Official publication:
GSM>3G East & Central Africa e-Zine 21/03/07
Congo Operators Look To Wireless Broadband to Further Expand Revenue
One of the major themes in East & Central Africa this year is the quest to increase revenue and provide better services for customers through a migration towards faster transmission systems such as GPRS and EDGE. In the fast growing market of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this action is set to have particularly noticeable repercussions this year –
number 2 and 3 operators Celtel and Tigo are set to launch the new technologies any second now.
GPRS and EDGE may of course seem logical stepping stones to an eventual destination of 3G, yet surprisingly this does not seem top of the agenda for any of DRC’s operators at present. In fact, Tigo recently submitted comments to the regulator saying it does not intend to deploy 3G within the next five years. Instead, all the DRC’s operators appear to be moving away from a strategy of taking high-speed data to the mass market to concentrate instead on extracting revenue from the niche business sector through the use of wireless broadband.
Although wireless broadband is somewhat of a niche option, it could well be a shrewd move for the operators. So far, take-up of Vodacom’s existing GPRS service has been slow, and Informa estimates that only about 0.5% of Vodacom Congo’s current total subscription base is actively using the service. So if businesses catch on to the idea of going wireless, this could potentially be a more effective money earner, at least in the short term.
With this in mind, Vodacom is now in discussions to buy local ISP Inter-Connect, which offers residential and corporate wireless-broadband services in the 5.4GHz band using OFDM-based technology from Alvarion, with services available in Kinshasa and other major cities, as well as Brazzaville, the capital of the neighbouring Republic of Congo. Following the award of its own ISP license in October last year, Vodacom has, along with Tigo, recently applied for spectrum in the 3.5GHz band. And with imminent GPRS and EDGE rollouts ahead, Tigo and Celtel might also offer wireless-broadband services this year.
So how much of an advantage can WiMAX offer? At GSM>3G East & Central Africa 2007, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya on 16-17 May, you can hear the very latest on the topic in our competitive technologies discussion, also covering other issues such as VoIP and CDMA.
The event will also offer you the opportunity to hear from over 20 operator CxOs on issues such as rural connectivity, technological evolution, network optimisation and international investment, with latest speakers confirmed including Antoine Pamboro, Managing Director of Celtel Congo, Godfrey Kisekka, CTO of Uganda Telecom, and Marc Rennard, Exec Vice President & Head of Int Ops in Africa, Middle East & Asia, Orange Group.
As the chief meeting place for the telecoms community in East & Central Africa, GSM>3G East & Central Africa 2007 is one event you cannot afford to miss.
Dates for your diary:
GSM>3G East Africa 2008 takes place at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya on 21-22 May 2008.
