidate its April 4, 2010 bid bond in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.4.3 of the Request for Proposal (RFP).
The decision of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to invite Omen Consortium was sequel to the adoption of the recommendation of the ad-hoc committee constituted to review the confusion that had trailed the sale of NITEL and its mobile subsidiary, MTel, for government to either invite the reserve bidder to take over the bid, or for the bid process to be restarted.
Irrevocable decision
But the director general of BPE, Bolanle Onagoruwa, hinted yesterday in Abuja that government may be compelled to resort to the irrevocable decision to liquidate the national carrier should the reserve bidder be unable to meet the extended deadline for the payment of the bid security by Wednesday (today).
Ms Onagoruwa, who was speaking as special guest on the Eminent Speakers lecture series of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) organised for key government agencies and departments to educate staff of the commission on their achievements and challenges, said though the deadline for Omen to make the payment lapsed last Friday, an extension was granted till Tuesday.
"After the preferred bidder, New Generation, failed to pay, in spite of several extensions, we (BPE) resorted to the reserve bidder in line with the requirements of the bid process, requesting them (Omen) to pay for the bid security, which comes to about $105 million.
"They also asked for extension, claiming that apart from the elections, their financiers were worried about the stability of the Nigerian government, and therefore that they should be given up to June 10, 2011 for them to come up with the payment.
"But June 10 was last Friday. As of that day, they brought in a letter saying that they had transferred the money, and that BPE should expect the money to hit its account latest by Wednesday (today). The point is that the money should have been in BPE's account before Friday. However, nothing like that has happened as at now. But, we want to give them up till that Wednesday, to see whether the money is going to come."
Guided liquidation
"We already know what we are going to do if by Wednesday the money is not in. There is no equivocation about the fact that the transaction would have to be terminated and we move to the next stage," she explained.
According to her, among the various ideas the Bureau has already suggested to government is the process of guided liquidation, which entails the liquidation of the enterprise without breaking it up into units.
Though she likened this option to being almost similar to the normal privatisation transaction, the BPE boss identified some inherent benefits, particularly in terms of what would be available to stakeholders at the end to settle all existing debts.
"We are giving thought to this, to enable us sell the company and still have one single entity. The reason for this is because the contract that is applicable has certain clauses that would make it difficult for BPE to break NITEL up into little entities. But, we are also considering negotiated sale as the other option, which government, at the end of the day, would have to make that call, though we have made suggestions to the appropriate authorities for approval," she said.
The negotiated sale option, she explained, would entail government going out to look for some big players with the right financial clout and technological ability to run the place, to take it off the ground and manage it.
Government may opt for NITEL liquidation
Nigeria - Govt has abandoned the sale of NITEL, following the failure of Omen Intl to validate its bond
[nsadaq] Nigeria's Bureau of Public Enterprises has terminated the sale of state-run Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd, known as Nitel, and its mobile arm M-Tel, the bureau said.
BPE took the action after reserve bidder Omen International Consortium, failed to validate its bid bond of $105 million by the June 10 deadline.
The bureau had invited Omen International Consortium to revalidate its bid after preferred bidder New Generation Telecommunications Ltd. failed to pay the required $750 million, or 30% of its $2.5 million offer for both companies, within the specified time.
Nwokoh said the deadline given to Omen was extended until June 15 but payment was still not received at the close of business on that date and the transaction was therefore annulled.
President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the sale of Nitel and M-Tel to New Generation Telecom Ltd in February.
Nwokoh said the BPE was now exploring its options.
It is the second time the sale of Nitel and M-Tel has failed.
In 2006, Transnational Corp. of Nigeria, bought 51% of both companies, with the Nigerian government holding the remaining 49% stake. But Transcorp, a conglomerate holding investments in hotel, power and other businesses, was unable to properly fund the companies' operations and the government voided the sale on the grounds that Transcorp had failed to adhere to the terms of the sale.
Nitel is Nigeria`s main fixed-line telecom provider but its business ran aground, largely due to mismanagement and corruption.
Nigeria Ends Privatization Of Telecommunications Firms-Official
BPE took the action after reserve bidder Omen International Consortium, failed to validate its bid bond of $105 million by the June 10 deadline.
The bureau had invited Omen International Consortium to revalidate its bid after preferred bidder New Generation Telecommunications Ltd. failed to pay the required $750 million, or 30% of its $2.5 million offer for both companies, within the specified time.
Nwokoh said the deadline given to Omen was extended until June 15 but payment was still not received at the close of business on that date and the transaction was therefore annulled.
President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the sale of Nitel and M-Tel to New Generation Telecom Ltd in February.
Nwokoh said the BPE was now exploring its options.
It is the second time the sale of Nitel and M-Tel has failed.
In 2006, Transnational Corp. of Nigeria, bought 51% of both companies, with the Nigerian government holding the remaining 49% stake. But Transcorp, a conglomerate holding investments in hotel, power and other businesses, was unable to properly fund the companies' operations and the government voided the sale on the grounds that Transcorp had failed to adhere to the terms of the sale.
Nitel is Nigeria`s main fixed-line telecom provider but its business ran aground, largely due to mismanagement and corruption.
