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Just as markets in Africa and the Middle East (AME) were starved for voice communications prior to the mobile era, so too were they starved for Internet access: Inadequate fixed infrastructure and insufficient competition in the fixed market meant that services were either unavailable, unaffordable or both. But just as the advent of mobile communications famously and dramatically transformed AME’s voice telecommunications sector, the launch of 3G services in much of the region means that its Internet market is now on the brink of a similar makeover. In AME — a region we define as Africa, Iran, Turkey, the Gulf and the Levant — mobile operators are eager to take advantage of this opportunity, routinely offering mobile broadband as their first or even their only 3G service following their 3G network rollouts. We expect mobile broadband adoption in AME to grow faster than the global average over the next five years, with the subscriber total increasing at a CAGR of 33% to reach 32.2m by 2014. Because AME’s mobile voice market still has plenty of room for growth, mobile broadband will generate only a modest 5% of total mobile revenue regionally by 2014. However, the region’s great unmet demand for Internet access, combined with its generally inadequate fixed networks, means that from 2008 through 2012, AME will lead the world in terms of the percentage of broadband subscriptions that are mobile.
For the purposes of this analysis, we have chosen to look only at the use of mobile broadband as an Internet access technology for PCs, excluding the use of mobile networks for Web browsing on smartphones or other handsets. We begin by identifying the factors that affect future adoption of mobile broadband in markets across the region. We then focus on three key markets, analyzing how operators have adapted their mobile broadband strategies to each market’s individual characteristics: We will look at South Africa, the region’s biggest mobile broadband market in terms of subscribers; Morocco, which has seen the most dramatic shift from fixed to mobile broadband; and finally Saudi Arabia, where an early mobile broadband boom is likely to tilt toward converged offerings over the next five years.
Published monthly for each of the world’s most dynamic regions, Telecom Insiders are packed with trend analysis, industry best practices, market sizing and forecasting, competitor analysis, and case studies, providing you information you can leverage to make better business decisions. For more information about Telecom Insiders, please contact Jeff Claudino via email at claudino@pyr.com or telephone at +1.619.229.9940
Author: Dearbhla McHenry
Publication Date: April 2009
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