NEW OFFER: When you order a Site or Corporate Licence you will also receive Blycroft's Africa & Middle East Telecoms Market Opportunities 2009 Wallchart 
Executive Summary While the telecommunications markets of Tanzania and the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar remain under-penetrated, there has been evidence in several sectors of strong growth and technological development. Although the fixed line sector has remained stagnant since 2000, the country’s mobile sector has seen huge growth and expansion in the past decade, with annual growth at just over 50% and 13 million subscribers predicted by mid-2009. With six companies operating within the mobile sector and two more expected to launch within two years, penetration stands at only 30%, leaving a great deal of room for further growth.
Much of the technology currently in use in the Tanzanian telecommunications sector demonstrates how it has effectively leapfrogged some of the available equivalents in developed nations. With fixed line connections still relatively minimal, many ISPs are offering wireless services to increase connectivity and range whilst decreasing outlay. There is fairly widespread use of technologies such as VSAT, and most ISPs offer VOIP, a sector that is set to grow in the coming years. Fibre-optic networks have also been deployed in some areas. While penetration remains low due to both lack of availability and cost, the advent of services such as the East African Submarine Cable system and O3b Networks’ satellite system, both set to be completed by 2010, is set to invigorate the market, offering lower running costs for higher capacity services. Internet cafes have also witnessed a growth in number and have become commonplace in larger cities, with expansion into rural areas also taking place.
The regulatory system remains committed to expanding network coverage in rural areas, stating in 1997 its plan to provide every village with communications systems by 2020, and launching the Universal Communications Service Access Fund in 2003 to encourage operators to extend their services to areas not already widely covered. Mobile and fixed voice operators have been active in this area, with Vodacom and Zantel in particular promoting the growth of public pay phones in less connected areas by offering profitable entrepreneurships to citizens wishing to operate public telephony services.
Despite the economic downturn, the market continues to grow in the mobile and internet sectors and the increased connectivity has been noted to have a positive economic effect: a 10% increase in mobile penetration is forecast to lead to a 1.2% rise in GDP per capita (incidentally, mobile penetration has increased by 10% since 2006, with rates of growth rising). This economic development is most evident in rural areas, where telephony has allowed those in the agricultural sector to make more efficient crop forecasts and to survey demand more accurately; crucial in Tanzania’s still largely agricultural economy. This is a trend that is set to continue over the coming years.
The island of Zanzibar, frustrated by the efforts of TTCL, Tanzania’s then monopoly holder on most telecommunications services, moved to launch a public-private joint venture in 1994 to provide better local services. In 1996, Zantel, a joint venture between the government of Zanzibar, Italy’s STET International, and local investors, received an operating licence to provide local and international voice and data services to Zanzibar only, though its services have since expanded to mainland Tanzania.
Pricing and Formats
Single User PDF: GBP 199 (Order Online)
PDF Site Licence + FREE Wallchart: GBP 299 (Order Online) PDF Corporate Licence + FREE Wallchart: GBP 399 (Order Online) |