Nigeria Ends Privatization Of Telecommunications Firms-Official
UK - BT trials of broadband using white spaces in TV broadcast bands on Rothesay
[zdnet] BT is trialling the use of the so-called white spaces between TV broadcasts for the delivery of high-speed broadband, the company has revealed.
On Tuesday, BT Openreach said it was conducting the trial on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, with partners including the University of Strathclyde, BBC Research and Development, Steepest Ascent, Berg Design and Netpropagate. It said the government's Technology Strategy Board was providing funding.
White spaces are the bits of spectrum in the TV-oriented 400-800MHz band that are left unused by broadcasters, so as to avoid interference between transmissions. There is an increasingly active movement looking to exploit this spectrum — kit-maker Neul said this week that there is 150MHz available in the UK — for broadband services.
Broadband carried over this spectrum has a very good range, so is seen as ideal for delivering connectivity to rural areas that have no or very slow connectivity.
"The initial results have been very promising with the technology being tested over long distances and challenging terrain," BT said in a statement. "Further tests are required however and so live trials are due to commence in July with approximately a dozen end users across the island."
According to BT, the customers in the live trial will have their wireless service linked back to the exchange building at Kilchattan Bay, "from where a dedicated radio link to the mainland will provide broadband internet access".
BT trials white-space broadband on Bute
On Tuesday, BT Openreach said it was conducting the trial on the Isle of Bute in Scotland, with partners including the University of Strathclyde, BBC Research and Development, Steepest Ascent, Berg Design and Netpropagate. It said the government's Technology Strategy Board was providing funding.
White spaces are the bits of spectrum in the TV-oriented 400-800MHz band that are left unused by broadcasters, so as to avoid interference between transmissions. There is an increasingly active movement looking to exploit this spectrum — kit-maker Neul said this week that there is 150MHz available in the UK — for broadband services.
Broadband carried over this spectrum has a very good range, so is seen as ideal for delivering connectivity to rural areas that have no or very slow connectivity.
"The initial results have been very promising with the technology being tested over long distances and challenging terrain," BT said in a statement. "Further tests are required however and so live trials are due to commence in July with approximately a dozen end users across the island."
According to BT, the customers in the live trial will have their wireless service linked back to the exchange building at Kilchattan Bay, "from where a dedicated radio link to the mainland will provide broadband internet access".
BT trials white-space broadband on Bute
South Africa - Cell-C lost its appeal on advertising claims on speed found to be misleading
[wireless federation] Cell C has lost an appeal against a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that its advertising, in which it makes certain speed claims about its network, is “misleading”.
The authority has sustained an original decision by its directorate, made in February, in favor of a complaint lodged by an L van Zyl against Cell C’s advertisement of its broadband Internet products, in which it markets a modem capable of data speeds up to 21,6Mbit/s.
Van Zyl has reportedly complained that she had not been able to achieve more than 10%-15% of the advertised speeds. The ASA ruled that the advertising was misleading; prompting Cell C to appeal against the decision, arguing it had not received a fair hearing.
Cell C also argued that its claim was related to hardware and not service, and that the reasonable consumer to whom the advertisement was targeted would not believe they could use the product and achieve speeds of up to 21,6Mbit/s.
But an ASA committee has declined to set the ruling aside and says it “disagrees” with Cell C. The committee has stated that the advertisement essentially promotes the product on the basis of the claims about speed.
It added that in that regard, there is a conflation of service levels as regards speed and what Cell C claims to be hardware capability claims. At the very least the advertisement should make such a distinction clear, that is that the claims relate to the product’s hardware capability as opposed to actual achievable speeds when consumers use the product. In the absence of such a clear distinction, and given the manner in which the advertisement is worded, a reasonable consumer, even one that is familiar with Internet connection speeds, may believe that the product can in use achieve the speeds as claimed.
This is misleading. The consumer is deceived as to whether the speeds relate to achievable speeds in ordinary use of the product or are limited to hardware claims. To avoid this deception Cell C has to make a clear statement that the speed claims are limited to hardware capability and not speeds that can be achieved when using the product in SA.
Cell C loses broadband appeal at ASA (South Africa)
The authority has sustained an original decision by its directorate, made in February, in favor of a complaint lodged by an L van Zyl against Cell C’s advertisement of its broadband Internet products, in which it markets a modem capable of data speeds up to 21,6Mbit/s.
Van Zyl has reportedly complained that she had not been able to achieve more than 10%-15% of the advertised speeds. The ASA ruled that the advertising was misleading; prompting Cell C to appeal against the decision, arguing it had not received a fair hearing.
Cell C also argued that its claim was related to hardware and not service, and that the reasonable consumer to whom the advertisement was targeted would not believe they could use the product and achieve speeds of up to 21,6Mbit/s.
But an ASA committee has declined to set the ruling aside and says it “disagrees” with Cell C. The committee has stated that the advertisement essentially promotes the product on the basis of the claims about speed.
It added that in that regard, there is a conflation of service levels as regards speed and what Cell C claims to be hardware capability claims. At the very least the advertisement should make such a distinction clear, that is that the claims relate to the product’s hardware capability as opposed to actual achievable speeds when consumers use the product. In the absence of such a clear distinction, and given the manner in which the advertisement is worded, a reasonable consumer, even one that is familiar with Internet connection speeds, may believe that the product can in use achieve the speeds as claimed.
