Trends & Forecasts

Many of the Western European operators appear inward-looking, almost unwilling to look into overseas markets even when the latter make up the real areas of growth in the context of current global telecoms...

 Developing Telecoms reported last month that Zain was on its way to creating a roaming-free market in Africa, with a dozen countries all enjoying one single telecoms market. Since then, Zain has announced a single roaming-free market for its Middle East customers...

SMS has taken hold in the Lebanese market. As Lebanon’s telecoms market may well be on the way to liberalisation, Arab Advisory Group figures show that only 10% of GSM users do not use SMS...

Spending by Saudi Arabian Internet users reached over US$3.2 billion last year...

For most of the last century, Nauru relied on one source of income, phosphates. As is all too often the case with minerals, the primary resource exhausts itself, and as is all too often the case with a developing nation, there is no other source of income for its people...

Operating as a telecoms service provider in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, GTS Central Europe has been sufficiently independent to run its own regional fibre network...

Zain subsidiary Celtel International has announced the extension of its "One Network", the world's first borderless mobile network in Africa, to six more countries. The network now connects 400 million people across 12 countries...

Airwide Solutions, which provides next-generation mobile messaging infrastructure and applications, has entered into an agreement with American Telecommunication Holdings to resell Airwide products throughout Latin America...

India’s telecoms industry is now confronting its biggest challenges, with major investments in OSS Systems. Georgia Hanias draws on her vast experience of the Indian telecoms market to explain how new technologies can help India progress towards becoming a key telecoms player worldwide...

Encouraging developments within the Gulf have formed the basis of several reports on Developing Telecoms but there must come a time when these Gulf markets enjoy total or almost total teledensity. Daniel Jones, Research Analyst with Analysis, believes that acquiring operators who are active outside the Gulf may present a convincing alternative route for Gulf operators...

APC, the excellent newsletter from which we have on occasion quoted, has revealed that website bloggers have been suffering intimidation as a wave of environmental protests has been hitting Bulgaria...

The past few weeks have seen the emerging market community celebrate Sangonet’s twentieth anniversary, with Sangonet itself releasing its own special publication: “The Sangonet Story, 1987-2007 - twenty years of linking civil society through ICTs” which was launched at the annual Sangonet ICTs for civil society conference...

Real mobile market penetration rates may be less than two thirds conventional figures. This claim is made by the Arab Advisors Group following a recent survey in Jordan...

The Middle Eastern mobile market presents greater revenue opportunities than markets in Europe when taking into account its size and spending power, according to a new report The Middle Eastern mobile market: trends and forecasts 2007-12, published by Analysys. Why? Read on...

 

 

Telecentre organisers in Congo Brazzaville recently met to discuss the approach they needed to take if their telecentres were to fulfil their targets of bringing ICT to the Congolese people. Sylvie Niombo of APCNews explains...

The influential Arab Advisors Group has surveyed cellular users in Qatar . The survey, on the eve of Qatari liberalisation, shows that 34.9% of Qatar ?s GSM users have ADSL broadband Internet in their homes while 80.6% are aware of 3G cellular technology...

Qtel is leveraging its strong balance sheet resulting from its monopoly of telecommunications in its home market to expand regionally and globally...

United Arab Emirates is the most connected country in the Arab World according to the Arab Advisors Group's annually released Total Country Connectivity Measure (TCCM)...

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean recently published a report pointing out that foreign investment in Latin America and the Caribbean increased in 2006. Whether the increase matches expectations or not is another matter. According to one leading critic it does not and many companies, particualry in the ICT sector appear to be voting with their feet...

Following its successful conference this February, the Women of Uganda Network is leading a drive both for greater female involvement in ICT and also for women to set up more businesses. We look at an all-too-rare initiative...

North America and Western Europe's positions as digital leaders are being challenged by the Central European markets according to research carried out by computer giant IBM and the British-based Economist Intelligence Unit. Star performers? Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovenia.

 

Ghana 's Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Papa Owusu Ankomah, has announced that his country's government will introduce universal ICT education into Ghana 's core educational system in September.

Saudi Arabia has just awarded its third mobile licence, in this case to MTC. Here, we discuss the implications for MTC's business portfolio in the Middle East and Africa .

Sin Siew Teyew, Frost & Sullivan's Asia-Pacific Director of Telecoms, has been reviewing the progress of fixed-mobile convergence in his area of responsibility. When it comes to emerging markets, the tale is one of regulation and infrastructure combining to restrict essential advances...

The 2007 Guide to Romanian Telecommunications is the most comprehensive survey ever produced of the Romanian telecommunications Industry. It offers a strategic overview of the developments and trends in all areas of the telecommunications market in Romania, following the country’s accession to the European Union...

Following Alec Barton's review of 3G in India, Radio Frequency Systems analyses the enormity of Indian telecoms and looks at the contribution its aluminium transmission line technology can make towards achieving rapid roll out of affordable wireless network infrastructure...

Developing countries in Asia offer great potential for PC makers, but companies must offer better value for users if they are to be successful in emerging markets...

A manufacturing sector which has enjoyed phenomenal growth...  Mobile subscribers signing up by the million...  A decentralised structure...  Surely India can do no wrong. Well, enter Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for IDEA Cellular of India, who has recently argued that India is not yet ready for 3G. Developing Telecoms founder Alec Barton reports.

Chen Haofei, Secretary-General of TD-SCDMA Forum, attended the recent Sixth International Mobile Communication Industry Forum. He was invited to speak during the 3G Venture Capital Investment session of the Forum. His views on the potential influence of TD on Chinese telecoms are summarised here...

Asia-Pacific is witnessing major and rapid growth in demand for IT. One consequent question is whether the region is ready for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). According to analyst Frost and Sullivan demand for SOA is in its own turn due for no less than 40% growth in the next two years. Developing Telecoms summarises Frost and Sullivan's Asia-Pacific SOA Readiness Survey.

The GSMA has long lobbied for the removal of taxes which it believes hinders mobile subscriber growth and thereby overall economic growth. The chance to meet Pakistan's President and PM to advocate the removal of the Activation Tax levied on new subscribers was too good a chance to turn down. The GSM was supported by a new report on Pakistan by Deloitte...

Brunei must not fall behind in a globalised and highly competitive world. And ICT is the lever to keep up with the pace. Brunei Communications Mininster Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Haji Awang Abu Bakar

took this as his theme when addressing CSPS-UBD Policy Forum 2007...

 IFC, World Bank's private sector arm, has cast its critical eye over the well-known Grameen Telecom Village phone scheme (you know, the phone ladies in Bangladesh). It has identified what it calculates as a US$5 trillion business plan when translated globally. We explain why...