"The roll-out of mobile Internet technology in Africa will be the driving force in bringing the information revolution to the mass market. By 2005 there are predicted to be more people accessing the Internet from mobile devices than from fixed lines - a large portion of these mobile Internet users will likely be from African countries where mobile technology potentially provides the right business model and billing solution for those without PC access to the Internet."
Speaking at the ACT summit in Sun City last week, Gary Cousins of Siemens Telecommunications, presented an overview of where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Africa are headed. Using the analogy of an ISP life cycle, Cousins identified five stages through which ISPs are currently progressing.
Although Africa, said Cousins, is still in the Infancy and Childhood phases where the focus is on providing Internet Access and service provision, there is some evidence that they are starting to play in the important content arena. "But, whereas globally the focus is shifting from the service provider to the content provider and value-added services provider, it will be a long time before ISPs in Africa progress to this adulthood phase."
"This is because the cost of going from service provider to content and ultimately communications provider is exponential with voice and communications services requiring more sophisticated technology and much greater bandwidth," said Cousins.
"What will ultimately boost the progression of ISPs through the various growth phases will be growth in the number of subscribers as well as an increased demand for value-added services as subscribers become more educated," said Cousins.
"In Africa the ISP model is changing a lot but is likely to be slightly different to other countries, where there is currently a need for content and communications providers. At present in Africa, there are many access providers but the eventual consolidation of smaller ISPs in Africa could see a greater move to African content providers." This, emphasised Cousins, will be driven by mobile technology which, in meeting the growing demand for access in Africa, will generate a greater shift to content provision.
"There is currently a phenomenal growth of mobile networks in Africa, but to meet the market demand, improved network speeds are needed. GPRS technology, already being brought into a number of African countries, will provide the solution."
Also speaking at the summit, Systems Consultant for Siemens Telecommunications Integration Solutions and Services unit, Greg Cress, emphasised how evolutions in network speeds will also bring evolutions in payment methods, with much scope for creative billing and tariffing models.
"Mobile networks have a distinct advantage over information service providers in attracting and retaining mobile Internet subscribers through for example prepaid and location-based services. In bringing Internet information and viable payment services, mobile technology will likewise succeed in attracting the mass market," Cress rounded off.
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