Cameroon maintains its rare status as one of the few countries in Africa with only two major mobile network operators; however, an auction for two additional mobile licenses will change that
New Mobile Licenses Offer Foothold in Small but Growing Market offers a precise profile of the country's telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the market. It provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.
Two licenses available
In June 2011 the government announced that they will be offering two mobile licenses at auction by the end of the year. "The details of the process are yet to be declared and may depend on the 2011 Cameroonian presidential election taking place without significant disruptions to government operations, " says Ronda Zelezny-Green, Associate Research Analyst at Pyramid. Both MTN and Orange will be affected by these new entries and are looking to expand into rural areas to maintain their market share.
Pyramid Research projects that bids for the licenses will come from the Essar Group and Etisalat. "In late October 2010 the Essar Group reaffirmed their intention to bring their 'Yu' mobile services brand to Cameroon. In September 2010 UAE-based Etisalat and its 'MOOV' brand was also mentioned as a serious contender to drive down costs and increase competition in the telecom market," explains Zelezny- Green. "Yemba, an MVNO operating in Cameroon, had a modest 5,000 subscriptions in 2010, but we project their subscriptions will rocket to 79,000 by 2015," she adds.
Price reductions
"In order to match the purchasing power in Cameroon, the operators will need to continue reducing prices," notes Zelezny-Green. The projected entry of two new mobile operators is likely to contribute to the push for price reductions. "We expect the new entrants to capture a mobile share of 12.78 per cent by 2015, impacting MTN and Orange and reducing their shares to 50.7 per cent and 36.5 per cent, respectively," she indicates.
Cameroon: New Mobile Licenses Offer Foothold in Small but Growing Market is part of Pyramid Research's Europe Intelligence Report Series and is priced at $990.
