Where will VAS innovation come from in Africa's market?

Until recently most of the efforts on the part of telecoms operators and their partners in Africa have been focused on building and improving networks, first to deliver services to the growing customer base, and then to enable them to access new services including internet access.
Now that most of the population is connected and that submarine cables and new satellites are improving international connectivity and capacity, operators can turn their focus to how to best serve their customers and increase their revenues. Innovation in value-added services services is key to improve customer choice (and spending) and to differentiate from competitors. Until now, mobile money has been the great African-pioneered service, with sucessful offers such as Safaricom and Vodacom's M-Pesa, Zain's Zap and Orange Money. These are perfect for the African market, in that the offers are easy to use, fulfill a need that is specific to low-income segments, and improve customer loyalty.
But what is next? For the more advanced markets or segments, operators can look at mobile content or social networking, but they face the issue of sharing the customer's loyalty (and spending) with third parties. Targeting a different category of subscribers, telcos can look at services for specific sectors such as education, health or corporate verticals such as the oil and gas industry; the continent's major operators are busy targeting the potentially lucrative enterprise market by developing specific divisions such as MTN Business or Orange Business Services. But what about the 'ordinary' consumers, the generally low-income users who cannot spend much on new services? Operators need to be innovative in order to deliver attractive services that fit their lifestyles, while keeping their costs low to achieve reasonable margins. Airtel Africa, with its experience from India, may bring interesting ideas to the African markets, but its model may not be straightforward to transpose.
All those topics will form a recurrent theme in Com World Series events this year, with sessions covering VAS in all conferences, a special keynote on 'Serving the Customers' at AfricaCom as well as a co-located event on Entreprise ICT, and a new event dedicated to Value-Added Services in Africa to be held in Johannesburg in July.

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   

West Africa region sees Africa's major operators compete for growth opportunities

As for most of African telecommunications market, the West Africa region seems to be entering a new phase of its growth. Until recently it was characterised by low ARPU, low penetration, and countries with a high number of operators for a relatively small population. However, since the arrival of new international connections (new submarine cables and satellite links) and some dynamic initiatives from ECOWAS's main regulators, the region has now become a ground for Africa's major operator groups to compete.
Among the region's international strategic investors are France’s Orange, South Africa’s MTN, India’s Airtel, Etisalat (owners of Atlantique Telecom)and Expresso Telecom of the UAE, who all have significant footprints in the region. All these commpanies have expressed their interest in growing their presence in the region and increase their positions within their existing markets, where data and other value-added services such as mobile money offer considerable growth opportunities.
Thses groups will all be present at West & Central Africa Com, the region's annual event which will take place in Dakar, Senegal on 15th and 16th June. They will be represented by senior executives with a wealth of experience in those promising markets: Bernard Ghillebaert (Head of West Africa & Asia, Orange Group), Tiemoko Coulibaly (CEO, Francophone Africa Region, Airtel Africa), Ahmad Farroukh (Acting VP for the WECA region, MTN Group), Juan Jose De La Torre Chamy (Group Strategy & Planning Director,Etisalat Group), and Saiful Alam (CCO, Expresso Telecoms Group)
and more.
They will join 700+ telecommunications professionals from the region and beyond to discuss how to seize the changing opportunities in this region's dynamic market. With mobile subscriptions forecasted by Informa Telecoms & Media to increase by 68% over the next 5 years, and mobile broadband launches enabling the growth of mobile data services, this region is definitely the place to be for international investors.

Airtel Africa & East African Operators Ensure against Fraud and Revenue Loss in Telecoms Business

Risk of fraud & revenue loss in telecoms continues to be a major priority for big businesses in East Africa.  Whilst the region’s telecommunications industry has seen a quantum leap in the past decade – with markets like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda being some of the most competitive & lucrative in the whole continent – there remains this shadowy side of telecoms in Africa. 

Operators often compete at a cut-throat level when it comes to pricing, OPEX, CAPEX, distribution models, etc.  But service providers like Airtel realise that there is money to be saved by committing to fraud and risk avoidance as well.

In Nairobi on the 6^th April, the Kenyatta International Conference Centre will provide a hub and platform for learning, debating and networking around this important issue of Fraud.  In particular, 2 exclusive Master Classes will take place.  The first to be run by Airtel Africa’s Group Revenue Assurance & Fraud Manager, Hawas Garba Matta.  The second by an international expert – Patrick Gitau of Globacom Nigeria.  The whole session will be opened and chaired by Ade Banjoko, Chair of the GSM Africa Fraud Forum.

Topics and discussions in these classes will include:

• effectively integrating risk, fraud & revenue assurance into your corporate strategy
• telecoms enterprise risk management
• optimizing end-to-end fraud & revenue assurance strategies
• implementing risk based fraud & revenue assurance framework with essential “from the top policy”
• bridging the GAPs by assessing & monitoring product life-cycle processes to identify the sources of fraud & revenue loss
• focus on optimised fraud detection through real-time capabilities
• how to tackle telecom fraud typologies in East Africa - bad debt management, process flows and inefficiencies, and capacity deficiencies problems in your network
• how to get value from RAMS and FMS
• vendor valuation criteria and considerations, and working closely with suppliers to minimise revenue leakages

“The market has responded very positively to this brand new feature to East Africa Com conference and exhibition,” says Emily Cottam, Senior Conference Producer, East Africa Com “Fraud is a topic that East African operators can’t afford to overlook if they are to remain profitable in this increasingly competitive market.  These master classes are a one-stop-shop for operators looking to understand and implement effective fraud prevention strategies.”

