@YinkaWrites

Press Release:

African 3G Subscriptions to Reach 210 Million by the End of 2015

SINGAPORE - September 03, 2013

At the end of 2Q-2013, the total subscriptions in Africa reached 863 million—a strong growth of 9.3% year-on-year (YoY), which is substantially more robust than other regions around the world. Africa’s growth trajectory will continue up to 2018, with a CAGR of 6.6%, to reach 1.25 billion. “What’s more, due to the lower comparative 3G penetration of 13.8% in Africa at the end of 2013, ABI Research forecasts that Africa 3G subscriptions will grow rapidly from 114 million in 2013 to 210 million by 2015,” comments Marina Lu, research associate at ABI Research.

While the vast majority of African countries are still in the process of extending and enhancing their 3G networks, some major African markets, such as South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria have launched 4G networks, notching up 0.2 million LTE subscriptions by the end of Q2-2013. “Mobile voice revenues are still a key revenue generator for African mobile operators but the growing momentum behind mobile data services is providing a wider stimulus for entrepreneurship, healthcare, and just as crucially, education,” adds Jake Saunders, VP and practice director of core forecasting. “By the end of 2018, Africa is expected to gain 51.2 million LTE subscriptions, demonstrating a CAGR of 118%.”

In terms of growth in African mobile subscriptions by carrier, Nigeria is proving to be the market to be in. MTN Nigeria is not only the fastest growing mobile operator in Africa but also the largest. Remarkably, the operator increased its subscriber base by 10 million YoY, to reach 53 million. This growth in adoptions is a result of significant tariff reductions made in Q3-2012 that made it substantially more affordable for low income end-users to take up mobile phone services. The second and the third fastest growing mobile operators in Africa were also based in Nigeria: Zain Nigeria, 5.4 million YoY; and EMTS with subscription growth of 2.9 million.

ABI Research’s quarterly updated “Middle East and Africa Mobile Subscriber” Market Data, profiles mobile subscriber adoption by operator, country, technology, device type, and subscriber market-share. Detailed market trends and market forecast information for key regions and countries around the globe are provided.

These findings are part of ABI Research’s Mobile Subscribers Research Service.

Link to original article here:

Think that j-school degree and a desk in a newsroom is all you need to call yourself a journalist? Think again. Journalists are made on deadlines. Here’s my checklist to see if you are truly a journalist.

Written a 15-inch story in 30 minutes

Corrected a loved one’s grammar in a greeting card

Replaced one of the major food groups with coffee

Own your own police scanner

Eat in your car more often than you do at a table

Gotten fired/laid off for no good reason

Forgotten what it’s like to have the weekend off

Can no longer read a newspaper without scanning for typos and errors

Learned that being told to “fuck off “ and “go to hell” is part of the job

Woke in a cold sweat thinking you forgot to change the date on A1

Spend your down time coming up with the perfect lede

Slept in your car and not because you were too drunk to drive home

Found that fine line between harassment and persistence

If you needed bail, the first person you would call would be your editor

You analyze city council meetings the way sportscasters break down Monday night football

You think it’s normal to work 16 hours a day for 8 hours pay

Have conducted a phone interview while completely naked

Can write an entire interview on a cocktail napkin

Threatened to quit over an editorial decision