West and Central African Broadband Market Tracker

Frost & Sullivan, January 2012, Pages: 130

Availability of Cost-effective Mobile and Wireless Solutions to be Key Market Driver

Over the past years, the West and Central African region has witnessed a dramatic increase in mobile broadband connections due mainly to the surge in mobile broadband connections in Nigeria. Effective regulatory environments have made Nigeria and Ghana among the most dynamic broadband markets in sub-Saharan Africa with over 150 market participants and massive terrestrial infrastructure development.

With the deployment of advanced technologies such as 3G networks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Gabon, mobile broadband subscribers are expected to outpace fixed broadband connections in these two countries over the next 5 years.

The low levels of broadband penetration in the four countries indicate that there are significant growth opportunities in the short- to long-term. “The availability of cost-effective mobile and wireless solutions will be a key market driver,” notes the analyst of this research. “At the same time, greater demand for access to social media platforms will emerge as the most important factor for market participants to formulate their strategy for this year.” Rising demand for broadband services in the region has helped reduce the cost of customer-premises equipment as well as smartphones.

Internet service providers (ISPs) have introduced affordable Chinese customer-premises equipment to render broadband services to consumers. “Furthermore, broadband providers are expected to increase partnerships with equipment vendors to reduce the cost of customer-premises equipment,” adds the analyst. “The impact of this driver is expected to be high throughout the forecast period, as mobile operators are shifting focus on growing their data offerings.”

Quality Improvements, Innovative Solutions and Sound Distribution Strategies to Sustain Profit Margins

The advent of social media platforms, coupled with growing computer-literate societies, has boosted demand for broadband connections across the region. As a result, the number of broadband users in these countries has swelled. “The increase in broadband users has been primarily because mobile operators have deployed advanced technology networks,” remarks the analyst. “As consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of social media platforms, this driver is expected to remain high throughout the forecast period in all four countries.”

With decreased bandwidth costs in the region, the uptake of broadband services is expected to increase significantly. More and more households and small and medium companies are expected to sign up for broadband services. As voice revenues have been declining, mobile operators are expected to shift focus on broadband services to maintain profit margins.

“Mobile operators are expected to improve the quality of services through continuous infrastructure investment such as network capacity upgrade and deployments of new technologies, develop innovative solutions such as cyber cafés for broadband services targeting the mass market, focus on enterprise solutions” concludes the analyst. “These strategies will help mobile operators sustain their profit margins.”

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following countries in this research:

- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- Gabon

This 120-slide research service encompasses an analysis of West and Central African broadband markets, specifically Nigeria, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. It includes an analysis of key market developments and trends, the market size in terms of revenue and subscribers, demand and competition. It also investigates the deployment of new technologies in West and Central Africa. This study identifies the broadband market forces in the four countries and determines the potential growth of different broadband services. The base year for the research study is 2010 and the forecast period is from 2011 to 2017.

1. Executive Summary

2. Market Overview

3. Total Broadband Market

- 3.1 External Challenges: Drivers and Restraints

- 3.2 Forecasts and Trends

- 3.3 Demand Analysis

- 3.4 Market Share and Competitive Analysis

4. Nigeria Breakdown

5. Ghana Breakdown

6. Democratic Republic of Congo Breakdown

7. Gabon Breakdown

8. The Last Word (Conclusions and Implications)

9. Appendix

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