New Report Available: South Africa Telecommunications Report Q3 2015

The implementation of mobile termination rate (MTR) cuts in South Africa in 2014 launched a period of intense price competition between the four mobile network operators, while contributing to especially strong subscriptions growth. Price competition eased in early 2015 and will result in much slower subscriptions growth over our five-year forecast; operators are therefore intensifying their efforts to launch new, higher value services, revolving around faster broadband, converged mobile and wireline services, and enterprise solutions. This is driving heavy investment in fibre optic and LTE networks and moves towards consolidation, which, if approved, stand to significantly reshape the competitive environment in South Africa's telecoms market.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/1001206_south_africa.aspx?afid=301

Key Data

* The mobile market grew by 1.6% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in Q414 to bring total growth in 2014 to 12.8%.
* Market average ARPU declined by 11.9% in 2014 owing to intensified competition, though showed signs of improvement in Q414.
* 3G subscriptions accounted for 34.7% of the mobile market in 2014, by BMI estimates.
* The broadband market grew by a 10.4% in 2014 to 7.6mn subscriptions.

Risk/Reward Ratings

South Africa jumped up two spots to 3rd position in this quarter's update to BMI's Risk/Reward Index for Sub-Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria and Botswana. Rather than an improvement to its own score, which actually fell by 0.3 percentage points (ppts), South Africa's ascension was due to sharp drops in Angola and Gabon's scores, as lower oil prices begin to take their toll on GDP growth and consumer spending power.

The 0.3ppt drop in South Africa's score was due to a 5-point decline in its Industry Risks score to 65. This fall is reflective of the lack of clarity on policy and regulations in South Africa's telecoms sector, which has resulted in the delay to digital migration and to a regulatory verdict on proposed acquisitions. Nevertheless, telecoms regulator ICASA published the final Radio...

The South Africa Telecommunications Report features BMI Research's independent industry forecasts on the future strength of South Africa's ICT market, covering the fixed-line, mobile and internet segments and analyses latest regulatory developments and corporate news, including investment activity, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships. Leading operators and manufacturers are fully profiled, highlighting their quarterly financial performance, capital expenditure plans and latest contracts.

BMI's South Africa Telecommunications Report provides industry professionals and researchers, operators, equipment suppliers and vendors, corporate and financial services analysts and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the telecoms industry in South Africa.

Key Benefits

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