Trends & Forecasts

Latin America's mobile industry generates almost US$20 billion of economic activity each year: nearly 1.3% of regional GDP and 2.5% of the region's capital investment. Last year, moreover, mobile operators invested more than US$7 billion in Latin America.

Work on the East African Submarine System (EASSy) is likely to start early next year. The World Bank is willing to offer finance. After all, the Internet and mobile-based commerce can change people's lives. Michael Schwartz says lessons can be learnt from a predecessor.

Motorola has settled its financial and legal claims against Turkish cellular phone operator Telsim and the Turkish Savings and Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).

Michael Schwartz commented recently on an Indian Minister's opinion that priority should be given by Indian operators to local telecoms manufacturers. Now he analyses a leading Chinese telecom vendor's demand for protection in its home market...

Cell phone ownership figures for China grow and grow. As of 30 September China boasted 377 million mobile phone subscribers, or a teledensity of 29%...

Network equipment manufacturer Cisco is set to make its largest investment to date outside the United States.

China's phenomenal growth in telecoms has long been praised but some of the early promise expected by investors in the 1990s does not seem to have materialised...

Fifteen West African nations have today (7 October 2005) agreed to a common regulatory framework for their national ICT markets...

As India prepares for its largest ever expansion of telecoms the Indian Ministry of Telecommunications is considering a proposal to make it mandatory for equipment suppliers to manufacture equipment in India. Michael Schwartz assesses India's progress towards becoming a telecoms giant...

Venezuela's tax agency Seniat declared last Wednesday that it had imposed fines and ordered the temporary closure of various foreign companies' offices in the country due to tax irregularities.

Burma's (Myanmar's) few mobile phone users are to be permitted use of SMS services for the very first time.

Bangladesh is opening up its telecoms market by inviting open tenders for another GSM licence, for 15 years initially.

Jordan has overtaken Palestine as the most competitive Arab cellular market, the two followed closely by Algeria.