African Fixed-line and Fibre Telecoms Markets and Infrastructure

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While being the world’s most rapidly growing market for mobile telephony, Africa is also home to some of the fastest growing fixed-line markets in the world. The continent still has some of the world’s lowest penetration rates in both market sectors.

The difficulties of rolling out fixed-line networks across its vast land mass have meant that in mid-2010 mobile users constituted around 90% of all African telephone subscribers. However, as lower income groups are being targeted, a price-sensitive market for lower-cost fixed or limited-mobility services is emerging. A surge in demand for Internet access and broadband capabilities is accelerating this fixed-line renaissance in some of Africa's more advanced markets. Despite reasonable growth of the traditional fixed-line markets in some countries, subscriber access to both voice and data services is shifting more and more to fixed-wireless solutions as a substitute for inadequate fixed-line infrastructure.
For over 50 operators across the continent, CDMA-2000 has been the technology of choice to provide fixed-wireless access. It supports full mobility, and converged licensing regimes are now allowing these operators to also move into the lucrative mobile sector in a growing number of countries.
International submarine fibre optic cables have reached several African countries for the first time in 2009 and 2010 or have brought competition in this sector to an incumbent monopoly provider, with more cables expected to go online in 2011. This has started to revolutionise the market by drastically improving the supply and lowering the cost of international bandwidth. Many countries are rolling out national fibre backbone networks to take the new bandwidth beyond the capital cities to population centres in the interior. However, satellite will continue to play a significant role in reaching Africa's extensive rural and remote areas. Foreign investors are scrambling for positions in this very lucrative market as liberalisation continues, national telcos are being privatised and new operating licenses issued.
Market highlights:
• Key statistics for 38 African countries – fixed, mobile, Internet;
• Converged licensing regimes increase competition in the sector;
• Privatised national telcos are highly profitable;
• Fixed-line incumbents are expanding wireless systems and pushing fixed-mobile convergence;
• Over 50 CDMA-2000 network rollouts in progress, many supporting EV-DO broadband;
• New submarine fibre optic cables dramatically improve access to international bandwidth, with more cables expected to go online in 2011;
• Details of national fibre backbone rollouts.
Fixed lines in Africa and annual growth – 1999 - 2011
Year Fixed lines (thousand) Annual growth
1999 8 127%
2000 11 48%
2001 24 111%
2002 35 48%
2003 52 48%
2004 81 55%
2005 134 65%
2006 196 46%
2007 279 42%
2008 379 36%
2009 (e) 463 22%
2010 (e) 540 17%
2011 (f) 600 11%
(Source: BuddeComm based on ITU, company and industry data)

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.
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