What’s more, these master classes form just one segment of the East Africa Com 2011 conference & exhibition, now in its 7^th year.

For more information about East Africa Com, and the Fraud & Revenue Assurance master classes visit www.comworldseries.com/eafrica or contact Emily Cottam on emily.cottam@informa.com or call on +44 (0)207 017 5610

Data services compensate for slowdown in mobile growth in Turkey

The total number of mobile subscriptions in Turkey declined by more than 2 million to 61.5 million in the 12 months to June 2010.  Caused by combination of economic downturn, decline in multi-sim ownership and the introduction of lower termination rates and number portability. 

All 3 Turkish operators have launched lower cost, flat-rate voice and data services which have triggered a 74% surge in usage.   As a result, 3G now accounts for more than 1 in 10 mobile subscriptions in Turkey.

This week, Turkish group Turkcell has reported a 0.8% year-on-year revenues increase in 2010, breaking the TRY9 billion (US$5.62 billion) mark for the first time. Revenues were mainly boosted by the uptake of their data services. However, the different regulatory decisions such as decreasing mobile termination rates in its domestic market had a negative impact on EBIDTA, which decreased by 1% to TRY2.95 billion, bringing the margin down 0.6pp to 32.7%. The group ended the year with 60.4 million subs, a yearly decrease of 3.7%, as a result of fewer customers in Turkey from the decline in multiple-SIM ownership and prepaid cards, and in Ukraine as a result of change in subscriber definition.

Turkish and Eurasian operators will present on their strategies for capitalising on this data potential at Eurasia Com conference in Istanbul next month www.comworldseries.com/eurasia

Director General of the Communications Commission in Kenya confirmed for East Africa Com

Whilst the multitudes gathered for Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, there was - it could be said - a very low representation from emerging markets, and in particular from Africa. 

However, anyone interested in doing business in the lucrative African markets can rest assured that all of the leading lights of the East African telecoms industry will be in attendance at East Africa Com, Nairobi, 5-6 April 2011.

Last week the Director General of the Communications Commission in Kenya, Mr Charles J. K. Njoroge, confirmed he will give a speech on Wednesday 6^th April.  This is the 7^th annual East Africa Com conference and exhibition, and yet again there is unparalleled regional industry support.

See you there! www.comworldseries.com/eafrica

About Mr. Charles J.K. Njoroge

Mr. Charles J.K. Njoroge is the Director - General and CEO of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).  He was appointed to the position in July 2008. He was recently recognized as an Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS) by the President of Kenya.

Until his appointment, Mr. Njoroge, an Economist, was the Director in charge of Competition, Tariffs and Market Analysis.  In that position, he was responsible for economic regulation, which entails policy formulation; competition and market analysis; price regulation which includes tariffs and interconnection issues; universal access and funding and statistics.

Mr. Njoroge joined CCK on 1999 at its inception.  He previously worked for the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation as a Senior Telecommunications Economist.  His experience in the sector spans over 25 years.

Mr. Njoroge has spearheaded a number of seminal studies at CCK.  These include the Universal Access study which gave birth to the CCK’s Universal Access strategy in 2005, and set the foundation for the country’s international (TEAMs) and national (FONN) fibre optic connectivity.  He coordinated the carrying out of the Telecommunications Network Cost Study that saw the reduction of retail and interconnect rates for mobile telecommunications charges in the country.  He also oversaw the carrying out of an Internet Market study, which among others identified factors hindering the development of the Internet subsector in Kenya.  In addition he was instrumental in the set up of KENIC, the ccTLD, the KENET project and other initiatives such as the digitization of secondary education among others.

Mr. Njoroge holds an MA in Development Economics from Dalhousie University, Canada, a BA in Economics from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Telecommunications Regulation from University of Westminster, UK.  He holds a number of certificates from some of the leading training institutions from the US in the area of ICT Regulation and Management.

Senegal’s Minister of Telecommunications to give an Opening Keynote at West & Central Africa Com, Dakar, 15th June

