Mideast operators join race for African telecoms:

Connecting another billion people to the internet is an ambition for many mobile operators, which see the relatively untapped markets of Africa as the next big opportunity for growth.

With a lack of fixed-line infrastructure in many parts of the continent, people have embraced smartphones as their means of connecting to the web, which has placed mobile operators among the main providers of internet services in Africa.

The number of broadband connections over cellular networks is expected to top 250m by the end of 2015. A fifth of internet traffic in Africa will be carried by mobile broadband by 2015, according to Informa Telecoms and Media, compared with 3 per cent globally.

Demand for telecoms services is high, as parts of the continent are becoming increasingly affluent. However, poorer areas also represent a good opportunity for telecoms operators that offer plans designed to get users connected to social networking sites using mobile devices.

Mobile is at the centre of life in Africa, where it has applications from sending vaccination reminders by text to credit lines for farmers. The M-Pesa mobile payment system is so successful that it acts as a quasi-currency.

Telecoms executives regard Africa as one of the most dynamic regions for an industry facing low growth in more mature markets where many people already have multiple mobile devices.

Southern African Governments Accelerate Mobile Access to an Extra 300 Million People:

The Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia have agreed a set of common priorities to accelerate the roll out of mobile broadband in the region, with the view of creating an additional 3.2 million jobs for Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

Government ministers welcomed the positive impact of mobile on their digital economies. The mobile ecosystem currently contributes 6.3 per cent of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa and could grow to 8.2 per cent by 2020 with the right policies to encourage investment. Equally, mobile penetration could increase to 93 per cent of the region's population by 2020, bringing mobile access to an additional 300 million citizens.

Signing a Communique, Ministers agreed to a series of measures including the creation of a Joint Task Force strengthening regional cooperation to support investment in mobile.

"The provision of universal broadband access is vital in driving economic growth and improving the quality of life in Botswana and across Southern Africa," said Honourable Nonofo E. Molefhi, Minister of Transport and Communication for Botswana. "With greater coordination between regional governments and between the public and private sectors, mobile broadband can play a critical role in closing the digital divide."

MTN Zambia Upgrades Mobile Data Download Speed to 42Mbps:

MTN Zambia says that it has increased its internet speed making it the fastest mobile data network in the country. This comes against the backdrop of the mobile network connecting to the West Africa Cable System (WACS) last month, which enhanced its internet capacity.

The WACS is a submarine communications cable which links to the UK along the west coast of Africa.

In a statement issued in Lusaka, MTN Zambia Chief Marketing Officer Clement Asante said the increase in internet speed to 42Mbps.

"Our research shows that there is high demand for mobile broadband but access is limited due to device prices. He said that is why MTN has made available low cost internet enabled devices as part of this internet drive initiative at as low as K115, a first in the Zambia market. To make the deal even more exciting, this device comes with free 150MB data," said the MTN Zambia CMO.

Customers will get free 150MB for purchase of K105 MTN MF190 Modem and 30MB MTN social Bundle for Facebook at K6.5 per month.

Other rewards are 50% discounts on MTN Voice chat and MTN Radio respective subscriptions on Fridays as well as random data giveaways for customers who keep their data devices active.

Southern African Governments Accelerate Mobile Access to an Extra 300 Million People:

The Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia have agreed a set of common priorities to accelerate the roll out of mobile broadband in the region, with the view of creating an additional 3.2 million jobs for Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

Government ministers welcomed the positive impact of mobile on their digital economies. The mobile ecosystem currently contributes 6.3 per cent of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa and could grow to 8.2 per cent by 2020 with the right policies to encourage investment. Equally, mobile penetration could increase to 93 per cent of the region's population by 2020, bringing mobile access to an additional 300 million citizens.

Signing a Communique, Ministers agreed to a series of measures including the creation of a Joint Task Force strengthening regional cooperation to support investment in mobile.

"The provision of universal broadband access is vital in driving economic growth and improving the quality of life in Botswana and across Southern Africa," said Honourable Nonofo E. Molefhi, Minister of Transport and Communication for Botswana. "With greater coordination between regional governments and between the public and private sectors, mobile broadband can play a critical role in closing the digital divide."

Low Income Groups to Grow in Prominence in the Sudan Telecom Market:

The relatively low mobile penetration rate and the limited presence of fixed-line services are driving mobile growth in Sudan, especially in remote areas. While mobile broadband is expected to witness the highest growth due to better accessibility, the segment with the highest potential is broadband. The fixed-line segment will also get a boost with the prevalence of new technologies such as CDMA fixed-wireless technology.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that the market earned revenues of US$2.13 billion in 2011 and estimates it to reach US$2.85 billion in 2018. In 2011, Sudan had approximately 24 million mobile subscribers and the penetration rate stood at 55.1 per cent. The number of subscribers in the country is anticipated to triple to 56.8 million between 2012 and 2018.

"Sudan has a relatively liberalised telecom sector," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Jonas Zelba. "There are two fixed-line and five mobile operators providing services in the country and all operators have planned network expansion to take advantage of the growing demand in rural areas."

However, with close to 40 per cent of the population living below the poverty line, there is substantial pressure on the operators to find fresh revenue streams. In addition, high illiteracy rates restrict the uptake of sophisticated data services.

Further, a high number of new subscribers in the low income segments use their mobiles phones mainly for incoming calls, lowering operators' average revenue per user.

Owing to this large presence of low-income groups, operators should acknowledge that the next wave of subscriber growth in Sudan is likely to come from these consumers. Therefore, apart from offering innovative and advanced services for high-end subscribers, they should also provide simplified broadband services to penetrate the low-income segment effectively.