UMTS Forum underlines 3G opportunity for African regulators

date: November 16, 2001

An invited audience of more than 120 regulators and other observers from the African region heard this week how 3G services have the opportunity to narrow Africa's 'digital divide', offering business and consumer users a fast-track to new services that in some areas may even supplant the provision of fixed-line telecommunications.

Hosted by South Africa's Directorate Of Communications and supported exclusively by The UMTS Forum, the seminar was held in Johannesburg on November 14 to coincide with the Forum's presence at ITU Telecom Africa.

Characterising South Africa as 'a trend setter for the region', UMTS Forum Chairman Bernd Eylert anticipated that 3G services could launch in South Africa as soon as 2004, ahead of Egypt and other African countries. 'Already one of the fastest-growing wireless markets in the world, South Africa is poised to launch services in the same timeframe as the USA, following on quickly from first 3G launches in Europe and Asia Pacific', noted Eylert.

Paola Tonelli, Chair of The UMTS Forum's Operators Group, presented a detailed forecast of 3G service revenues for the region. These are set to approach US$ 8 billion by 2010, with simple voice, customised infotainment and mobile intranet/extranet access for corporates all representing a major market opportunity for Africa's 3G operators and service providers.

UMTS Forum Vice Chairman Josef Huber explained the importance of securing adequate radio spectrum across the region in the core bands already identified for IMT-2000. Huber urged African regulators to clear sufficient core band spectrum as a key step towards participating in the global 3G market opportunity - one that the UMTS Forum conservatively estimates at over $1 trillion over the course of the next decade.

Bosco Fernandes, Chair of the UMTS Forum's ICT Group, reviewed methodologies for 3G licensing for the region and explained the importance of a harmonised framework for the free circulation of 3G terminals.

The UMTS Forum delegation was joined by Adrian Scrase of ETSI, who explained the vital role of the Third Generation Partnership Project www.3gpp.org in defining harmonised standards as a sound market framework for 3G's successful deployment in the region.

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