If
the past 12 months are an indication of the future, 2012 looks set to be
another exciting and unpredictable year for both business and technology. At
the forefront for many Telco’s at the moment, is how to unlock the growth
potential in emerging markets, however there are several hurdles to be overcome
according to some of the top execs in India, Africa and Brazil.
Mobile
operators in some of the world’s largest emerging markets claim that the high
cost of devices is preventing them from extending services to millions of
unconnected would be customers. “SIM card penetration in India stands at 74%
but in real terms less than 50% of the population has a mobile phone”, said
Rajiv Bawa, head of Telenor India, at the latest Mobile World Congress Show in
Barcelona. This leaves a potential market of 600-700million people without
mobile connections for operators to target.
Mary
Lennighan wrote in a recently published article on www.totaltele.com that, In China too, smart
phone penetration is only 10%, Android based smart phones are being adopted at
a rapid rate by consumers and although people are embracing the mobile internet
with over 354million subscribers, a staggering 89% still use 2G connections.
The story is similar in Brazil, where Claro generates 15% of its revenues from
mobile internet services; however penetration of mobile broadband capable
devices is just 12%.
The
biggest challenge according to Marco Quatorze, VAS and International Roaming
Director at parent company America Movil, in these markets is to “work with the
diversity of its customer base, where the potential market ranges from
subscribers using mobile data services on smartphones connected to LTE
Networks, to those who live in areas without electricity”, bridging this
digital divide in these regions is top of the agenda for several Telco’s.
The
other challenge also arises from a lack of spectrum harmonisation, offering
devices which are capable of operating on multiple platforms ranging from 2G to
LTE is difficult but could be the turning point in terms of unlocking potential
customers and extending mobile penetration in these regions. The next wave of
growth could be spurned by an increased focus on innovation. Roll out of new
products and investment in expansion of data services and value added services
such as M-Pesa or other mobile financial solutions, and indeed mHealth, which
according to the GSMA will generate £1.2billion by 2017, are expected to create
significant growth.
Much
has been made of the opportunities presented by the BRIC economies, but for
Telco’s looking to explore opportunities outside of their domestic markets
these are not the only emerging markets to watch; Breakfast with Total Telecom,
taking place on the on the 10th of April will examine some of the
hottest high growth-markets globally and explore how opportunities vary with
location.
Speakers include:
·
Tom
Homer, CEO-EMEA, Telstra International
·
Stephen Kelly, General
Manager - Asia Pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa, BT
Global Telecom Markets (GTM)
·
David Molony – Principal
Analyst – Ovum
·
James Tooke – Head of
Strategy and Development – Cable & Wireless Communications
·
Laurent Viviez – VP and Partner – AT
Kearney
Breakfast with Total Telecom is
free for operators and services providers. Find out more about participating or
sponsoring at www.totaltele.com/breakfast, or for
more in the Emerging Markets space, come along to Total Telecom Wireless World on the 13 &
14 June 2012.
Contact : breakfast@totaltele.com
