Research Case Study

Objective
The client a global telecommunications services provider with operations across countries in North America and Europe is
looking to enter the 4G LTE service space in Africa. Overall, the client would like to assess market attractiveness over the next 3
5 years

Background
Currently, the client has mobile network operations (not 4G) in South Africa, Lesotho, Tanzania, the DRC and Mozambique, and
offers consumer mobile services such as voice, messaging and data solutions.

The following broad pointers emerged based on the preliminary research so far:

The total number of 4G LTE subscribers in Africa in April 2017 reached around 15 million (out of 1.2 billion inhabitants),
a penetration rate of above 1%
4G has seen continuous growth across Africa; in mid-2016, there were 72 LTE 4G services in 32 countries across Africa
compared to 24 countries in January 2016

Indicative Questions to Answer

What factors should be considered/evaluated before entering the African 4G LTE consumer services market?
What are the market dynamics and do certain dynamics favor local players or any type of firm?
What does the competitive landscape look like? What strategies are adopted by our peers to enter this market?
What should be the ideal strategy/strategies for entering this market? Enumerate the pros and cons for each
Given the level of investment needed and relatively low market penetration, should we defer our entry for some time
to allow the user base grow?

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