This is misleading. The consumer is deceived as to whether the speeds relate to achievable speeds in ordinary use of the product or are limited to hardware claims. To avoid this deception Cell C has to make a clear statement that the speed claims are limited to hardware capability and not speeds that can be achieved when using the product in SA.
Cell C loses broadband appeal at ASA (South Africa)
South Africa - Rapid growth in ISP revenues, projected for further growth with widening adoption of broadband
[pr newswire] South Africa has begun initiatives in investing in technology and infrastructure, which will strengthen the country's data backbone and will improve the offering of broadband Internet and data-related services, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).
South Africa: Undersea Cables Double Broadband Capacity and Widen Service Vistas offers a precise profile of the country's telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.
South Africa's Internet revenue in 2010 stood at $953 million, which translates into a 25.4 percent growth over 2009. "Pyramid projects broadband revenue to represent 92.6 percent of total Internet revenue by the end of 2015, up from 79.6 percent of total Internet revenue last year," says Majd Hosn, Research Analyst at Pyramid. "The landing of undersea cable WACS (West African Cable System) is one of several projects expected to double South Africa's broadband capacity," he adds.
"Internet providers and service providers need to be creative in their services because the quality of service is almost a level playing field," says Hosn. "Focusing on the market of incoming businesses can be a growing patch of revenue as more companies settle in South Africa."
Pyramid expects operators in South Africa to almost completely phase out 2G technology by 2015 in favor of 2.5 and 3G technology. In 2010 3G technology subscriptions were 20 percent of total subscriptions. Pyramid estimates that this figure will easily rise to 54 percent by 2015. The utilization of the undersea cables and intensified competition to provide quality data services to customers will continue to promote the adoption of 3G technology.
PC penetration has also become a major area of focus for the operators and providers of Internet services. In order to utilize the increased data capacity in the country, operators might begin to provide offers on PCs such as Vodacom's Linkbook, which is an affordable computer that provides affordable Internet by bundling the Internet service with the laptop through 24-month contracts," indicates Hosn.
South Africa: Undersea Cables Will Double Broadband Capacity, Pyramid Finds
South Africa: Undersea Cables Double Broadband Capacity and Widen Service Vistas offers a precise profile of the country's telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.
South Africa's Internet revenue in 2010 stood at $953 million, which translates into a 25.4 percent growth over 2009. "Pyramid projects broadband revenue to represent 92.6 percent of total Internet revenue by the end of 2015, up from 79.6 percent of total Internet revenue last year," says Majd Hosn, Research Analyst at Pyramid. "The landing of undersea cable WACS (West African Cable System) is one of several projects expected to double South Africa's broadband capacity," he adds.
"Internet providers and service providers need to be creative in their services because the quality of service is almost a level playing field," says Hosn. "Focusing on the market of incoming businesses can be a growing patch of revenue as more companies settle in South Africa."
Pyramid expects operators in South Africa to almost completely phase out 2G technology by 2015 in favor of 2.5 and 3G technology. In 2010 3G technology subscriptions were 20 percent of total subscriptions. Pyramid estimates that this figure will easily rise to 54 percent by 2015. The utilization of the undersea cables and intensified competition to provide quality data services to customers will continue to promote the adoption of 3G technology.
PC penetration has also become a major area of focus for the operators and providers of Internet services. In order to utilize the increased data capacity in the country, operators might begin to provide offers on PCs such as Vodacom's Linkbook, which is an affordable computer that provides affordable Internet by bundling the Internet service with the laptop through 24-month contracts," indicates Hosn.
South Africa: Undersea Cables Will Double Broadband Capacity, Pyramid Finds
Costa Rica - Govt has adopted a national broadband plan aiming to provide access even in remote areas
[telecoms.com] Costa Rica’s government has introduced its new National Broadband Strategy, which aims to provide broadband services to even the most remote areas of the country, thereby boosting productivity, innovation and ultimately the economy.
The initiative is being overseen by the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry (MINAET) as part of the National Development Plan for Telecommunications (PNDT), and fulfilment targets are expected to be finalised by November.
Costa Rica has the second highest internet penetration in Latin America, after Chile, according to Informa Telecoms & Media’s Intelligence Centre. By the end of 2010broadband subscriptions had reached 667,000 – a year-on-year increase of 50 per cent.
The Costa Rican government invested $500m in broadband services in May 2008, and while broadband expansion has been a public policy goal since the first National Development Plan for Telecommunications was established in 2009, the government has not yet indicated what investments it will make in this latest plan.
A free trade agreement signed with the US a few years back ensured that private companies have been able to operate in the telecoms sector since January 2009, and state-owned ISP Radiográfica Costarricense (RACSA) has already formed alliances with the main cable operators to allow them to provide broadband services.
The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) meanwhile provides ADSL services under the @celera brand, and has committed itself to investing USD 33.5mn in fibre-optic connections.
Costa Rica targets universal broadband access
The initiative is being overseen by the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry (MINAET) as part of the National Development Plan for Telecommunications (PNDT), and fulfilment targets are expected to be finalised by November.
Costa Rica has the second highest internet penetration in Latin America, after Chile, according to Informa Telecoms & Media’s Intelligence Centre. By the end of 2010broadband subscriptions had reached 667,000 – a year-on-year increase of 50 per cent.
