Emerging markets such as Africa and South America have created a lot of interest for international telecommunications companies that are trying to generate new revenues and recover from the slump that has affected businesses.

These previously underserved markets are ready for a telecommunications boom and the mobile industry has already started reaping the benefits, as it constitutes approximately 50% of all communication in Africa. This is according to Karl Osswald, Grintek Telecom account director for Africa.

The African market, especially fixed-line operators, faced a few challenges that made it difficult for maintenance and repair of the existing copper cabled infrastructure. Copper theft compounded the problem, which more than often resulted in an unreliable service. As pessimistic as this may sound, the situation has given rise to the mobile market, making it lucrative for operators to expand into these regions. Africa is ready for telecommunications, which is set to boost the economy by maximising trade through penetration of international markets, and is heavily dependent on a stable communication infrastructure.

What needs to be considered is the initial roll-out strategy for mobile operators. As telecommunications develops and increases in the African continent, so too will expectations and demands for more advanced value-added services. The requirement for general packet radio service (GPRS), multimedia messaging service (MMS) and data services will increase and it is paramount that mobile operators ensure their initial infrastructure is scalable, and can grow and cope with these newer technologies. However, it is not only the mobile market that stands to gain (along with businesses and consumers) from the expansion of telecommunications into Africa. Fixed-line companies are also able to re-establish themselves through the opportunities that wireless local loop (WLL) technology offers.

This technology is particularly beneficial to countries with emerging economies, where a large part of the population does not have access to any sort of telecommunications systems. WLL provides an efficient way to deploy these services without having to use tons of copper wire. The technology uses radio links as a substitute for copper lines for all or part of the connection between the subscriber and the switch, resulting in a rapid deployment of quality services with a minimal initial investment.

The existing infrastructures will always be used, as it is not economically sound to 'rip and replace' technology. However, technologies such as WLL will ensure that fixed-line operators are able to adapt their strategy to penetrate rural and undeveloped area with a solution that is easy to deploy, easy to manage and complements the legacy systems. Another advantage of this technology is that faultfinding is simplified and it is easier to pinpoint a problem than with copper cabling and thus maintenance becomes a less costly exercise.

The African telecommunications market is still very much in its growth phase, which should be sustained for the next 15 to 20 years before it starts to plateau. The teledensity in Africa is less than 6% among the continent's population of approximately 700 million, which illustrates the potential for this market. As technology gets smarter and the demand for telecommunications in Africa grows, so too will the economy be stimulated, creating a ripple effect of opportunities right down to the small business owner who wishes to expand his curio business into international markets. After all, the rest of the world is only a phone call away.

Source: ITWeb