ADSL in South Africa

In South Africa, 2002 was the year of the launch of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL). In the past Telkom was ruling on the South African ADSL market, but now MTN, Neotel, Vodacom, iBurst and many other wireless internet service providers in South Africa are very competitive and take market share from Telkom. With more competition in 2010, Telkom is now too expensive and should cut its ADSL prices. Most South Africans consumers don’t compare ADSL internet prices and are just signing up to an ADSL provider. South Africans can't wait and only want ADSL today and now with more connection speed. By doing a bit of research consumers can realise that Web Africa is a cheaper ADSL provider than Telkom in the market. The South African ADSL industry is changing very fast, and Telkom have lost the monopoly that they used to have. In the following years, every South African ISPs can expect more aggressive competition in this industry. This mean that the South African consumers can expect cheaper ADSL prices.

Internet revolution in Nigeria

Despite the high cost of internet access in Africa, bandwidth to Africa is expected to grow dramatically as the continent is gaining internet connectivity faster than any other region in the world. Nigeria was able to boost its online population, raising its status to having the most internet users in Africa. Internet connectivity is also spreading to smaller Nigerian cities and rural areas via innovative technologies. This surge in internet usage is attributed to Horizon Wireless‘ experimental broadband internet project that uses WiMAX to provide Nigerians with affordable internet access. The internet landscape in Nigeria is fast changing; Ten years ago, a public cyber cafe used to be the only access individuals had to the internet, now there are internet service providers (ISPs) in various shades and sizes, delivering direct access to individuals and businesses on a variety of platforms. CDMA-based providers are upgrading their networks to the more advanced EVDO technology. GSM operators who were initially reluctant to tap into this area are now aggressively marketing internet services as part of their offerings. Internet access is fast becoming a commodity item in Nigeria. The size of Nigeria's population allows for much growth in the sector. Investment opportunities lie in areas such as internet access infrastructure; ICT applications for government and educational institutions; Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services; and developing online payment solutions.