Strategic lapses and a convoluted shareholder structure have meant Vodacom has failed to extend the leadership position it enjoys in its domestic market of South Africa to significant parts of Africa. In the company’s first change of leadership since it launched services in May 1993, incoming chief executive, Pieter Uys, describes how a converged strategy and the embrace of the economic, technological and regulatory transformation occurring across Africa and the world, is set to drive Vodacom’s long-awaited ascension to the top tier of pan-African communications providers

Pieter Uys, incoming CEO of Vodacom Group

Vodacom, South Africa’s 25 million-strong network operator, stands at the precipice of fundamental change that will either catapult it to the heights of Africa’s telecoms market, or perpetuate its inability to press its domestic advantage into other parts of the African continent.

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As the business of voice is commoditised, providing premium mobile content and value added services is one way operators can differentiate their services. Director of new media at pan-Arab broadcaster MBC, Ammar Bakkar shares with Michelle Mills how the company is partnering with regional operators in delivering 3G mobile content

Ammar Bakkar, director of new media at pan-Arab broadcaster MBC

“Despite all the speculation, in reality 3G platforms outside Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have very limited capabilities. Qatar has a similar platform to Saudi and the UAE, but is not yet focussed on 3G content,” states Ammar Bakkar, director of new media at MBC.

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The licensing of a third mobile operator and first to offer 3G services in Iran this year, presents both an enticing opportunity and challenging proposition for foreign investors eager to participate in the sizeable market. With a significant population Iran is a country that offers would-be investors exposure to risk and reward in almost equal measure

Delta Partners’ Franca believes there is scope in the Iranian mobile market for the licensing of another operator beyond the third one that is being licensed currently

When news broke in August that Iran would license a third mobile player, regional operators Qatar Telecom and Zain were quick off the mark to signal their interest in the tender, alongside Russian operators VimpelCom and MegaFon. MegaFon is reportedly prepared to invest more than US$4.5 billion in the construction of a GSM network in the Persian country of approximately 70 million inhabitants.

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Sources in Oman suggest that one of the incumbent mobile operators, Oman Mobile, has selected two out of the country’s five resellers to partner with. It is understood to be just a matter of time before the service provider confirms the names of the two licensees, and the expected time-line for their entry into the Omani mobile market.

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On November 16, the deadline for the submission of proposals to acquire a mobile TV licence to operate in the UAE expires. The country’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has consulted widely about the best way in which to usher in the service, and the terms of the tender document offer an insight into the type of business model the licensee can be expected to develop

The mobile TV licence on offer in the UAE permits the successful bidder to roll out a mobile TV network and to begin offering transmission services. It will be allowed to sell the mobile TV transmissions to retailers in a non-discriminatory manner, acting as a provider of mobile TV service on a wholesale basis to retailers. The cost of the 10-year licence amounts to AED17 million (US$4.7 million), together with an ongoing annual licence fee amounting to the higher of: one per cent of the revenues earned in a year; or AED100,000.

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