While the African telecoms industry enjoys growing mobile subscriber and data usage, the continent's Internet penetration stands at a paltry 5.4%, with only 12 countries having a penetration of more than 1%.
In an attempt to bridge this glaring gap, telecom giants operating in Africa - Zain, MTN, Africell, Safaricom, Vodafone and France Telecom - have formed a committee to urge countries across the continent to focus their attention on broadband deployment and telecom services to rural communities.
The committee will meet at the Next Generation Telecoms Africa summit, from 25 to 27 January 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss the challenges facing the growth of voice services, data and value added services in rural Africa.
“Even though the African telecommunications industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, up to 85% of the population in some countries still don't have access to basic wireless communications,” explains William Austin, director of summit business at event organiser NGT Africa.
“In the past, these remote and rural locations have proven too difficult to serve for most operators, but as technology evolves, this untapped market is gradually starting to become more attractive and economically viable for the service providers in the region,” he adds.
Now that sub-sea cables have landed on mainland Africa, the continent has access to broadband and various other services that can be delivered via high-speed Internet.
However, explains the committee, several key challenges still remain before subscribers can enjoy a reliable, safe and affordable service from Internet service providers and operators in the region.
The NGT Africa Committee also believes the continent will witness increased consolidation and mergers; markets that have five or more operators are likely to see more mergers as players compete for access to lucrative markets.
The future of telecoms within Africa looks positive, but it will face many challenges, such as inadequate regulatory frameworks, political instability and slow rate of market liberalisation.
According to the committee, Ethiopia, Somalia and Zimbabwe are still considered virgin markets, and it is these areas that will present some of the greatest risks as well as the greatest opportunities.
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