QCell the highest investor in telecoms sector

Annual investment in telecommunication sector has reported that QCell, the latest entrant in the Gambia’s telecommunication market, is the highest investor in the sector, though the total annual investment of all the operators in the sector has fallen down in 2009.

The 2009 Annual Report of The Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) stated that annual investment in the telecommunication sector reported was equivalent to D699.3 million in 2009 compared to the 2008 figures of D847 million.

“This shows a 17.4% fall in investment figures in the sector.  The reported figures show QCell with the highest investment figures in 2009 explained by the fact that they came into the market in mid 2009,” the report elucidated.

The CEO of QCell, Muhammed Jah has once said that QCell is an investment of over D1 billion.
The PURA report indicated that 2,139 people were employed in the telecoms sector at the end of 2009, from the 2007 and 2008 levels of 1976 and 1840 employees respectively.  This shows that the sector has registered moderate 8.3% growth in employment during the period under review.
Subscriber base
The telecoms sector reported 1,409,732 voice subscribers in 2009 a net addition of 194,732 voice subscriber to the 2008 figures of 1,215, 004 voice subscribers, which represented 3.6% growth. 
The number of reported mobile subscribers grew by 16.7% during 2009 compared to 45.9% recorded during 2008; whilst the fixed line subscribers had recorded a decrease in growth rate of -0.8%. “The less impressive growth in the mobile subscribers number in 2009 could be a as a result of the market reaching saturation,” the reported stated.
Telephone penetration level
The telephone penetration level, which is measured as the percentage of the population owing a fixed and or mobile services, has been very impressive over the last three years, 2007, 2008, and 2009, registering, 54.47%, 76% and 88.11% respectively.  According to the report, the rationale for this impressive performance in the penetration level is as a result of the strong performance registered in the mobile subscriber base.  The mobile penetration level constitutes about 94%, 96% and 97% of the total penetration levels in 2007, 2008, and 2009 respectively.
GSM growth in Africa
Africa leads in the GSM growth rate, according to the GSM Association Universal Access Report, which maintains that mobile operators are providing universal access in many developing markets, and have done so “at a pace unimaginable’.  The report stated that in Africa the growth rate is the fastest in the world and already contains some very significant success stories”.  It also revealed that amongst the 43 African countries surveyed, 10 have achieved GSM coverage greater than 90% of population and a further 8 have coverage of 70% or greater.
According to the report, approximately half of African countries face a greater challenge to bring greater geographical and population coverage to markets where penetration and affordability are low.  It added that these are generally low income countries, mostly with large geographical areas or topographical and electricity supply infrastructures, which contribute to high operator costs.