The largest mobile network operator is Vodacom (52% market share, source: Vodacom), MTN is second (35% market share, source: MTN) and Cell C, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Oger Telecom, is third (4.2 million subscribers, 8.8% market share, source: Cell C). Some 7% have 3G subscriptions.

Mobile, anyone?

South Africa is a very attractive market for mobile services. According to a report from Frost & Sullivan, demand for mobile content services in South Africa will grow by an average of 15 per cent per year until 2013.

It is also the most advanced mobile territory in Africa, with a European-style infrastructure, and consumers whose first introduction to telecoms and the web comes from mobile. Mobile broadband usage is as common as fixed line.

The Mobile Marketing Association recently released some interesting statistics about the phenomenal growth in this market and the current state of mobile adoption in South Africa, as summarized in an article by 20fourLabs.

South Africa is a nation sparkling with confidence, higher than many parts of the world (source: Bureau for Economic Research), and with great ambitions as the 2010 World Cup is gripping this sports mad country!

Launching mobile content services in South Africa

In November Netsize launched its mPayment operator-based billing solution with South Africa coverage with MO premium and MT premium billing. On Vodacom and MTN (total 87% market share) both MT and MO premium are available, and a long number for sending and receiving messages.

Multiple price points per short code are possible. MO premium is available on Cell C with a single price point per short code. For the most common price points shared short codes will be available.

Applications …

Popular mobile applications include banking (money transfer services), advertisement (mobile marketing) and entertainment (content/infotainment and social networking).

Whereas traditional direct marketing and online marketing is costly and less effective due to the language situation and lack of broadband access, mobile is providing an alternative marketing channel. Direct and personal, it has the widest reach of all in this vast country.

With 4 times more people using sms than email, it is clear that in this country the mobile is everyone’s “first screen.”

Regulatory aspects

As most countries, South Africa has put in place industry self regulation. The WASPA Code of Conduct promotes fairness and decency in dealings with subscribers and members in the content value chain.

Advertising must follow the rules in the Advertising Code of Conduct, with clear communication on pricing matters. Operators have set some specific rules as well in particular for MT subscription services.

Online seminar

If you would like to know more on how to launch mobile content services in South Africa and Netsize mobile messaging, billing and marketing solutions, we invite you to view the Netsize online seminar on South Africa at www.netsize.com.

It is the first survey in the world to compare mobile data prices across this many countries. It covers over 500 package variations, for postpaid and prepaid payment models. The objective of the survey is to provide a quantitative snapshot of mobile data download charges for end-users when downloading mobile content to their handsets.

“This survey especially benefits companies that are selling mobile content with heavy data charges,” observed Ludovic Maupain, VP Marketing & Operators Partnerships, Netsize. He added “with download sizes increasing, it is important that mobile content providers have an idea on how much data charge might influence the perceived total cost of their products to end users.” The Netsize study reveals that mobile data pricing varies considerably across these countries, and also within operator groups.

“Many end users do not have a flat rate data subscription yet, which can cause large downloads to become very costly,” Ludovic Maupain added. “Awareness of data charges across Europe will help local and international content providers to tune their mobile content services for an optimal end user experience.”

According to the survey end users without a data package subscription, known as the pay-as-you-go model, pay the highest rates in Italy, between €40 and €60 per 1 MB, whereas end users in other countries pay between €1 and €2. For a 100 MB data subscription the average charges range from €8 (1,995 HUF) in Hungary to €33 (249 DKK) in Denmark. The current average cost per MB for the smallest data subscription is €1, going down to as little as €0.01 on very large subscription packages of 1 GB and over.

The 45-page report includes detailed information on more than 500 mobile data packages that are available in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and Australia. Details provided include operator name, package name, subscription type, type of coverage (GPRS, WAP, internet), fee structure, and time and size-based fees. The data was collected in the second quarter of 2008.

“International Mobile Data Charges: A pan-European report on the retail price plans for mobile internet and broadband services” is currently available to Netsize clients and can also be purchased directly at www.netsize.com, for the price of €995 ex. VAT.