The Costa Rican government invested $500m in broadband services in May 2008, and while broadband expansion has been a public policy goal since the first National Development Plan for Telecommunications was established in 2009, the government has not yet indicated what investments it will make in this latest plan.
A free trade agreement signed with the US a few years back ensured that private companies have been able to operate in the telecoms sector since January 2009, and state-owned ISP Radiográfica Costarricense (RACSA) has already formed alliances with the main cable operators to allow them to provide broadband services.
The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) meanwhile provides ADSL services under the @celera brand, and has committed itself to investing USD 33.5mn in fibre-optic connections.
Costa Rica targets universal broadband access
Africa - O3b MEO satellites claimed to bring broadband to rural areas of Africa
[tech central] O3b Networks, which plans to launch a constellation of medium-earth orbit satellites by 2013, has signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with SA’s Mavoni Technologies to bring broadband to rural areas.
O3b wants to provide access to the “other three billion” people in emerging countries who have yet to be connected to the Internet.
The satellite operator recently secured the funding it needs to get its $1,2bn satellite network off the ground. Companies such as SES, Google, HSBC and the Development Bank of Southern Africa are backing it.
Mavoni, which has an electronic communications network licence, wants to use O3b’s satellites to rural schools and clinics. “The service will rival fibre in performance and pricing,” says Mavoni CEO Tinyiko Valoyi. He says Movani is in discussions with municipalities in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.
O3b’s satellite network will be launched in two stages, with four satellites blasting off into space at the end of 2012 and another four launching at the beginning of 2013. All satellites will be launched into medium-earth orbit, meaning that they will be closer to the ground than traditional geostationary satellites. This means “network latency” is much lower than traditional technologies. “Services like e-health need lower latencies, otherwise doctors and other health practitioners won’t use them,” says O3b CEO Steve Collar.
Each satellite will have 10 beams and each beam will be the equivalent of 1,2Gb/second capacity and cover a 600km radius. “The network will have a total capacity of 80-90Gbit/s,” Collar says.
The service will effectively compete with Sentech’s national wireless broadband network, which it will begin rolling out soon to bring connectivity to schools and clinics across the country. However, Valoyi says Mavoni is keen to work with Sentech to bring wireless broadband to underserviced areas.
He says the technology being implemented by O3b will be “middle-mile” (as opposed to “last-mile”) technology. Other telecommunications providers can provide onward connectivity.
“In some cases a school or clinic will act as a hub for satellite capacity and a wireless mesh network will be used to connect other schools and clinics in surrounding areas,” says Valoyi.
Mavoni is in talks with the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) about getting access to spectrum for last-mile wireless networks.
However, he says open-access frequencies could also be used to build networks. “Interference is less of a problem in rural areas than in urban areas in those frequencies,” he says.
O3b, Mavoni eye rural broadband opportunity
O3b wants to provide access to the “other three billion” people in emerging countries who have yet to be connected to the Internet.
The satellite operator recently secured the funding it needs to get its $1,2bn satellite network off the ground. Companies such as SES, Google, HSBC and the Development Bank of Southern Africa are backing it.
Mavoni, which has an electronic communications network licence, wants to use O3b’s satellites to rural schools and clinics. “The service will rival fibre in performance and pricing,” says Mavoni CEO Tinyiko Valoyi. He says Movani is in discussions with municipalities in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.
O3b’s satellite network will be launched in two stages, with four satellites blasting off into space at the end of 2012 and another four launching at the beginning of 2013. All satellites will be launched into medium-earth orbit, meaning that they will be closer to the ground than traditional geostationary satellites. This means “network latency” is much lower than traditional technologies. “Services like e-health need lower latencies, otherwise doctors and other health practitioners won’t use them,” says O3b CEO Steve Collar.
Each satellite will have 10 beams and each beam will be the equivalent of 1,2Gb/second capacity and cover a 600km radius. “The network will have a total capacity of 80-90Gbit/s,” Collar says.
The service will effectively compete with Sentech’s national wireless broadband network, which it will begin rolling out soon to bring connectivity to schools and clinics across the country. However, Valoyi says Mavoni is keen to work with Sentech to bring wireless broadband to underserviced areas.
He says the technology being implemented by O3b will be “middle-mile” (as opposed to “last-mile”) technology. Other telecommunications providers can provide onward connectivity.
“In some cases a school or clinic will act as a hub for satellite capacity and a wireless mesh network will be used to connect other schools and clinics in surrounding areas,” says Valoyi.
Mavoni is in talks with the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) about getting access to spectrum for last-mile wireless networks.
However, he says open-access frequencies could also be used to build networks. “Interference is less of a problem in rural areas than in urban areas in those frequencies,” he says.
O3b, Mavoni eye rural broadband opportunity
Africa - O3b Networks has raised USD 1.2bn for satellites to offer faster Internet connectivity
[IT news africa] “Africa, on the whole, is still not experiencing the benefits of direct internet access and increased bandwidth as is being enjoyed in South Africa,” says Managing Director of Alvarion Southern Africa and Nigeria, Winston Smith. “This is due to the huge costs involved in bringing fibre optic cables inland to service inland African countries,” explains Smith. However, a number of new projects planned to commence in 2011 will help to reverse this trend and help Africa to benefit from increased internet access and bandwidth.
