LTE launches are coming thick and fast at the moment and with availability of decent handsets growing, consumers are begining to see the benefits of the technology... or rather, they don't mind having it, which represents a win in itself if we recall the trauma of 3G. Although I don't much trust analyst estimates on these things, ABI research reckon there'll be 80 million LTE subscribers by 2013 . Contrary to logic which would suggest new network technology is beyond the means of poorer countries, Africa isn't being left out of LTE. As the picture shows, four cellular networks have launched this year, in Angola, Namibia, Tanzania and Mauritius. There are also advanced trials taking place in a number of countries - the lighter red on the picture. I'd expect half a dozen major African countries to have a live LTE network by the end of the year. I'm reasonably bullish with respect to service availability because for many operators with reasonablely modern HSPA...
Thoughts on strategy in a Digital Economy