African VoIP Markets

Introduction

1. International wholesale VoIP markets

1.1 The evolution of the wholesale market

1.2 International VoIP carriers bought out by traditional carriers

1.3 The transition to VoIP at the wholesale level

1.4 The VoIP wholesale market – current outlook

2. Grey and legal VoIP markets

2.1 VoIP grey market data

2.2 The structure of African grey markets

2.3 Legal VoIP experiences

2.4 Emerging market structures in legal markets

2.5 Commercial strategies and pricing for different players

2.6 PC-to-PC users (Skype, Vonage, Net2Phone, etc)

3. Corporate VoIP markets

3.1 North Africa

3.2 South Africa

3.3 Sub-Saharan Africa

3.4 Transition to corporate use of VoIP

4. The transition by carriers to IP networks

4.1 Overview of IP at different levels in the network

4.2 African carriers and international VoIP gateways

4.3 Fixed and mobile carriers move to install IP trunking

4.4 IP at the local level

4.5 IP at the user equipment level

4.6 Issues affecting the transition to IP networks

5. Where is VoIP legal? – Complicated answers to an easy question

5.1 Legal VoIP and competitive market criteria

5.2 Summary of the position on VoIP across Africa

5.3 Algeria – Legal VoIP with price controls

5.4 Coming to terms with the future today: finding a way to get where others have already gone

6. African VoIP Futures

6.1 eNUM

6.2 VoIP peering

6.3 Enterprise peering

6.4 Mobile VoIP – an opportunity for low-cost voice

Appendices

A1: Major IP networks - Existing and planned

A2: VoIP regulatory status

Other publications

About the authors

Consultancy services

List of tables

Table 1: Selection of mobile operators running an international gateway in Africa

Table 2: Concentration of mobile ownership in North Africa

Table 3: International VoIP operator’s pitch to telco incumbents

Table 4: Growth of Arbinet’s switched and VoIP traffic

Table 5: Percentage of African traffic carried using VoIP by major carriers

Table 6: The size of the international VoIP market

Table 7: Estimated VoIP minutes in and out of Africa

Table 8: Major African inbound VoIP routes (by million minutes)

Table 9: International fixed line calling rates from Africa (2005 and 2006)

Table 10: Overview of international call rates from Africa (2005 and 2006)

Table 11: Grey market estimates - 2003 and 2006

Table 12: Estimate of growth of African grey market traffic

Table 13: Breakdown of West African international calling rates

Table 14: Breakdown of East African international calling rates

Table 15: Breakdown of Southern African international calling rates

Table 16: Breakdown of North African international calling rates

Table 17: Commission levels for grey market distributors

Table 18: CDRs

Table 19: Selection of Algerian international calling rates (fixed and mobile)

Table 20: Telkom Kenya interconnect rates

Table 21: Kenya fixed wireless operator rates

Table 22: Vendor comparison of international call rates

Table 23: Number of Skype users online by country (February 2005)

Table 24: Corporate: Ability to demonstrate a return on VoIP investment

Table 25: Barriers to corporate adoption

Table 26: Main patterns of international calling

Table 27: Algerian VoIP licences issued

Table 28: Low-cost mobile VoIP - potential subscriber levels

About the authors

Isabelle Gross is a market analyst working for Balancing Act. Born in France , she moved to the UK ten years and has worked in the film and communications industry. Previously she was Business Development Manager for Africa for international VoIP retailer, Callserve.

Russell Southwood is the Chief Executive of Balancing Act and the Editor of its weekly e-letter on telecoms, internet and computing News Update. As a consultant, he has worked for a variety of clients looking at: the demand for fibre infrastructure in Africa over the next five years; the creation of a regional internet exchange point; the future for VoIP services in Africa ; the development of local internet content and services; and policy development.

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