WORLDWIDE MARKET RESEARCH REPORT - CISE

EC/IST FP6 Project No 026920
Work Package: 6
Type of document: Report
Date: 20.12.2007
File name: OP_WP6_D37_V1.0.doc Version: 1.0
Title: Worldwide Market Research Report 244 / 356
On January 2007, launch of the NSS8 satellite commissioned by New Skies failed
and Kenyan ISP, that have lost a lot of money, are already increasing the monthly
rates.
[A51] The failed launch of NSS8 not only has an impact on the business of satellite
connectivity operators and providers but will also impact the overall growth of the ICT
sector in Africa. Some projects relying on the bandwidth that NSS8 would have
provided have already been put on hold, and many new services that telecoms and
data networks planned to roll out will be postponed.
• As fibre and satellite prices are intimately related in many countries on the SAT3
route, there is now little pressure for the relevant African incumbents that own SAT3
to make an effort to lower their wholesale prices. This leaves the high-price
incumbents like Angola Telecom and Camtel immune from competitive pressure.
• ADSL is a little diffused, because of the few telephone lines. Additionally, the number
of fixed telephone lines is minimal and the waiting period for a telephone connection
may be several years.
• Wireless technology is expanding itself and PLC systems could integrate with it.
• Market has been partly liberalized and there are now new operators reducing the
costs for the final consumers.
• The telephone network is old and cannot be used for broadband services; the age of
the electric network instead it is not a problem for the power line technology.
[A05] The existing telecommunications last mile infrastructure is often too degraded
to enable broadband technologies. For example Telkom’s ADSL is limited to the
grade of copper. The added problem is that in the built up areas where there would
be a demand for bandwidth, the grade of copper is worse due to its age. The
electrical network can be used for BPL/PLC as the age of the copper is not a
problem. Using PLC the successful city concept could readily be achieved.
• Connectivity through power line could be furnished uncapped.
[A47] All wireless last mile technologies, by design, divide the last mile capacity for all
customers simultaneously using the service within the geographic area covered by
the radio frequency, typically one of the three or four sectors on base station. While