Tunisia’s telecom market will be one of the fastest-growing markets in the Africa/Middle East region with total telecom revenue estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.4 percent over the next five years, reaching $2.2 billion in 2014, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.
Sylwia Boguszewska, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report said, “Even though Tunisia’s mobile and fixed penetration were among the highest in the region in 2008 (82.1 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively), the low broadband penetration rate of 2.2 percent indicates there is still room for growth.”
“To stimulate competition, the government launched a tender for a fixed-line services license so as to promote broadband Internet access and prop up mobile telephony services,” Boguszewska says.
“The process of a tender for a technology-neutral license for a mobile and fixed operator was started in May 2009, and a new player is expected to enter the market in 2010,” she adds. “This, plus the sale of another stake in Tunisie Telecom, will have a positive effect on market competitiveness and liberalization.”
Tunisia has one of the most developed telecommunications infrastructures in the North African region and sports some of the continent’s highest market penetration rates. The mobile sector has experienced exceptional growth since the introduction of competition in 2002. A nationwide fibre optic backbone and international access via submarine cables, coupled with some of the lowest broadband prices in Africa have supported rapid development of the Internet sector.
Samuel Mungadze