O3b Networks is the developer of a new fibre-quality, satellite-based global internet backbone for telecommunications operators and internet service providers serving the emerging markets. The company has raised a total of $1,2-billion to launch its first satellites which will provide low-latency, fibre-quality internet connectivity between developing markets and the global internet infrastructure. This will potentially allow billions of people who have so far been poorly served or completely cut off from the internet have access to the greatest business and information resource of our time.
“A second project known as the Yahsat project, will deliver two satellites to Africa to provide direct internet access to end users where there is no other means of connectivity, and in some cases competing in markets where there are other terrestrial based service providers,” explains Smith. Yahsat is a breakthrough satellite broadband service for users in the Middle East, Africa and South West Asia. The service will offer customers uninterrupted high-speed internet usage from the moment the company goes live with the launch of its second satellite Yahsat 1B.
Alvarion is also focused on expanding its operations on the African continent this year. In 2010 much work was done around migrating customers from the fixed WiMAX 802.16D solution to the new mobile WiMAX 802.16E solution. The company also deployed a network in Nigeria with the operator Mobitel on its 4G platform, providing full mobile solutions to its customers there. “The initial network deployment is taking place in Lagos with the possibility of expansion into other markets in the future. Mobitel focuses on the residential customer market, offering self-installed modems, USB dongles as well as integrated WiMAX and Wi-Fi portable devices for data and voice services. Mobitel also services the enterprise market and operates its network in Nigeria on the 2.3GHz frequency,” says Smith.
Another key development which took place in 2010 was that Alvarion chose 4G Africa to deploy the first mobile WiMAX network in Cameroon. The deployment of the 4G based solution took place towards the mid-2010, but the commercial launch will take place this month in Doulala and Yaounde – two of the largest metropolitan areas in Cameroon. This network will operate on the 2.5GHz frequency band. The deployment is expected to provide connectivity to over 10 000 users within the first year.
During 2011, Alvarion plans to reinforce its brand, and build on its successes in the Carrier segments by focussing its attention on the Enterprise markets in the African wireless communication market. It intends achieving this by increasing the number of distributors, resellers and system integrators in its African operating countries. In so doing, the company hopes to gain a stronger footprint in its key African markets and provide additional value to existing Alvarion customers on the continent who are using the extensive enterprise product portfolio. The company also plans to increase its physical presence in Africa by opening offices and service centres in areas where high growth demands it.
New projects set to increase broadband penetration across Africa
O3b Networks is the developer of a new fibre-quality, satellite-based global internet backbone for telecommunications operators and internet service providers serving the emerging markets. The company has raised a total of $1,2-billion to launch its first satellites which will provide low-latency, fibre-quality internet connectivity between developing markets and the global internet infrastructure. This will potentially allow billions of people who have so far been poorly served or completely cut off from the internet have access to the greatest business and information resource of our time.
“A second project known as the Yahsat project, will deliver two satellites to Africa to provide direct internet access to end users where there is no other means of connectivity, and in some cases competing in markets where there are other terrestrial based service providers,” explains Smith. Yahsat is a breakthrough satellite broadband service for users in the Middle East, Africa and South West Asia. The service will offer customers uninterrupted high-speed internet usage from the moment the company goes live with the launch of its second satellite Yahsat 1B.
Alvarion is also focused on expanding its operations on the African continent this year. In 2010 much work was done around migrating customers from the fixed WiMAX 802.16D solution to the new mobile WiMAX 802.16E solution. The company also deployed a network in Nigeria with the operator Mobitel on its 4G platform, providing full mobile solutions to its customers there. “The initial network deployment is taking place in Lagos with the possibility of expansion into other markets in the future. Mobitel focuses on the residential customer market, offering self-installed modems, USB dongles as well as integrated WiMAX and Wi-Fi portable devices for data and voice services. Mobitel also services the enterprise market and operates its network in Nigeria on the 2.3GHz frequency,” says Smith.
Another key development which took place in 2010 was that Alvarion chose 4G Africa to deploy the first mobile WiMAX network in Cameroon. The deployment of the 4G based solution took place towards the mid-2010, but the commercial launch will take place this month in Doulala and Yaounde – two of the largest metropolitan areas in Cameroon. This network will operate on the 2.5GHz frequency band. The deployment is expected to provide connectivity to over 10 000 users within the first year.
During 2011, Alvarion plans to reinforce its brand, and build on its successes in the Carrier segments by focussing its attention on the Enterprise markets in the African wireless communication market. It intends achieving this by increasing the number of distributors, resellers and system integrators in its African operating countries. In so doing, the company hopes to gain a stronger footprint in its key African markets and provide additional value to existing Alvarion customers on the continent who are using the extensive enterprise product portfolio. The company also plans to increase its physical presence in Africa by opening offices and service centres in areas where high growth demands it.
New projects set to increase broadband penetration across Africa
Sunday, June 19, 2011
South Africa - Minister's vision of broadband services is potentially very expensive, especially in rural areas
[the new age] The desire by the Minister of Communications, Roy Padayachee, to grow home broadband services is feasible but significant infrastructure investments amounting to billions of rands have to be made, according a senior telecoms analyst.
Dobek Pater from Africa Analysis, an ICT and telecoms research firm in the developing economies said that the government’s intentions are noble but this will come at a price.