Moustapha Guirassy, Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and Information & Communications Technologies, and Spokesperson of the Government of Senegal, confirmed this week that he was to give an Opening Keynote Allocution at West & Central Africa Com in Dakar in June.
The event is the annual meeting place for all stakeholders in the telecommunications ecosystem in the region, which embraces most of French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa as well as some key markets such as Nigeria and Ghana. The programme includes keynote presentations from the region’s leading operators, with in particular keynote presentations from Tiemoko Coulibaly, CEO of Francophone Africa for Airtel, and Bernard Ghillebaert, head of West Africa and Asia at Orange Group.
Moustapha Guirassy will open the conference on the first day with an official welcome address and a presentation of Senegal’s telecommunications and ICT strategy. Mr Guirassy has been minister of Communication and Spokesperson for the Government of Senegal since 2009, and has been in charge of telecommunications and ICT since June 2010. In this role he has led the adoption of a new Code for Telecommunications, a major reform in Senegal’s telecommunications sector. It forms part of the process of harmonisation of telecommunications regulatory frameworks across West Africa and its objective is to encourage a more competitive and dynamic market. In particular, the reform gives a new autonomous status for Senegal’s regulatory authority ARTP, in line with international best practice for regulatory authorities. As Senegal’s market has become more and more competitive following the entry of new operator Expresso Telecom and branded service provider Kirene Mobile (on Sonatel Orange’s network), the ARPT’s role is set to play an important part in the development of one of the region’s key markets.
The conference programme for West & Central Africa Com is still being finalised. For more information visit our website

A looming broadband revolution in West & Central Africa: Are better days ahead??

In the same way that the past decade has however been pivotal for both economic and political growth in West & Central Africa, it has also seen rise to the growth of African Information Communications Technology (ICT). For many nations, the ability to connect to the global network of submarine broadband optical fibre infrastructure has been the principal trigger for this development, creating an increasingly enabling environment to the information superhighway that dominates the 21st century. Mobile telephony in particular has greatly benefitted, constituting a significant service delivery platform for the population. Yet this overall picture, characterised by increasing competition and decreasing costs of connectivity, with predictions of 100% growth of the mobile market in the next 5 years (Informa Telecoms & Media) , hides the inequalities that continue to pervade the region. In particular, countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe have continued to be subject to the highest connectivity costs in the world and distanced from the increasing geographical reach of broadband networks.

World Bank works to boost Africa’s connectivity
So the news in January 2011 that the World Bank has approved 3 projects to boost ICT infrastructure and access to services in these three countries surely may have the greatest revolutionary impact on the region. With the principles of commercialisation and liberisation at their heart, the initiatives, totalling a huge US$71.5 million dollars, look promising in reaching the ultimate goal of ubiquitous connection. Whilst these areas have habitually been down-trodden as small and unattractive markets to the traditional investor, the World Bank is stepping into pastures new. This in itself will at the least reduce the region’s damaging stigma, and at most, catalyse investment by others into the region.

Successful scaling-up of internet access?
Evidently, now is a crucial time for the region as these initiatives set to work. To what extent will the ‘connectivity challenge’ in these regions remain as the projects transpire? Will they be the first domino to fall, triggering widespread regional growth for ICT? Yusupha Crookes, World Bank Africa Regional Director, states that ‘better days are now ahead’. Only time will tell but I must say it looks promising. If successful, such scaling up of internet access will ultimate lead to advances in communication, in itself leading to vast improvement s in economic and social quality of life.


With such wide-spread impacts to potentially be made on the entire West & Central African, evolving networks and services must be thoroughly examined and monitored to capture the region’s growth potential. The market needs to be thoroughly consulted as to the best ways to build the infrastructure to improve the access to these communications, to look at issues of cost-efficiency, to look at value-added services which can be targeted to local consumers’ needs... To find the ONLY forum focused on the West & Central African region where such pivotal issues are addressed click here: http://wcafrica.comworldseries.com/.

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

Value-added services to be catalyst for growth in Africa’s telecoms market

As the African telecommunications market matures, operators are increasingly looking at value-added services in order to boost their growth. Consumer needs are unique to African markets, so telcos have to be innovative to develop the services that will meet their requirements and their budgets.

Informa Telecoms & Media estimated the mobile VAS market in Africa to be worth over US$5.5 billion in 2010. Over the next five years, the market is expected to grow at a strong compound annual growth rate of around 22% and to be generating revenues of over US$11.5 billion by 2014. Currently South Africa is by far the largest VAS market representing a third of the continent’s revenues with over US$1.5 billion in 2010, ahead of Nigeria and Egypt.

Among the most cited services expected to boost operators’ revenues are messaging (which currently account for just over 80% of VAS revenues in Africa), mobile money services and m-health opportunities. Mobile entertainment services(e.g. mobile music, games, images, TV and video) still represent a marginal section of operators’ revenues, but expectations are high, particularly as mobile internet access is increasing. The FIFA World Cup was a great moment for operators to push content services, as Cambridge Mokanyane, Head of 2010 FIFA World Cup for lead sponsor MTN said in his inspiring presentation at AfricaCom last November. The question now is how to keep the momentum to ensure that entertainment services continue growing.

In order to address this booming market, the Com World Series is launching a new event: VAS Africa, to be held in Sandton, South Africa on 6th and 7th July 2011. The conference programme will include operator keynotes, case studies, new product briefs and interactive discussions on the hottest topics in the market: market forecasts, mobile entertainment partnerships, messaging and social networking, mobile advertising and marketing, mobile money, and cost-effective VAS management.

The event will bring together heads of VAS and commercial directors from operators, content providers and aggregators, VAS solutions suppliers, regulators, consultants, financial institutions and more. The programme is currently being produced so don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team to be involved.