Jul 22 2010
Frost & Sullivan has released a new study, ‘East African Broadband Markets Tracker’, on the broadband Internet services market of East Africa. The study covers technologies such as satellite, ADSL, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, and mobile (HSDPA, GSM, EDGE/GPRS).
Broadband Internet
According to the analysis, in 2009, the market gained $38.14 billion revenues, and it is expected to touch $213.20 billion revenues in 2016. The fixed-wireless broadband connectivity will reach the maturity level in 2-3 years, and the 3G mobile broadband will proceed to drive growth in market. The costs of handsets, computers, bandwidth, and various customer premise equipments are anticipated to reduce, boosting the service uptake in East Africa for the upcoming seven years.
The unstable exchange rates may decrease the confidence of the investors for funding projects in the East African region. In addition, factors such as rollout of the fibre-optic network, a market environment that is not fully formed, and the time-consuming process of ideas-to-products transfer, hamper foreign investments.
Jiaqi Sun, the Research Analyst of Frost & Sullivan, stated that the fixed-wireless technology provides better services, reduced tariffs, and inexpensive network deployment, all of which contribute to the region’s broadband market growth.