Trends & Forecasts

Bids for Nigeria's state-run telecoms company Nitel are being received from both local and international firms. There appears to be a sticking-point in that the Nigerian Government will give priority to those bidding for the entire Nitel enterprise although the key asset and therefore target is the MTEL mobile division...

Ovum’s new report, "3G spectrum licensing in India", outlines a number of issues which have caused auction delay, unresolved issues clouding future outlook and several contentious issues still to be resolved. For the author 3G spectrum auction is unlikely to attract additional new players or entice most of the new 2G licensees to participate...

With a fixed-line penetration rate of 21%, Chile can now boast the highest such rate in Latin America. The newest report from Companies and Markets covers a variable market where fixed-line is successful but broadband has to date been disappointing in terms of growth...

Followers of the problems challenging the Egyptian mobile operator Mobinil and its would-be purchaser France Telecom will be aware of the coverage Developing Telecoms has given to this long-running saga...

According to the Times of India, rumours are circulating that the group of Indian Ministers with responsibility for allocating 3G spectrum will be confining the bids to just four new players...

Reports from China Knowledge and SinoCast Daily Business both indicate that 3G deployment in China is continuing faster than predicted by the three licencee companies. China Telecom appears to be enjoying a clear advantage over China Mobile and China Unicom...

Indonesia is set for huge growth in 3G service uptake over the next five years, and operators are taking creative steps to build out that subscriber base, according to the latest forecast data and analysis from Pyramid Research, the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network...

Iraq is now the most competitive Arab cellular market. This year’s Cellular Competition Intensity Index, instituted by Arab Advisors Group, reveals that Jordan (most competitive market in 2007 and 2008) has come in second...

 London-based firm Companies and Markets have released a new report entitled 'Cuba - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband' which profiles the fixed-line, mobile and broadband markets in Cuba. The report notes that Cuba has the lowest mobile penetration rate in Latin America and that government-controlled Etecsa and its subsidiary Cubacel monopolise fixed-line and mobile respectively...

The Asia-Pacific region will see huge numbers of cellular towers built over the next five years, with demand driven by the massive, rapid increase in mobile subscribers in China and India. By 2014, according to Cellular Base Station and Site Leasing Markets, a new study from ABI Research, the area will contain 39% of the world’s cell towers, in a Total Addressable Market worth nearly US$125 billion...

T-Hrvatski Telekom has released a review of its operations in Croatia,where it remains a key player in fixed-line and mobile. Fixed-line has experienced a minor decline as the company increases its role in Internet provision. Broadband technologies are proving successful with targets remaining ambitious...

The telecoms market seems rather quiet at present - with the exception of India. This review by Michael Schwartz looks at recent developments in this massive market and tries to identify some of the major current trends... 

Analyst and forecaster Companies and Markets has recently turned its attention to the less-publicised markets in the Caribbean. Its profile of Haiti’s fixed line system can hardly be described as optimistic...

Azerfon, one of the fastest growing mobile operators in Azerbaijan, and Vodafone have announced a non-equity partnership to provide customers with “high quality communications services and to collaborate jointly on future technological developments”...

Indian Minister of State at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Shri Gurudas Kamat updated his country’s Upper House of Parliament (the Rajya Sabha) regarding progress towards rural tele-density projects and penetration...

Vivendi's confirmation that it has broken off talks with Zain about the sale of the latter's African operations lays bare the likelihood that Zain is seriously considering selling up, according to a statement from analyst group Ovum...

By a fortunate series of co-incidences, the outlook for communications in Africa is currently looking better than it has for a long time. There are positive developments in both network infrastructure and services which address challenges which go back years...

Mobile operators are under increasing pressure to deliver services with sufficient quality and capacity to meet customer expectations, while simultaneously reducing CAPEX and OPEX in order to stay competitive in the face of the difficult economic outlook.  Andrea Casini, VP Sales and Marketing, EMEA, Andrew, explains how Russian wireless operators can best protect revenues in the midst of the financial crisis...

One of Russia's largest private equity funds, Icon Private Equity, will be investing US$200 million to establish a national WiMAX operator. The new operator will deploy in the remoter regions of Russia and the CIS, aiming for a market of 20 million customers...

Recent reports in the Indian press have looked at 3G's success -  or otherwise - in India. BSNL and MTNL have yet to see more than a few sales of 3G services. Is there something flawed with the companies' approach to 3G? Michael Schwartz analyses...

Through the widespread selling of bundling services, the Romanian telecoms market is set to become the fourth largest player in the CEE market. Pyramid Research make this assertion in their new report Communications Markets in Romania, which also looks five years into the future...

ICT's highest growth potential anywhere in the world lies in the Middle East, according to a new report from Dublin-based Research and Markets. Difficulties in the oil sector and in the global economy will generate a need for continuous ICT development. In turn, security, Internet, IPTV, WiMAX and 3G make for attractive opportunities. Michael Schwartz reviews...

In its telecommunications report for 2Q09, analyst Companies and Markets has refined its review of Central Asia into a study of the five individual countries of the region. Fixed-line penetration remains low, even allowing for Kazakhstan's relative success. Proposed privatisations will be tempting once they have been agreed...

Saudi Telecom's fixed-line monopoly in Saudi Arabia has been broken. Etihad Atheeb Telecoms has now commenced operations in the Saudi Capital Riyadh and in the port of Jeddah. It is expected that the percentage of the Saudi population with high-speed Internet will now soar...

Emerging markets in telecoms often start with a blank canvas: those developing these new markets can implement whichever telecoms strategy they wish: enter fibre cabling. Michael Schwartz looks at some very exciting fibre-optic developments in East Africa...

The GSMA is welcoming an initiative driven by the Finnish Ministry of Communications to develop a unified approach to the allocation of Digital Dividend spectrum, ie, the spectrum that will be freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital TV, within the Baltic Sea region...

With the current economic climate taking its toll around the world, mobile network operators are considering new tactics to improve customer service and reduce churn while also lowering costs. Network Sharing is an important strategy available for network operators to pursue. In this article Simon Kong looks at some of the factors holding back network sharing in Asia...

Despite good results at the end of 2008, the Bulgarian PC market lost momentum 1Q09. According to the latest data from IDC, PC shipments grew only 3.5%, the worst result in three years, while revenues contracted 13.7% year on year...

The IT services market in Croatia continued to grow in 2008 despite the slowing economy, according to a recent IDC study. The market totaled US$424.45 million in 2008, representing 16.3% year-on-year growth in US$. Measured in local currency, the market expanded 7.0% year-on-year...

Industry experts connected in Abu Dhabi this week to evaluate the state of telecoms in the Middle East. An appropriate time to look at telecoms in the developing markets as a whole at a time of global economic difficulty. Michael Schwartz writes...

A potential new player in Cameroon's mobile market as well as regulatory pressure to cut prices will help to more than double the mobile penetration in Cameroon by 2014, according to a new report from Research & Markets...

Despite economic hardship, Turkey’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be increasing their IT spending in the near future. This is the prediction of IDC which conducted a survey among 750 SMEs in Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir...

Web-based analyst Seeking Alpha is predicting that Vietnam will emerge as a major market for mobile broadband by the end of 2014. Vendors of 3G equipment are expected to benefit from the boom...