In Angola 2007/2008 - (Page 15) Mobile Communications The primary mobile communications operators in Angola are Unitel, Angola's largest mobile phone company, and Movicel. Vodafone, a multinational firm, has announced its plans to expand into the Angolan mobile market, which will bring further stimulus and competition to the market. Since the introduction of competition among the mobile providers in 2001, the mobile market has more than doubled every year. Intensified competition from an additional service provider could work to further accelerate growth. According to the survey conducted by INACOM, 64.9% of Luanda residents above the age of 15 have a cell phone. Of those, 62% use the Unitel provider, 26.7% use Movicel, and 11.3% use both services. The majority of cell phone users are between 20 and 39 years of age. The Perceived Quality Index (PQI) for both operators was similar, with 59.7 for Unitel and 54.6 for Movicel. In both cases, one of the top-ranking factors was network quality (62.7 for Unitel and 58.1 for Movicel). Among those who did not use cell phones, 79% wanted to acquire one within the following six months. With such a strong demand, Angola's cell phone market continues to experience rapid growth. Cell phones outnumbered fixed lines 20:1 in mid-2006. As of June 2006, Angola had a total of 2,293,000 cell phone subscribers, 1,547,200 of which were provided by Unitel and 745,800 by Movicel. In May 2006, Unitel, working with Gilat Satellite Services, announced it would invest USD 1.5 million in an expansion of its Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) network. The project will eventually allow users to join the GSM network, one of the leading digital cellular systems, and will permit the introduction of third-generation cell phones. These developments are expected to substantially increase the number of cell phone subscribers. Internet use has skyrocketed in Angola from 1,500 users in 1997 to 345,000 users in 2005. There were 2,502 internet hosts in 2005, compared to six hosts in 1998. The growth of the internet market is expected to continue, with progressive developments in the fixed line and mobile communications markets. This progression is driven by the increasing demand for internet access, the growth of technology, and the availability and accessibility of the technology. The merging of data communications with fixed line and mobile communications companies will provide one-stop shopping and more advanced services at a lower price. Due to the continuous developments in the sector, the number of internet users in Angola is expected to approach 2.5 million by 2010 and exceed 5 million by 2015. Technology and infrastructure continue to grow and expand rapidly within the fixed line, mobile communications, and data communications sectors in Angola. The increasing demand for residential and business services, combined with the constant expansion in the sector, has opened up vast opportunities for investment in the telecommunications market. Source: Angola – Telecoms Market Overview, Statistics & Forecasts Data Communications Angola's demand for internet access is growing rapidly. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) market consists of Telesel, Ebonet, NetAngola, Snet, Angonet, and University Agostinho Neto. Various internet access locations, such as cybercafés, are open to the public in the cities of Luanda, Benguela, and Cabinda, and most are available twenty-four hours a day. The increasing need for internet service and broadband capabilities has added demand to the fixed line networks. WiMAX technology, a key development for the fixed line network, offers wireless broadband capability for large-scale deployments at a fraction of the cost of mobile networks. This technology has allowed Angola Telecom to offer internet access services at USD 20 per month. 15
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