“The Government needs to go into underserviced areas; this will require substantial investments in excess of billions. If you look at what mobile operators have deployed for their mobile broadband the government will have to do more,” explained Pater.
The outspoken Pater said they are, however, other options for government to deliver on its targets which include partnering with existing operators and other role players in the sector.
Presenting his budget vote in parliament on Tuesday, Minister Padayachee lamented the lack of broadband penetration in the country saying home internet connectivity remains worrisome in South Africa. Padayachee said penetration is currently 5% and is expected to decline further due to high costs.
“Research indicates that under conditions characterised by the high cost of services, saturation in urban markets and limited access in rural areas, the rate of expansion of the Internet in South Africa will decline from above 15% to 10% per annum by 2015. This projection envisages 11.3 million Internet users by 2015, which is approximately 22% of the population,” said Padayachee.
Pater agreed with the minister saying, “the deployment of infrastructure will be the determinant factor. It’s also a question of how retail pricing will be in the next four years”.
According to the minister, ICT infrastructure remains a basic foundation for economic competitiveness and the government has increased investment in infrastructure to create jobs and stimulate the economy. He pledged that the government will accelerate broadband infrastructure spending.
“In this regard, an initial R450 million, over the MTEF period, has been allocated for the provision of Broadband services. An integrated broadband implementation plan, which will harmonise various broadband related initiatives, will be finalised in this financial year,” said Padayachee.
Pater also said that the government will also have to re-examine the business model of Broadband Infraco, the government owned telecoms infrastructure provider which was set up in 2007 and intended to improve market efficiency in the long distance connectivity segment by increasing available long distance network infrastructure.
“Infraco is a bit of an enigma, we know where it’s at but don’t know where it’s heading. It has been ascertained that the current business model isn’t working,” he said
The South African ICT market has been touted as the biggest and the fastest growing in Africa which provides the country with vast opportunities.
The private sector has been investing heavily on infrastructure with the most recent high profile project being the WACS submarine cable linking Southern Africa and Europe, spanning the west coast of Africa and terminating in London, United Kingdom. This $650 million cable system is the biggest to ever land on the Africa continent.
The consortium to this project is mainly composed of South African operators, including the pan-African telecoms giant, MTN.
Dobek Pater from Africa Analysis, an ICT and telecoms research firm in the developing economies said that the government’s intentions are noble but this will come at a price.
“The Government needs to go into underserviced areas; this will require substantial investments in excess of billions. If you look at what mobile operators have deployed for their mobile broadband the government will have to do more,” explained Pater.
The outspoken Pater said they are, however, other options for government to deliver on its targets which include partnering with existing operators and other role players in the sector.
Presenting his budget vote in parliament on Tuesday, Minister Padayachee lamented the lack of broadband penetration in the country saying home internet connectivity remains worrisome in South Africa. Padayachee said penetration is currently 5% and is expected to decline further due to high costs.
“Research indicates that under conditions characterised by the high cost of services, saturation in urban markets and limited access in rural areas, the rate of expansion of the Internet in South Africa will decline from above 15% to 10% per annum by 2015. This projection envisages 11.3 million Internet users by 2015, which is approximately 22% of the population,” said Padayachee.
Pater agreed with the minister saying, “the deployment of infrastructure will be the determinant factor. It’s also a question of how retail pricing will be in the next four years”.
According to the minister, ICT infrastructure remains a basic foundation for economic competitiveness and the government has increased investment in infrastructure to create jobs and stimulate the economy. He pledged that the government will accelerate broadband infrastructure spending.
“In this regard, an initial R450 million, over the MTEF period, has been allocated for the provision of Broadband services. An integrated broadband implementation plan, which will harmonise various broadband related initiatives, will be finalised in this financial year,” said Padayachee.
Pater also said that the government will also have to re-examine the business model of Broadband Infraco, the government owned telecoms infrastructure provider which was set up in 2007 and intended to improve market efficiency in the long distance connectivity segment by increasing available long distance network infrastructure.
“Infraco is a bit of an enigma, we know where it’s at but don’t know where it’s heading. It has been ascertained that the current business model isn’t working,” he said
The South African ICT market has been touted as the biggest and the fastest growing in Africa which provides the country with vast opportunities.
The private sector has been investing heavily on infrastructure with the most recent high profile project being the WACS submarine cable linking Southern Africa and Europe, spanning the west coast of Africa and terminating in London, United Kingdom. This $650 million cable system is the biggest to ever land on the Africa continent.
The consortium to this project is mainly composed of South African operators, including the pan-African telecoms giant, MTN.
Africa - Delays in roll-out of LTE because of problems with spectrum, policy and regulation which need to be sorted out
[pc advisor] African telecom operators are not expected to embark on large-scale LTE (Long Term Evolution) deployment until spectrum costs, policy and regulatory issues are sorted, analysts say.
Africa's largest mobile operators such as MTN, Glo and Safaricom are testing LTE, but rollout plans are unclear as they seek to maximize 3G capabilities already in place and recoup their investments.
LTE is expected to be mainly used in backhaul and intermediary lines to fiber, especially in remote areas. In addition, it is expected to benefit businesses as companies deploy enterprise solutions targeting small and medium-size companies in areas outside cities and in rural areas.
Some market segments are considered ready for LTE, while some industry insiders believe that it will take time for LTE to be enjoyed by the mass market.
