Africa the next focus for mobile operators

AFRICA SEEMS to be attracting major attention in the mobile phone market today. Mugabe is threatening Orascom in Zimbabwe while Portugal Telecom has its eyes on the continent.

It would seem that Mugabe's government has picked an unfortunate target in Telecel, the country's mobile network operator. It has revoked its operating licence because the company is still majority owned by Orascom of Egypt.

It is one thing to pursue a policy of 'indigenisation' against organisations that are majority owned by foreign companies. But Orascom isn't European or North American it is African.

More interesting, perhaps, is Portugal Telecom's new found interest in Africa. The company already has interests in Portuguese speaking African countries like Mozambique.

But now it intends to turn its focus on other major African countries like Kenya, Congo, Nigeria and - most significantly - South Africa.

It may well find these markets a lot harder to break into than appear on paper. Particularly since Vodafone has strong representation in this particular geography.

The motivations is clear, however. In a five year period ending in 2010, Africa is set to acquire some 104 million new subscribers. Beats fighting over the existing installed base in Europe, doesn't it? µ