DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Research and Markets (http://ift.tt/1CK0rCL)
has announced the addition of the “Zimbabwe
– Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband” report to their offering.
Executive summary – Broadband market expected to grow on the back of new
fibre infrastructure
This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and
developments in Zimbabwe’s telecommunications market.
Broadband services and pricing trends.Zimbabwe’s economy has contracted
for ten years in a row under gross mismanagement by its political
leaders, sending annual inflation to an unprecedented rate of several
billion percent and the exchange rate of the Zimbabwe dollar to more
than 50 billion per US dollar. In 2009 the government finally allowed
foreign currencies as alternative legal tender, which had already been
the unofficial fuel of the local economy for years.
The dollarisation’ has done miracles for the country’s telecom industry:
Network operators, now able to bill their customers in hard currency,
regained a certain degree of planning security and access to funding for
network expansions. Hundreds of millions of US dollars are now being
invested into the three mobile networks – Econet, NetOne and Telecel
Zimbabwe. Mobile penetration has increased more fivefold within three
years to reach around 75% in early 2012, despite the fact that consumer
prices initially rose – artificial price caps in local currency had
meant that prices had previously been extremely low when converted into
hard currencies. As a consequence, the average minutes of use on
Zimbabwe’s mobile networks were ironically among the highest in the
world, and the networks were congested. Prices are now more in line with
other African markets again.
The normalisation of Zimbabwe’s economy is reflected in the
International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast of continuous GDP growth at
around 3%, following a spike to 9% in 2010.
NetOne’s parent, TelOne (formerly PTC) still holds a de-facto monopoly
on fixed-line services in the country. The government is planning to
privatise up to 60% of TelOne and NetOne, either through an IPO or a
strategic partnership with a foreign investor.
A second national operator (SNO), TeleAccess was licensed in 2002 but
had its licence withdrawn in 2005 due to non-performance resulting from
difficulties to raise funding. Another licensed operator, Afritell (a
public-private partnership) also failed in bringing competition to the
fixed-line sector.
Despite the limited fixed-line infrastructure, Internet usage in
Zimbabwe has continued to rise. In an environment of strictly controlled
traditional media, citizens turned to the Internet for independent
information and communication. However, limitations of international
bandwidth for the landlocked country have affected development of the
sector. New fibre optic links are now being deployed to improve
international connectivity via neighbouring countries with access to
international submarine fibre optic cables. However, prices for
broadband services have remained high.
The ISP market is reasonably competitive with six major players. Eight
companies have been licensed to provide VoIP telephony services. Several
data carriers have been licensed and are rolling out national fibre
backbone networks. ISPs have begun rolling out wireless broadband access
networks, and the first 3G mobile broadband service in the country was
overwhelmed by demand within weeks after launch
Market highlights:
New domestic and international fibre connections;
Internet and broadband pricing trends – ADSL, 3G mobile, WiMAX, WiFi;
TelOne, NetOne privatisation planned;
New ICT Bill;
Hundreds of millions of US dollars in network expansions.Estimated
market penetration rates in Zimbabwe’s telecoms sector – end-2012
Market Penetration rate
Mobile – 85%
Fixed – 3%
Internet – 12%
Companies covered in this report:
TelOne
NetOne
Econet
Telecel
TeleAccess
Afritell
Liquid Telecom
DataOne
Powertel Communications
Telco Internet
Broadlands Networks
Aquiva
Africa Online
ComOne
Ecoweb
MWEB
Zimbabwe Online (ZOL)
Zimbabwe Internet Service Provider Association (ZISPA)
Telecontract
Dandemutande
Taurai Zimbabwe
Key Topics Covered:
1. Executive summary
2. Key statistics
3. Telecommunications market
4. Regulatory environment
5. Fixed network operators in Zimbabwe
6. International infrastructure
7. Broadband and Internet market
8. Mobile communications
For more information visit http://ift.tt/1CK0rCL
The post Research and Markets: Zimbabwe – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband – 2012 | Business Wire appeared first on Forex Success Traders.
from WordPress http://ift.tt/1C4jx1o
via IFTTT
