40
AFRICA
IDC - Existing 4G Network Deployments in Africa Country
Launch Date
Angola Angola
Ivory Coast Ghana
Mauritius Mauritius Namibia Namibia Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria
South Africa South Africa South Africa Tanzania Uganda Uganda Uganda Zambia Zambia
Zimbabwe Source: IDC, 2014 April 2012
December 2012 April 2014
January 2014 May 2012 June 2012 May 2012
November 2013 March 2013 October 2013 August 2013
Operator
Movicel Unitel
YooMee Vodafone Emtel
Orange Mauritius MTC Namibia TN Mobile
Smile Nigeria
ISSUE 05 2014
Frequency/ Duplex mode
1800MHz/FDD 1800MHz/FDD n/a
2600MHz/TDD 1800MHz/FDD 1800MHz/FDD 1800MHz/FDD 1800MHz/FDD 800MHz/FDD
Swift Networks Nigeria 2300MHz/TDD Spectranet Nigeria
November 2012 MTN April 2013
October 2012 May 2012 April 2013
August 2013 June 2012
January 2014 January 2014 August 2013
Telkom Vodacom
Smile Tanzania MTN
Orange Uganda Smile Uganda MTN
Zamtel Econet Zimbabwe
2300MHz/TDD 1800MHz/FDD 2300MHz/TDD 1800MHz/FDD 800MHz/FDD 2100MHz/TDD 800MHz/FDD 800MHz/FDD n/a n/a
1800MHz/FDD
Is there more of a demand for high-end smartphones or low- cost, affordable LTE devices and feature phones? What’s the current availability of LTE devices in Africa and what are their current demand-versus-supply trends? BMI: We see the cost of LTE devices as the main downside risk to take-up. While dedicated data providers have partnered with vendors such as Huawei to offer lower cost routers and USB keys, LTE-enabled smartphones remain very pricey. We believe this will remain the case until voice and data LTE services are launched in major markets such as Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, and there is more demand for cheap handsets. We can see this happening with 3G now, where demand is becoming widespread and handset vendors and mobile operators have increased their efforts to bring down the cost of smartphones.
conferencing through UC also saves significant time and cost as meetings can be held between different locations without travel. However, UC runs over the Internet, and with LTE technology expected to deliver a better and more efficient UC service, the demand for increased data services to run enterprise solutions will drive the growth of LTE.
Bandwidth-hungry services are for the rich and urban classes; basic data needs in more rural and remote communities, even supporting mobile health and payment apps, are for the poor and less advantaged. Please discuss. BMI: In general, we agree with the statement. Over the long term, likely towards the very end or beyond our current forecast period to 2018, we expect to see expansion of LTE to smaller, rural communities. Once digital migration is complete and lower frequency spectrum becomes available, extending LTE networks into underserved areas will become more
cost effective. Economic growth is also likely to boost spending power and demand for telecoms services in underserved areas.
F&S: African countries are experiencing improvements in literacy rates and in the use of technology in daily lives. This coupled with a decline in prices of smartphones, data, and improved network coverage is rapidly closing the digital divide between various consumer segments.
IDC: At this moment, high-speed Internet services cover urban areas and sometimes only commercial centres. This is mostly because the introduction of these services in remote, rural areas requires significant investment. We expect this situation to change gradually with availability of suitable spectrum, and increased availability and affordability of devices. Also, the penetration of broadband services is expected to be driven by national government initiatives.
F&S: LTE devices are costly for the mass population. However, the contract model of purchase should facilitate uptake in Africa. At present, there is more demand for high-end smartphones but the uptake of LTE devices is expected to grow as LTE network coverage increases and users become more educated on the benefits of using LTE over 3G networks. LTE compatible routers, as well as dongles, are available from the likes of MTN, Vodacom, Smile Communications and other service providers, while compatible smartphones and tablets are available from Samsung, Apple, Blackberry, LG, Huawei and ZTE. It is, therefore, evident that the current supply of 4G-compatible devices is more than the demand but the trend is expected to reverse gradually in the next five years as more foreign LTE device manufacturers enter Africa and the price for subscribing to LTE networks reduces.
IDC: Mobile devices that support LTE typically begin to emerge with
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