mike.hibberd@informa.com
MARKET ANALYSIS
Southern belle
The leading market in Africa is not typical of the continent. South Africa has commercial
HSDPA services and penetration that will soon break the 100 per cent mark.
N
ith 41,038,800 subscribers
at the end of September this
year, according to figures
from Informa Telecoms & Media
(ITM), South Africa is the largest
mobile market in Africa (a position
that it is soon to cede to Nigeria). At
the close of 2006, the firm’s subscriber
base represented 17.9 per cent of the
total African market.
South Africa is also all but the most
highly penetrated mobile market on
the continent (second only to the tiny
island of Réunion)—with around 93 per
cent penetration—and by far the most
developed market in the region.
Three operators and one MVNO
compete for subscribers in the South
African market. Leading the pack is
Vodacom—jointly owned by Vodafone
and fixed incumbent Telkom SA—with
23,375,100 customers. There were
reports earlier this year that full
ownership of Vodacom was high on
Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin’s wish list,
as suggestions emerged that Telkcom
was looking for a sale of its stake.
There have been no concrete develop-
ments, however.
Were it to happen, it is conceiv-
able that Telkom could offload its
fixed business to MTN, second in
South Africa’s mobile market with
16,128,700 customers. The MTN group
has the largest regional footprint of
any operator across Africa and the
Middle East.
Vodacom’s customer base translates
into a 56.96 per cent share of the South The gap between Cell C in third Virgin MVNO has been a drag on
African market as of end September place and Vodacom and MTN in Cell C’s progress. Certainly the firm’s
2007, while MTN’s equates to 39.3 first and second in the South African CEO, Jeffrey Hedberg, appointed last
per cent. market can be explained in part by year and tasked with turning the firm
A long way back in third place is the massive head start enjoyed by around, has blamed his company’s
Cell C, which has 3,535,000 customers, the two leaders. Vodacom and MTN Virgin Mobile investment for damag-
according to September figures from launched GSM services in June 1994, ing the firm’s operating profit. Virgin
ITM. This number includes subscrib- and were not joined by Cell C until Mobile South Africa, like other opera-
ers to Virgin Mobile’s South African November 2001. However, 2006 saw tions in the Virgin MVNO portfolio, is
MVNO, which operates on the Cell C Cell C go through a period of shrink- a 50:50 joint venture between the host
network. Virgin Mobile has not dis- age, as customer numbers fell between operator and the Virgin Group.
closed detailed subscriber numbers February and July last year, so current The virtual player launched in June
since May of this year, when it claimed performance remains an issue. last year. But due to South African regula-
to have attracted 100,000 customers. It is felt in some quarters that the tion—which dictates that all operators »
Mobile Communications International | First for news, best for business 29
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