"Certain segments of the African market are certainly ready to benefit," said Dobek Pater, senior telecoms analyst at Africa Analysis. "The question is -- can operators see a viable business case? LTE will be essentially a data network at first, a WiMax replacement, but able to perform (probably) better than WiMax; it will be used as a fast ADSL [Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line] substitute and allow operators to use it as a means of delivering high-speed data services with QoS [quality of service] to the enterprise market."
For the companies seeking licenses and business opportunities, LTE has been cited as a way of attracting foreign direct investment, especially in BPO (business process outsourcing).
"LTE deployment will help to make viable broadband services more widely available, and that will benefit governments, enterprises, and should be supportive of foreign direct investment," said Nick Foggin, a senior adviser at RP Capital Advisors, who previously worked for France Telecom Orange.
While direct investment in Internet-based services is expected to attract more investment in rural areas that can provide inexpensive labor, operators have regulatory hurdles to tackle before making LTE widely available.
"The biggest constraint is lack of spectrum policy, without which we have no details on when the spectrum will be available; allocation criteria; the costs -- information that operators need to determine whether it will be commercially viable," said Nzioka Waita, Safaricom's director of legal, regulatory and external affairs.
Safaricom is already testing LTE in some parts of Nairobi but Waita says that spectrum policy will be important in determining whether Kenya allocates spectrum in blocs like Germany, which he says makes it commercially viable.
In many African countries there are no spectrum allocation policies, so operators are engaged with regulators on how cost and allocation should be done. In Kenya, there is a debate over allocations in the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) band when all four mobile operators have equal allocation, yet one of the operators has 78 percent of the market.
Currently, operators can use the GSM band to deploy LTE even though in countries like Kenya, 2.6GHz will be available when government services are moved to fiber-optic, providing more options for operators.
"There is more LTE spectrum available if regulatory authorities realize its importance," added Pater. "LTE is (and will be) available in a wider range of spectrum frequencies than WiMax, which means that operators will have a greater choice and opportunity to deploy where is suits them."
There have been arguments that by using the GSM band for LTE, operators may compromise quality, while some industry insiders feel there may be no quality interference if appropriate standards are developed, a process that is lacking in Africa.
"In principle, there should be no quality concerns deriving from the use of LTE in GSM bands, as long as appropriate rules are set by regulators and followed by operators and vendors," said Foggin in an e-mail interview. "In the E.U. for example, the European Commission has recently agreed [to] technical standards for the use of LTE devices at 900MHz and 1800MHz. These rules are designed to minimize the risk of interference, and were drawn up not only to cover the testing of LTE, but also the long-term coexistence of LTE with GSM and 3G."
Africa will be ready for LTE when terminal equipment becomes widely available and priced appropriately, Foggin concluded.
African LTE rollouts delayed
Africa's largest mobile operators such as MTN, Glo and Safaricom are testing LTE, but rollout plans are unclear as they seek to maximize 3G capabilities already in place and recoup their investments.
LTE is expected to be mainly used in backhaul and intermediary lines to fiber, especially in remote areas. In addition, it is expected to benefit businesses as companies deploy enterprise solutions targeting small and medium-size companies in areas outside cities and in rural areas.
Some market segments are considered ready for LTE, while some industry insiders believe that it will take time for LTE to be enjoyed by the mass market.
"Certain segments of the African market are certainly ready to benefit," said Dobek Pater, senior telecoms analyst at Africa Analysis. "The question is -- can operators see a viable business case? LTE will be essentially a data network at first, a WiMax replacement, but able to perform (probably) better than WiMax; it will be used as a fast ADSL [Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line] substitute and allow operators to use it as a means of delivering high-speed data services with QoS [quality of service] to the enterprise market."
For the companies seeking licenses and business opportunities, LTE has been cited as a way of attracting foreign direct investment, especially in BPO (business process outsourcing).
"LTE deployment will help to make viable broadband services more widely available, and that will benefit governments, enterprises, and should be supportive of foreign direct investment," said Nick Foggin, a senior adviser at RP Capital Advisors, who previously worked for France Telecom Orange.
While direct investment in Internet-based services is expected to attract more investment in rural areas that can provide inexpensive labor, operators have regulatory hurdles to tackle before making LTE widely available.
"The biggest constraint is lack of spectrum policy, without which we have no details on when the spectrum will be available; allocation criteria; the costs -- information that operators need to determine whether it will be commercially viable," said Nzioka Waita, Safaricom's director of legal, regulatory and external affairs.
Safaricom is already testing LTE in some parts of Nairobi but Waita says that spectrum policy will be important in determining whether Kenya allocates spectrum in blocs like Germany, which he says makes it commercially viable.
In many African countries there are no spectrum allocation policies, so operators are engaged with regulators on how cost and allocation should be done. In Kenya, there is a debate over allocations in the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) band when all four mobile operators have equal allocation, yet one of the operators has 78 percent of the market.
Currently, operators can use the GSM band to deploy LTE even though in countries like Kenya, 2.6GHz will be available when government services are moved to fiber-optic, providing more options for operators.
"There is more LTE spectrum available if regulatory authorities realize its importance," added Pater. "LTE is (and will be) available in a wider range of spectrum frequencies than WiMax, which means that operators will have a greater choice and opportunity to deploy where is suits them."
