Category Archives: Emerging Markets

African nations to top US by mobile net additions 2011 – 2016: Portio Research

Posted on 17/05/2013 by admin

The ‘Portio Mobile Factbook 2013′ – a comprehensive market overview available as a free download – provides some interesting insights to the global mobile market. In a table showing the world’s Top 10 largest mobile markets by net additions in … Continue reading →

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8.479 billion mobile phones in the world by end-2016: free download

Posted on 17/05/2013 by keithw

Our good friends at Portio Research have updated their very useful ‘Portio Research Mobile Factbook 2013′ (claim your free copy now!). It still seems amazing that the global number of mobile phones at the end of 2012 will be 6.5 billion – … Continue reading →

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Kenya sees international Internet bandwidth rise more than eleven-fold

Posted on 24/02/2012 by keithw

24 February 2012 Kenya’s telecommunications and broadband market is undergoing a revolution following the arrival of three fibre optic international submarine cables (Seacom, TEAMS and EASSy), ending its dependency on limited and expensive satellite bandwidth. The country’s international bandwidth increased … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Broadband, Emerging Markets, Infrastructure, LTE, Mobile Banking, Mobile Markets, Mobile Operators | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Basic challenges for infrastructure in Africa

Posted on 16/02/2012 by keithw

The obvious notes about remote locations, difficult transport routes and unreliable electricity are just the tip of the iceberg. MNOs in many parts of Africa face other problems. Broadly speaking, the problems that operators face in Africa are well documented: … Continue reading →

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The acid test for Glo in Ghana – Roy Johnson writes

Posted on 02/02/2012 by keithw

While the expansion of mobile markets in many countries across Africa is an undeniable opportunity, both private and public sectors are still looking for the magic formula to make it work for the benefit of all parties. Ghana is a … Continue reading →

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US$ 16 billion worth of international money transfers will be received using mobile phones in 2015

Posted on 31/10/2011 by keithw

What role will mobile handsets play in future payment and banking systems? The number of mobile money subscribers in emerging markets is forecasted to grow from 133 million users in 2010 at a compound annual growth rate of 40 percent … Continue reading →

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79.9 million TV households in the Mid-East and North Africa (MENA) says Informa

Posted on 25/10/2011 by keithw

While nascent TV markets – like the Middle East and Africa – are by their very nature subject to significant and rapid change, the past couple of years have been particularly dramatic, writes Adam Thomas of Informa Telecoms & Media. … Continue reading →

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African VAS market will be generating revenues of USD 11.5+ billion by 2014 says Informa

Posted on 19/07/2011 by keithw

Something landed in my in-box yesterday that I thought I would share with you. Cathal O’Toole at Jinny Software, perhaps not unexpectedly, has been giving some thought to the mobile Value Added Services (VAS) market in Africa. The contention is … Continue reading →

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Why have MVNOs not yet found favour in Africa?

Posted on 15/07/2011 by keithw

So if Africa is the great emerging telecoms market – with some pretty mature markets in terms of technologies (3G, HSPDA, etc); services (notably Safaricom’s M-PESA and mobile money services now available) and high Mobile penetrations (South Africa and along the … Continue reading →

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Is Branson losing his way in the Middle East and Africa?

Posted on 07/06/2011 by keithw

When is a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) not an MVNO; and does it matter? Or maybe the real question is: what is in a name?What got me pondering this particular question this morning was the news that ictQatar (the … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Emerging Markets, Middle East, Mobile Markets, Mobile Youth, MVNOs | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment