Balancing Act News Update - African internet developments

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The countries below contain a historic archive of information on the state of the internet that is now three years old. For some countries, the information has remained largely the same whereas for others considerable change has occurred. However it can still be used to identify organisations involved in developing the internet and to understand the historic development of the Internet in Africa. For up-to-date (but "pay-for") information click here: There are special rates for students and universities.

DOWNLOADS ZONE
This is an area where you can download longer articles and reports of interest. These will be updated as new material becomes available.

Download 1
(Word format, 875kb)
This IDRC-supported research study looks at how complaints by African consumers in the telecoms and Internet sectors are dealt with and what input consumer organisations are able to make into policy for these sectors. It is based on a survey of 30 African countries and includes detailed case studies of Kenya, Senegal and South Africa.

Download 2 Word document
(255kb)
This chapter from the ITU's Global Trends in Telecommunications Reform 2005 examines the market and regulatory implications of the shift to IP networks and outlines the different types of responses regulators are making to VoIP calling.

Download 3
(pdf format, 310kb)
Leslie Chan, Barbara Kirsop, Subbiah Arunachalam look at the use of Open Access archiving as a way of improving scientific capacity building.

If you have updates or interesting material to add, please send it to info@balancingact-africa.com

ALGERIA ANGOLA BENIN BOTSWANA BURKINA FASO BURUNDI CAMEROON CAPE VERDE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHAD COMOROS CONGO COTE D'IVOIRE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO DJIBOUTI EGYPT EQUATORIAL GUINEA ERITREA ETHIOPIA GABON GAMBIA GHANA GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAU KENYA LESOTHO LIBERIA LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA MADAGASCAR MALAWI MALI MAURITANIA MAURITIUS MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA NIGER NIGERIA REUNION RWANDA SAO TOME & PRINCIPE SENEGAL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN SWAZILAND TOGO TUNISIA UGANDA UNITED REP OF TANZANIA ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE

Out now

African Mobile ARPU, Subscriber and Market Size Forecasts (2009-2013)

This report looks at ARPU rates across the continent and provides forecasts of ARPU growth and decline for a wide range of countries, including countries where it is difficult to obtain ARPU data.

Alongside ARPU data and forecasts, the report will also provide subscriber projections for each country, offering a way of market sizing for operators that will allow them to assess the remaining potential in different country markets.

It will look at the key relationship between the number of operators in the market and resultant growth or decline in the market, examining both duopoly country markets and those where there are four or more operators. It will seek to identify the impact on retail pricing of different numbers of operators.

Both sets of data will be benchmarked against similar data from European and Middle East markets.

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
African Mobile ARPU, Subscriber and Market Size Forecasts (2009-2013)

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts (2007 – 2012) 3rd edition

Published annually, African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts is now in its third year and has steadily expanded its coverage to include the whole of the continent. An increasing number of telcos provide data to us in confidence which allows us to put together accurate, aggregated figures on a country-by-country basis.

It brings together both demand for telephony and Internet bandwidth to enable the user to see what the potential traffic will be for satellite and fibre

The Forecasts come in two versions: the static version which is supplied with three different growth scenarios (low, medium and high) and the interactive version where the user can alter the underlying formulas to include their own assumptions and data:

A Static version: In this version, the user gets all of the data but does not have access to the underlying assumptions. Nevertheless it provides an authoritative set of voice and data projects and the user can either accept the growth scenario chosen by our analysts or use one of the two alternative scenarios provided.

An Interactive version: In this version, the users have the ability to change the main assumptions that drive the model. They can also add in their own traffic on a country basis to discover what level of market share they have and indeed might also be able to put in estimates of their competitors market share.

Within the workbooks, there are 14 spreadsheets covering the following: a set of “headline” summary figures; sub-regional forecasts; internet bandwidth forecasts;

broadband internet bandwidth; International IP Internet Bandwidth Forecasts; cyber-café numbers and bandwidth requirements; dial-up bandwidth;

SNO voice and data traffic; grey market VoIP traffic; cellular traffic;

gross forecasts for incumbent operators; international internet bandwidth;

an overview of fibre and micro-wave links; an overview of satellite service;

annual price movements in voice (actual); and annual price movements in voice (projected).

This year’s forecasts offers figures on voice both in minutes and translated into its equivalent data capacity.

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts (2007 – 2012)

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Telecoms and Internet Markets Part 3: East Africa

Balancing Act’s African Telecoms and Internet Market’s Part 3: East Africa looks at some the continent’s most liberalised markets. The countries and territories covered are: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda (15 countries and territories).

Anticipating the arrival of the new international fibre cables on the eastern seaboard of the continent, the report will open with a look at: retail broadband potential in key countries and current African Internet behaviour – who’s looking at what. As with all of the reports in this series, each country opens with a full page map showing network, population density and GSM coverage. It also includes a spreadsheet that summarises data from 2005 and 2009.

The report opens with an overview of data and significant trends across all eight countries. This includes comparisons of growth in different countries for both mobile and Internet subscribers and chart of operators in different countries.

Publication date: Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/atim3.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Film and TV Yearbook 2009/2010

Last published in 2005, the African Film and TV Yearbook and Directory provides two essentials for African broadcast and film professionals: an overview of developments over the last 12 months and a directory of industry contacts for every country in Africa.

The industry overview looks at the following:

Broadcasting and Film Trends

Africa’s transition to digital broadcasting

Fragmenting Media Landscape

A question of what you understand – co-productions and local language groups

African Broadcast and Film – Some key metrics

A tale of three countries – Different approaches to local film production in Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa

The Best of Africa? – African films in European Film Festivals

Contacts listings for each African country provide the following: type of company; name and address; contact names; and a brief description of company activities. It is broken down into the following categories: Advertising and marketing, animation, archives, distribution, equipment and technology, media, post production, production and training.

There is also a section providing International contacts covering: advertising and marketing; animation; archives; distribution; equipment and technology; festivals and markets; information and publications; media companies involved in Africa; production; and training.

This is the only hard copy publication published by Balancing Act and it will be sent to you by post. If you’d like to order copies to circulate throughout your organisation, there are prices for 5 and 10 copies that are extremely good value.

Out: December 2008

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/yearbook.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Telecoms and Internet Market’s Part 2: Central Africa

Balancing Act’s African Telecoms and Internet Market’s Part 2: Central Africa is the most detailed current description of these eight markets which include: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe. The report is 151 pages long and has 33 tables, 7 charts, 2 graphics and full page maps illustrating GSM coverage and networks in each country. It also includes a spreadsheet that summarises data from 2005 and 2008.

The report opens with an overview of data and significant trends across all eight countries. This includes comparisons of growth in different countries for both mobile and Internet subscribers and chart of operators in different countries.

As with all reports in the African Telecoms and Internet Markets series, it opens with two introductory pieces that look at recent trends in the market across Africa. The first of these contributions - Chinese-supplied CDMA 2000 becomes hybrid convergence challenger for African operators – looks at CDMA 2000 is becoming both a fixed line substitute and a disruptive technology. The second contribution - Mobile operator and ISP loyalty programmes – An idea whose time has come – examines loyalty programmes and argues that as market become more saturated, operators may need to use these programmes to retain high-value customers.

Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/atim2.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Broadband, Triple Play and Converged Markets

Well over half of the countries on the continent now have some kind of broadband offer delivered through DSL, wireless or satellite. The introduction of DSL by the telco incumbents has shifted the balance of power decisively in their direction and away from the independent ISPs. Mobile operators are increasingly offering higher bandwidth rates to data users and some have gone as far as to acquire their own ISPs. In this context, the report looks at pricing strategies and how different wholesalers and retailers in the value chain are affecting the final price to the user.

The report contains three surveys:

1. Consumer data from 24 different countries across the continent based on urban and national samples.

2. A pricing and broadband service offer survey of 38 countries including ADSL, wireless and mobile broadband.

3. A survey of current operator broadband implementations by service delivery type, providing one of the most detailed overviews of roll-out.

The increasing amount of broadband capacity has seen some operators begin to offer “triple-play”: voice, Internet and broadcast content. For some operators, IP-TV is simply another distribution opportunity, whilst others are investing significant sums of money in becoming content producers. The report looks at how these new IP-TV content producers will fit into the existing broadcast and media markets, particularly the satellite Pay-TV market.

Converged content has come early to the continent with mobile TV being rolled out in several countries. The report looks at: what has been learnt from the trials, the business models used to sell this kind of service elsewhere; other examples of converged services and their value chains; and where else in Africa this kind of service might work.

Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/bbtriple.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

M-Money - Finances, Banking and Payments through mobile phones

There is a growing discussion about how financial services will be provided and accessed in Africa. Access to new forms of basic banking and payments systems looks set to be a key driver of change for most economies in Africa and Asia, as is the increased ease and flow of international remittances. These payment systems are beginning to provide greater competition and efficiency among financial institutions.

Mobile phones offer a potential gateway for both local and international banking and payment services, and there are an growing number of initiatives from both public and private sector encouraging their use.

It seems that there is considerable demand and there is a strong market for such services - in the first four months of operation, M-pesa, the mobile phone enabled payment system set up by Safricom in Kenya, gained more than 1.6 million customers.

This report provides the information needed to assess M-Money as a business opportunity. It outlines the various models and concepts of mobile enabled transactions (Mbanking, Mpayments, Mtransactions), differentiating between the various business models, and illustrating the potentially disruptive nature of some of the models. The different business models are further differentiated in the light of the relevant technologies - eg Near Field Communication, Sim Cards and Combined Smart Cards.

The report maps various developments in terms of current markets, and identifies the challenges presented by current regulations. It looks at how the market will change over the next few years, and how this may be supported or held back by regulatory changes.

Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/mmoney.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Broadcast and Film Markets (First edition - 2008)

For the first time, this is a report that looks at industry trends alongside detailed audience research information. Produced by Balancing Act in partnership with InterMedia, it offers the single most detailed data source for the broadcast and film sector on the continent: it has 346 pages, 132 charts, 41 tables and 12 graphic maps (see link to contents below).

The report has two parts:

Part 1 provides an analysis of the developing industry and has the following sections: African industry overview – Slow but steady liberalisation; Battle for Pay-TV subscribers in newly competitive market; The beginning of the end for Mr President TV - State broadcasters and strategic responses to a new landscape; The costs of local and international programming; Digitilisation and High Definition– Slow progress but it is on its way; Africa’s film industry – Low output but big changes afoot; Africa goes triple-play – the early pioneers roll-out; The potential market size for Pay Television; Reaching African diaspora audiences – competing for eyeballs away from home; and Mobile TV – a technology for Africa?

Part 2 looks at Africa’s rapidly shifting landscape through audience research from 17 key markets: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Since 2001, InterMedia has directed a regular, comprehensive program of media surveys across Africa. It is sufficiently standardised to allow cross-comparison between countries and trend analysis across the timeframe data has been collected.

Each survey involves a large sample size, and is conducted through face-to-face interview, usually in the home of the respondent. The result is an unusually rich, single source for data on how Africans are interacting with traditional and emerging broadcasters and platforms, new technologies and modes of mass and inter-personal communication. In particular, it contains information on Internet and SMS that is not available in this form elsewhere.

The analysis that follows is not based on numbers alone. It is informed by InterMedia’s parallel program of African qualitative research, programme evaluation, as well as the on-the-ground experience and area skills of our people. All this translates into insights that readers will be able to use and apply to engage viewers and listeners and seize new opportunities.

Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/broadcast_markets.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Telecoms and Internet Markets – Part 1: West Africa

African Telecoms and Internet Markets will provide: new and up-to-date research data; growth data over several years for key markets; and the growth potential in each country market.

The African Internet and Telecoms Markets has five parts and covers every country and territory on the continent. If you order all five parts, you can get a 20% reduction. The five parts of African Telecoms and Internet Markets series are as follows:

Part 1 – West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. (16 countries)

Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/atim1.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

Forthcoming

African VoIP Markets (Second edition – 2009)

Africa’s VoIP traffic has been growing steadily over the last five years but most of this growth has been “below the radar”. Using data from our new African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts (2007-2012) (see below), the report seeks to quantify the scale of existing “grey markets” and the rise of new legal VoIP markets. It includes current and historic data on fixed line international calling and equivalent grey market prices.

It also looks at the “state of play” for the transition to IP networks amongst African telcos (both mobile and fixed), ISPs and data carriers. It identifies those carriers that have made or will shortly make the transition to IP at different levels: international, national and local.

The report includes: International wholesale VoIP markets; Retail VoIP markets; PC-to-PC use; a survey of African corporate VoIP markets, particularly VPNs; the transition by carriers to IP networks; a regulatory state-of-play; and African VoIP futures (including double and triple play, mobile VoIP and VoIP peering).

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/voipmarks.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Telecoms and Internet Pricing and Tariffs – Trends, Perceptions and Price Elasticity

Formerly titled Price sensitivity modeling for African Telecoms and Internet Markets: If prices go down, how do markets grow?, this report extends its scope to look at: what has happened historically to wholesale and retail prices in Africa and relationship between licensed and grey market voice rates; perceptions of both the industry and consumers about how prices will change over the next 3-5 years and how they will alter their behaviour accordingly; price elasticity case studies in both retail and wholesale markets that allow projections to be made; and the overall impact of all these factors on pricing strategies for both retail and wholesale products and services.

The report will look at relationships between the cost of international and national backbone costs and local loop delivery and the impact on margins with different retail prices.

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
Not yet available

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Telecoms and Internet Markets

African Telecoms and Internet Markets will provide: new and up-to-date research data; growth data over several years for key markets; and the growth potential in each country market.

The African Internet and Telecoms Markets has five parts and covers every continent and territory on the continent. If you order all four parts, you can get a 20% reduction. The five parts of African Telecoms and Internet Markets series are as follows:

Part 1 – West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. (16 countries)

Part 2 – Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe. (8 countries)

Part 3 – East Africa: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. (15 countries and territories)

Part 4 – Southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. (10 countries)

Part 5 – North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia. (6 countries)

Part 1: Out now

Part 2: Out now

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/atim.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

Energy for cellular base stations – New ways of cutting CAPEX and OPEX in developing markets

When there were relatively low levels of competition in mobile markets, operators could focus on revenue levels as rewards were high. But a number of factors including higher levels of competition and changing energy prices mean that mobile operators will have to bear down hard on costs if they are to remain competitive.

In some countries, the cost of operating base stations makes up well over 20% of OPEX. Bad roads, lack of electrical power and fuel costs all may seem like insoluble problems. Therefore this report looks at the one factor where cost savings in both CAPEX and OPEX terms might be made.

Based on detailed discussions with operators, it looks closely at the most widely used off-grid power solution, diesel generators. It then goes on to look at a range of different off-grid power approaches including: liminal diesel technologies, bio-diesel, natural gas generators, geothermal, hydro-electric and solar power.

Each technology is looked through examples of current usage and carefully assessed in terms of cost and payback period, with a thorough assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each route.

The report concludes by looking at how mobile operators might be capable influencing the way in which electrical power is delivered, both through existing power utilities and in alternative ways that might speed how these energy problems are addressed.

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
Not yet available

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African VoIP Markets – 2nd edition

Africa’s VoIP traffic has been growing steadily over the last five years but most of this growth has been “below the radar”. Using data from our new African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts (2007-2012) (see above), the report seeks to quantify the scale of existing “grey markets” and the rise of new legal VoIP markets. It includes current and historic data on fixed line international calling and equivalent grey market prices.

It also looks at the “state of play” for the transition to IP networks amongst African telcos (both mobile and fixed), ISPs and data carriers. It identifies those carriers that have made or will shortly make the transition to IP at different levels: international, national and local.

The report includes: International wholesale VoIP markets; Retail VoIP markets; PC-to-PC use; a survey of African corporate VoIP markets, particularly VPNs; the transition by carriers to IP networks; a regulatory state-of-play; and African VoIP futures (including double and triple play, mobile VoIP and VoIP peering).

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/voipmarks.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Fibre and Satellite Markets – 2nd edition

Once Africa had few international connectivity options bit now it has a widening number of choices from new fibre connections (notably SEACOM and TEAMS in Q2, 2009) to cheaper satellite connectivity (03B Networks in 2010). Therefore this report has been expanded to look at the interplay between fibre and satellite prices and the speed at which the market is making transition to increased fibre use.

For fibre use, the report includes: a full mapping of all known built and planned fibre routes; an assessment of the likely routes that will get built; existing and future fibre prices; the impact of numbers of players in the market; and profiles of main operators.

For satellite use, the report includes: coverage maps; the impact of new fibre prices on satellite pricing; an assessment of satellite markets after the fibre transition (rural areas, backhaul, redundancy and other applications); key trends in satellite provision; and profiles of main operators and resellers.

A key part of the report will be a survey of prices different users are paying both for satellite and fibre on as near to a like-for-like basis as can be achieved.

A new feature of the report will be a detailed section looking at demand for satellite bandwidth from African broadcasters and the likely impact of the transition to digital and HD broadcasting.

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/fibre.html

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

African Broadcast and Film Markets – 2nd edition

The second edition of this report produced by Balancing Act in partnership with InterMedia, offers the single most detailed data source for the broadcast and film sector on the continent. It will be published in 2009 but until then, those needing data can order the first edition. Click here to view contents.

The report has two parts:

Part 1 - Industry

Overview of growth trends in TV, Film and Radio

Five years to the deadline – Where has Africa got to with digital broadcasting?

Programme scheduling – advertising revenues, local commissioning budgets, production costs and the price of rights

Satellite, cable and IP-TV subscribers – An analysis of the figures and future projections

Piracy – How pirate markets work across Africa

Satellite capacity and prices for broadcasters

Profitability of TV and radio in four case study countries: Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Ghana

African films – Analysis of overall production levels and budgets

Africa’s cinemas: Too few audiences and too little investment – Will it ever change?

Part 2 – National audience research surveys

There will be at least 10 country surveys. Countries provisionally selected include: Angola, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Since 2001, InterMedia has directed a regular, comprehensive program of media surveys across Africa. It is sufficiently standardised to allow cross-comparison between countries and trend analysis across the timeframe data has been collected.

Each survey involves a large sample size, and is conducted through face-to-face interview, usually in the home of the respondent. The result is an unusually rich, single source for data on how Africans are interacting with traditional and emerging broadcasters and platforms, new technologies and modes of mass and inter-personal communication. In particular, it contains information on Internet and SMS that is not available in this form elsewhere.

For a detailed breakdown of contents:
Not yet available

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

Past reports

Setting interconnection prices in Africa

With greater liberalisation, more operators want to interconnect with each other but rarely is agreement on pricing reached easily. This report by Robert Hall looks at the theory and practice of interconnection pricing in Africa and elsewhere. It looks in detail at interconnection negotiations in four very different countries ( Ghana , Kenya , South Africa and Tanzania ) and the consequences of the choices made. It also references material from elsewhere, both in the developed and developing world.

What’s in Setting interconnection prices in Africa ?

To order:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php

Balancing Act’s Briefing Papers

Balancing Act’s Telecoms Briefing Papers will be published four times a year and they are designed to:

  • Tackle timely topics that will have a direct impact on the profitability of your business.
  • Give you the relevant metrics from across a range of African markets to be able to assess opportunities and scale the impact of new threats.
  • Provide direct recommendations that you can action immediately to make a change in your business.

Each Briefing Paper will be 7-15 pages long and will contain at least two detailed tables with data drawn from a range of 10-15 contrasting markets. They may also contain mini-market surveys seeking opinions from within an industry sector.

Where appropriate, comparable data will be included from other emerging and developed country markets. As with all Balancing Act reports they will be written in clear, jargon-free way that helps identify key strategic decisions.

Each Briefing Paper will be written almost on an “on-demand” basis so that you will get a copy within 7-10 working days. This will ensure that you are getting some of the most up-to-date data and that immediate events can be included in the analysis. Briefing Papers will be supplied in electronic format.

Briefing Papers can be supplied in either English of French, thus allowing direct access to key information for our francophone clients. Also where needed, country comparison data can be tailored for francophone markets.

Briefing Papers can either be bought individually or as a subscription for four issues. Once you have chosen four different reports and Balancing Act has supplied them, your subscription runs out.

Telecoms and Internet Briefing Papers

The initial list of topics is as follows:

What impact will the recession have on the telecoms and Internet business in Africa?: Everyone knows that the recession will impact on African telecoms and Internet markets but no-one knows exactly how. Using a range of information, this paper will look at two things: 1) the impact of investment and deal-flow; and 2) how changes in economic growth levels will play out in country retail markets.

Loyalty programmes for mobile operators and ISPs: With some markets moving towards saturation, the issue not only acquiring new subscribers but lowering churn rates. All operators have part of their markets (often capital cities) where near-saturation has been achieved. This Briefing Paper looks at how loyalty schemes can be used to lower churn rates whilst keeping costs low,

Mobile Internet - devices, content and advertising: Mobiles are increasingly being used as a media to get information and use services. This Briefing Paper looks at the relationship between what can be delivered on different devices, how users are making use of different types of content and the type and levels of advertising different services are attracting.

Triple Play - how to succeed with bundled services: Triple and Quad Play bundled services are very new to the continent. Whilst voice and Internet are familiar to most operators, dealing with broadcast content is a whole new field. This Briefing Paper looks at the pricing of Triple and Quad Play services and different types of delivery including satellite and IP-TV.

Energy for Cellular Base Stations: The cost of operating base stations is often well over 20% of OPEX. This briefing paper looks at the different technologies available to cut this cost and at the advantages, disadvantages and likely payback period.

New international fibre players - Who’s promising what, when and where: This briefing paper will bring you latest on: who’s behind the different international fibre projects, their routings, their progress to completion and the prices being offered for their capacity. It will also identify the state of play in terms of how that capacity will be delivered to inland countries relevant to your operations.

National backbone prices - Getting read for the big squeeze: Cheaper international fibre prices will mean that it will become cheaper to send traffic from Lagos to London than it will to send traffic from Lagos to Abuja. This briefing paper will look at how operators price their capacity and the impact of this new pressure on prices.

CDMA 2000 - The hybrid convergence challenger taking over from fixed lines: CDMA 2000 products have given customers a cheap CPE to deliver voice and data services. Some of these services have been remarkable successful, whereas others have barely taken. This briefing paper looks at why some CDMA 2000 fixed wireless services are successful and how the technology will survive in the future.

WiMAX in Africa - Is there a distance between promise and delivery?: Over 100 of the 150 WiMAX implementations globally are in Africa. Operator experiences of using the technology have varied considerably. This briefing paper looks at what these experiences have been and why for some, the cost and performance promises have not been delivered.

If you can’t see a topic you’re interested on this list, please call us as it may be that we can produce a Briefing Paper on other topics than those listed above.

Broadcast Briefing Papers

The initial list of topics is as follows:

What impact will the recession have on the broadcast business in Africa?: Everyone knows that the recession will impact on African broadcast and film markets but no-one knows exactly how. Using a range of information, this briefing paper will look at two things: 1) how changes in economic growth levels will play out in country retail markets and 2) how changes in advertising spending will affect your business.

Mobile TV - Will the small screen work in Africa?: The continent has a large number of the world’s mobile TV launches. This paper looks at the underlying business model for mobile TV: how rights are acquired; what users seem willing to pay for; and the current subscription levels achieved.

Triple Play - how to succeed with bundled services: A new breed of operators is now offering bundled services that include voice, Internet and TV and films. Africa’s broadcasters might make new alliances with telecoms operators to deliver these kind of bundled services. This briefing paper looks at who the key players are and what alliances are likely to emerge.

Africa’s fragmenting media landscape - changes in audiences and advertising: Liberalisation has bought competition that has fragmented both TV and radio audiences. In addition, the use of mobiles, the Internet and programme recording devices is offering new platforms for distribution that is further fragmenting those audiences. This briefing paper looks at a range of data to offer pointers to where the market is going.

African broadcasting rights and production costs: Two of the key metrics of African broadcasting are the cost of programme rights and production budgets. This briefing paper looks at the variances that exist for different types of programming and country markets across the continent and provides an essential of information.

Advertising - retaining broadcast’s share of the pie: This briefing paper looks at how advertising is growing in different country markets and the differences in market share for broadcast radio a television. It takes the available data on advertising revenues and looks at what impact discounting might have on projected figures.

The digital transition - changing how broadcast functions: This briefing paper looks at the current state-of-play in terms of both the policy discussion and private service offerings. It looks at how a multi-channel future will transform programming and which players will succeed in this new world.

Pay TV - a growing competitive market: Despite the death of continental player GTV, the Pay TV market continues to grow, with new entrants bringing new services to market. This briefing paper looks at a variety of Anglophone, francophone and lusophone markets to see who has market share where and why.

What do Briefing Papers cost and how do I order them?

A subscription for four briefing papers costs US$800. Once you have chosen four different reports and Balancing Act has supplied them, your subscription runs out.

Individual Briefing Papers cost US$250 and can be supplied within 7-10 days of ordering them.

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This page last updated on November 25 2009.

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