Botswana - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband

The Botswana - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband report includes all BuddeComm research data and analysis on this country. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.

Please review the Executive Summary and Table of Contents for more details.

Executive summary

Botswana is one of Africa's wealthiest nations with a thriving economy mainly based on diamond mining and tourism. Regulatory reform has turned the country into one of the most liberalised telecommunications markets in the region, including a new service-neutral licensing regime which takes into account the increasing convergence of technologies and services.

Mobile penetration is approaching 100%, which is more than twice the continents average. However, ARPU has dropped sharply following the entry of a third operator and a sharp drop in GDP as a result of the global economic crisis.

In a bid to generate new revenue streams and secure market share, the three mobile operators - Mascom Wireless (an affiliate of South Africa's MTN), Orange Botswana and BeMobile (a subsidiary of fixed-line incumbent BTC) - have entered the underdeveloped broadband sector with different strategies including 3G mobile, WiMAX and bundling with fixed-line (ADSL) services. Here they are competing with a large number of ISPs, some of which are rolling out their own wireless access infrastructure.

A nationwide fibre backbone supports a wide range of services, and the landlocked countrys access to international bandwidth is being improved by a regional fibre backbone network and new submarine fibre optic cables off the continent's east and west coasts.

The planned privatisation of BTC has been postponed in the wake of the global economic crisis but is expected to be resumed in the near future.

Key highlights:

• One of the highest levels of mobile and fixed-line penetration in Africa;
• Market analysis 2009;
• GDP drops sharply as a result of the global economic crisis, full recovery by 2012;
• Comparison with other countries in the region in terms of GDP, mobile, fixed and Internet market penetration;
• Profiles of major players in all market sectors;
• BTC forms new business unit for converged services in preparation for privatisation;
• BTC financial results;
• National fibre rollout;
• Mobile ARPU drops sharply in 2009;
• Different mobile operator strategies to tackle the broadband market;
• Pricing comparison of all major broadband services (ADSL, WiMAX, 3G mobile).This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Botswana's telecommunications market. Subjects covered include:

Key statistics;

• Market and industry overviews;
• The impact of the global economic crisis;
• Regulatory environment and structural reform;
• Major players (fixed, mobile and broadband);
• Infrastructure development;
• Mobile voice and data markets;
• Average Revenue per User (ARPU) trends;
• Internet and broadband development;
• Convergence (voice/data, fixed/wireless/mobile).

For those needing high level strategic information and objective analysis on the telecommunications sector in Botswana, this report is essential reading and gives further information on:

• One of the most penetrated mobile markets in Africa;
• Government policies affecting the telecoms industry;
• The impact of the global economic crisis;
• Market liberalisation and regulatory issues;
• Telecoms operators - privatisation, acquisitions, new licences;
• Internet and broadband development and growth;
• Mobile data services;
• Average Revenue per User (ARPU).