Mobile Money and Content the Major Talking Points at VAS Africa Yesterday

The first VAS Africa event closed yesterday in Johannesburg after two days of rich debate, best practice sharing and networking between over 250 VAS specialists: mobile operators, solutions vendors, content owners and aggregators, applications developers, consultants and more.

All participants agreed that such an event was long needed in Africa: as the market is developing, it is crucial that all stakeholders get together and discuss how to make it work for everyone, and in particular for the end-user.

The service that dominated the debates was mobile money. Mayank Sharma of Comviva compared Africa to a Silicon Valley in terms of its leadership in mobile financial services.  Content was a major talkingpoint on the second day: speakers discussed partnerships between operators, content providers and applications developers, as well as the optimum pricing and revenue sharing models. The need for relevant local content was highlighted by most speakers, and of course social networking was mentioned as a great opportunity.

However speakers pointed out that the success of value-added services will not be down only to the attractiveness of the services: affordability and simplicity of use will be crucial to seize the potential of value-added services in Africa.

The event was attended by VAS specialists from the major players in Africa: pan-african operator groups (Airtel, MTN, Orange, Vodacom, Econet Wireless, Etisalat), local operators (Cell C, TNM, Mcell, 8ta and more), content providers (BBC, SABC, Multimesh), VAS solutions suppliers (Comviva, Ericsson, Huawei, GandD, SSD-Tech, DSG, Buongiorno), and many more companies or individuals with an interest in sharing ideas and networking with their peers.

This was the first event dedicated to value-added services in the Com World Series, and it met a need in the market. "The atmosphere throughout the event was very inspiring", says Julie Rey, Research Director at organisers Informa Telecoms and Media; "what we saw was a community of like-minded professionals getting together to ensure the success of their market".  

VAS Africa will return in 2012 with an expanded programme of discussion to make the debates most fruitful for all the players in the market. Before then, VAS specialist can meet at AfricaCom in Cape Town on 9-10 November, where the programme includes special sessions on VAS, innovation, social media, mobile money and marketing and pricing.

Find out more about attending next year: www.comworldseries.com/vasafrica

Mobile data sparks a revolution

In the Middle East and Africa, mobile value-added services are having a powerful transformational effect on the businesses of mobile operators and the lives of their customers.

With voice-service revenues in the region forecast to record relatively little increase over the next few years, data services offer the best growth prospects.

It is clear that data services – especially access to the Internet – have had a profoundly transformative effect in the region, as the use of online social networking has played an important part in the big political developments that have occurred in the region in the past few months, notably the overthrow of governments in Egypt and Tunisia.

Egyptian operator Mobinil said in its 1Q11 results that “data appetite is exploding,” as has been demonstrated in recent months, when “social networking, particularly via mobile, has been playing a critical role in political mobilization.” Mobinil said that it plans to launch new digital applications and form new partnerships in order to take advantage of the opportunity in mobile data.

However, one should not overstate the links between mobile data and political change. Internet connectivity and social-networking services were important as facilitators and catalysts in the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions. But a high level of connectivity does not necessarily lead to revolution. And political upheaval can take place where connectivity is low. Syria and Yemen have among the lowest rates of mobile and broadband penetration in the Middle East but have recently experienced sustained protests, though the outcome of these remain uncertain.

We’re currently building the conference agenda for this year’s North Africa Com conference which will address data across the region.  Find out more about joining the speaker panel http://nafrica.comworldseries.com/conference/Call_For_Speakers

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

Kenyan Operators Unlikely to Meet Deadline to Launch Mobile Number Portability

Operator price wars in East Africa have blighted operators’ efforts to ensure quality of service, meet customers’ expectations and retain their loyalty.  As consumers buy up multiple SIM cards to take advantage of the best deals, subscription rates have been artificially increased 19% year-on-year whilst ARPU has declined to a mere 12% to reach just US$7.13 at the end of 2010. 
 
All of this is set to change with the impending introduction of Mobile Number Portability in East Africa.  It’s well accepted that consumers elsewhere are loyal to their mobile number, not their operator, so for the first time East African consumers will benefit.  It is likely the consumer will now look to network quality and value added service offerings when choosing their service provider, triggering fresh competition between the operators on quality, and away from the dirty price wars.  As the artificial buffer of multiple SIM cards is knocked back, Safaricom - as the dominant incumbent so far - is expected to be the biggest loser, and competition will heat up further.

But there has been disappointing news in local press reports this week, that mobile operators in Kenya may not be ready for the adoption of the Mobile Number Portability which is scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2011. The four operators are yet to start test-runs on the switch platform dubbed, the ‘All Call Query System’ and insist that they need at least four weeks to perform the tests. The industry regulator, CCK has reiterated that the deadline for the switch-over will not be extended.  For the sake of the consumer, we hope this doesn’t end in deadlock.

East African operator leaders will be meeting in Nairobi, 5-6 April to discuss implementation of new networks and services across the region at East Africa Com conference.  Find out more online www.comworldseries.com/eafrica   

East African Operator CxOs Plan to Meet in Nairobi to Discuss Strategies for Healthy Competition in the Region

The East African telecoms markets, and in particular the Kenyan & Ugandan markets, have seen stiff competition – especially around price.  With ARPU decreasing to just US$7.13, operators are left wondering how they can improve their bottom line, despite having to diminish their prime source of income from customers. 

In response to this, convergence, broadband and value added services are becoming an increasing part of operator strategies, with Informa Telecoms & Media reporting that mobile broadband subscriptions in East Africa grew by 105% in 2010 to reach 690,707.  A mix of technologies are being deployed to offer these broadband services as  mobile, satellite and fixed-line operators and ISPs compete with bundle prepaid options.

With this array of challenges and growth opportunities, East Africa Com is the perfect forum for operators needing to get together, discuss, and learn.  15 CxOs from East African operators have so far confirmed their participation at East Africa Com – the region’s leading executive-level telecoms conference & exhibition – which will take place in the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, on the 5^th and 6^th April www.comworldseries.com/eafrica

These Operator CxO speakers include; Richard Bell, Group CEO, Wananchi Group; Atul Chaturvedi, CEO, Yu Kenya; Bhaskar Chakraborty, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Airtel Africa; Mickael Ghossein, CEO, Orange Telkom Kenya; Michel Barré, VP East Africa & Islands Region, Orange France-Telecom Group; John Barorot, CTO, Safaricom; Peter Arina, CCO, Safaricom; Norman Moyo, CEO, Zantel Tanzania; Peter Reinartz, CEO, Zuku Kenya; Julius Kinyua, CEO, Flashcom, Kenya; Khalil Nassar, CTIO, Vivacell, Southern Sudan; James Byraruhanga, CTO, Roke Telkom, Uganda, amongst others.

They will offer expert observations and best practice advice on issues like: mergers and acquisitions in the region; Airtel Africa’s arrival; competing in the converging East African arena; connecting East Africa - strategies to leverage greater network capacity & drive access to communications; network evolution & the leap to LTE; VAS - delivering real value to customers; operator competitive strategies - ensure prime positioning to thrive in East African markets; strategies for a fair playing field & customer centricity; intelligent and cost-effective extension of networks for rural access to communications; rural telecoms - reaching out with services for new growth; and how to defeat telecoms fraud to discover lost revenue.

East Africa Com is the only annual event dedicated to the communications industry of East Africa where 850 operators (fixed, mobile, wireless), ISPs, regulators, investors and vendors from the region gather to debate the opportunities and challenges facing their markets. The conference will be co-located with an exhibition that showcases the latest innovations from over 30 telecoms companies in East Africa and across the globe. Find out more online: www.comworldseries.com/eafrica