Telecom Leaders to Meet and Set Strategies for Evolving Networks and Services in Dakar Tomorrow

Tomorrow, over 600 telecom leaders from across West & Central Africa will gather in Dakar at West & Central Africa Com conference.  Their agenda for the 2 days is to establish strategies, set best practice benchmarks and find innovative ways of evolving networks and services to capture growth potential in the fiercely competitive West & Central African market.

The West & Central African telecoms sector has entered a new phase in its evolution.  Thanks to improved connectivity, operators are looking more seriously into upgrading their networks to launch new value added services.  New entrants to the market have made for a more crowded arena, as operators compete fiercely to offer new services that will secure them more market share.

The challenge for Operators, lies in determining what to invest in and understanding the market well enough to deliver new services that the consumer will buy into.  It is for this purpose that 600 telecom leaders will meet tomorrow at West & Central Africa Com conference, 15-16 June.  Representatives will include mobile, fixed, satellite and WiMAX operators, ISPs, regulators, ministers, solutions and technology providers, investors and consultants to ensure a truly 360 degree perspective of the market.  Attendees will pool their different perspectives, ideas and experiences to set strategies around Operator Strategies, Networks and Infrastructure, Value Added Services, Leadership Innovation, Rural Telecoms and more. 

The 2 days of discussions will be led by a panel of 40+ speakers representing leaders of the region’s most dynamic operators, from pan-regional investors (Orange represented by Vice President Bernard Ghillebaert, MTN with Vice President of West & Central Africa Ahmad Farroukh, Airtel Africa with Director for Francophone Markets Tiemoko Coulibaly, and Expresso Telecom with Commercial Director Saiful Alam), incumbent operators (Sonatel with Marketing Director Thérèse Tounkara, Sotelgui with Director of Studies and Development Mohamed Sylla), alternative service providers and more. The conference will be officially opened by the Senegalese Minister for Telecommunications and ITC and spokesperson for the government, Moustapha Guirassy.

www.comworldseries.com/wcafrica

Mobile subscriptions in West & Central Africa predicted to increase 68% over next 5 years to reach 310m+

The West and Central Africa region has consistently been the fastest-growing in Africa in the past few years. Mobile subscriptions in West & Central Africa are predicted to increase another 68% over the next 5 years to reach in excess of 310m.  Over this period, the strongest subscriber growth is expected in the telecom markets of DRC, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire and Togo.   Competition for these new customers is fierce though, as operators compete with new entrants in a more crowded environment.

Unlike East Africa, where competition has been fought mainly on price, West & Central African operators in the region’s more developed markets have harnessed improved connectivity as a way of increasing customers.  They have invested in their networks to offer value added services such as mobile money transfer, which are regarded as a customer retention tool and way to increase rural coverage.  Data services, in particular mobile broadband is now offered in 7 of the region’s 24 markets.

Despite these clear developments, it’s still early days in the provision of these new services in West & Central Africa, and the companies which will succeed in seizing the best opportunities will have to move fast and be innovative. 

This June, 700+ telcos from across the region will meet at West & Central Africa Com conference and exhibition to discuss how to seize these opportunities.  Find out more at www.comworldseries.com/wcafrica