There have been arguments that by using the GSM band for LTE, operators may compromise quality, while some industry insiders feel there may be no quality interference if appropriate standards are developed, a process that is lacking in Africa.
"In principle, there should be no quality concerns deriving from the use of LTE in GSM bands, as long as appropriate rules are set by regulators and followed by operators and vendors," said Foggin in an e-mail interview. "In the E.U. for example, the European Commission has recently agreed [to] technical standards for the use of LTE devices at 900MHz and 1800MHz. These rules are designed to minimize the risk of interference, and were drawn up not only to cover the testing of LTE, but also the long-term coexistence of LTE with GSM and 3G."
Africa will be ready for LTE when terminal equipment becomes widely available and priced appropriately, Foggin concluded.
African LTE rollouts delayed
Southern Africa - Growing demand for broadband is driving investmenr in undersea and terrestrial fibre networks
[developing telecoms] The demand for broadband services is growing steadily in the southern African markets. For this reason, major operators and ISPs are investing in undersea fibre as well as terrestrial fibre and other infrastructure, according to new data from Research & Markets. ISPs are targeting the business segment to achieve significant average revenue per user (ARPU) margins in the short term, but the revenue potential arising from serving the consumer market is attracting investments into mobile and wireless broadband technologies. Broadband service revenues are expected to contribute significantly to operator margins.
The demand for broadband services and the decline of wholesale bandwidth prices are expected to be the main drivers for the broadband market in the southern Africa market. The demand for bandwidth intensive applications and services that are available on the internet has been growing in the southern Africa market. Enterprise users (both large, corporate and SMEs) as well as consumers have adopted the internet as a major source of information and means of conducting business and communication.
High bandwidth costs remain a major constraint to the rapid growth of the broadband market. However, the landing of additional undersea cables has resulted in the decline of international wholesale bandwidth. Moreover, this has spurred significant investments into terrestrial fibre and wireless network infrastructure aimed at boosting network capacities, remarks the analyst. Increasing competition in the market is resulting in the decline of retail bandwidth prices, contributing to the steady growth of the broadband market.
The low penetration of fixed broadband infrastructure in the southern Africa market has resulted in high retail bandwidth prices. At the same time, the high cost of maintaining fixed lines translates to high charges for ADSL services. This factor is contributing to the slow growth in the adoption of ADSL as a primary broadband connection for enterprises and consumers. Leading operators and ISPs are deploying fibre in the last mile. However, the CAPEX involved in fibre deployments is significant and requires steady revenue to ensure ROI in a given timeframe. As a result, few enterprises will be connected by this technology in the short term. It is only when the penetration of ADSL and fibre reaches significant levels that the broadband market will achieve its full growth potential.
Significant investments in fixed as well as wireless broadband will enable operators and ISPs to benefit from the revenue potential of the southern Africa broadband market. They need to leverage on the earliest available opportunity to invest in broadband infrastructure and gain an edge over competition in the market. Moreover, broadband is an enabler for the delivery of next generation services to enterprise users and consumers. The growth of the broadband market will be accompanied with growth in data traffic. This will affect fixed, wireless and mobile networks.
Reliable delivery of quality broadband services will be a key differentiator in a highly competitive market that will characterise the southern Africa region.
Fibre investment growing in southern Africa as broadband demand increases
The demand for broadband services and the decline of wholesale bandwidth prices are expected to be the main drivers for the broadband market in the southern Africa market. The demand for bandwidth intensive applications and services that are available on the internet has been growing in the southern Africa market. Enterprise users (both large, corporate and SMEs) as well as consumers have adopted the internet as a major source of information and means of conducting business and communication.
High bandwidth costs remain a major constraint to the rapid growth of the broadband market. However, the landing of additional undersea cables has resulted in the decline of international wholesale bandwidth. Moreover, this has spurred significant investments into terrestrial fibre and wireless network infrastructure aimed at boosting network capacities, remarks the analyst. Increasing competition in the market is resulting in the decline of retail bandwidth prices, contributing to the steady growth of the broadband market.
The low penetration of fixed broadband infrastructure in the southern Africa market has resulted in high retail bandwidth prices. At the same time, the high cost of maintaining fixed lines translates to high charges for ADSL services. This factor is contributing to the slow growth in the adoption of ADSL as a primary broadband connection for enterprises and consumers. Leading operators and ISPs are deploying fibre in the last mile. However, the CAPEX involved in fibre deployments is significant and requires steady revenue to ensure ROI in a given timeframe. As a result, few enterprises will be connected by this technology in the short term. It is only when the penetration of ADSL and fibre reaches significant levels that the broadband market will achieve its full growth potential.
Significant investments in fixed as well as wireless broadband will enable operators and ISPs to benefit from the revenue potential of the southern Africa broadband market. They need to leverage on the earliest available opportunity to invest in broadband infrastructure and gain an edge over competition in the market. Moreover, broadband is an enabler for the delivery of next generation services to enterprise users and consumers. The growth of the broadband market will be accompanied with growth in data traffic. This will affect fixed, wireless and mobile networks.
Reliable delivery of quality broadband services will be a key differentiator in a highly competitive market that will characterise the southern Africa region.
Fibre investment growing in southern Africa as broadband demand increases
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