Business Services to Drive WiMax Success in AME Markets, Finds Pyramid

The business segment in Africa and the Middle East should be the main focus of WiMax operators as fixed WiMax's contribution to fixed business broadband subscriptions is expected to more than quadruple by 2014, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com), the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network (www.lightreading.com).

A new Telecom Insider Report, Business Services to Drive WiMax Success in AME Markets, examines the development and adoption of WiMax technology in the region, highlighting opportunities and challenges for operators. This 20-page report reveals the main drivers behind WiMax rollouts in AME from 2007 to 2009, and analyzes the future prospects of WiMax technology, and discusses challenges and opportunities in the residential and business segments. It also explores three WiMax deployments in detail: France Telecom in Cameroon, Go in Saudi Arabia, and Umniah in Jordan. Download an excerpt (http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PRN111709_INAME1.9) of this report. Purchase this report online. (http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_091111.htm?sc=PRN111709_INAME1.9 )

"Africa and the Middle East is witnessing one of the fastest growth rates for WiMax adoption globally," notes Dearbhla McHenry, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "WiMax service offerings were virtually unheard of before 2007 in the region; while the global average fixed service penetration of population stood at 22 percent at year-end 2008, AME's penetration level stood at 9 percent for the same period, the lowest among all regions," she says. "By year-end 2009, Pyramid expects WiMax to contribute about 2 percent of total fixed broadband subscriptions in AME, a higher share than in any other region globally except for Latin America."

"In addition to a generally supportive regulatory environment, telcos are finding WiMax's scaleability and cost-effectiveness in high-density areas to be a major advantage compared with a time-consuming and costly overhaul of inadequate fixed networks or with rolling out new wired infrastructure - this is especially true in AME where fixed penetration is still low even in urban areas, which translates into a low-competition high-growth environment," says McHenry.

The business segment should be the main focus of WiMax operators in the region. "Business consumers have more sophisticated connectivity needs than residential consumers, involving dedicated high-speed point-to-point connections, high capacity for both uplink and downlink, bundled VoIP service, back-up systems, dedicated international bandwidth, and so on," McHenry explains. "These are all within WiMax technical capabilities but cannot be guaranteed over 3G," she adds. "Because of these factors, we expect fixed WiMax's contribution to fixed business broadband subscriptions to more than quadruple in 2014, reaching 8 percent, compared with less than 2 percent in 2009."

Business Services to Drive WiMax Success in AME Markets is part of Pyramid Research's Africa and the Middle East Telecom Insider report series. Telecom Insiders are packed with trend analysis, industry best practices, market sizing and forecasting, competitor analysis, and case studies, providing you information you can leverage to make better business decisions.

Download an excerpt of this report here (http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PRN111709_INAME1.9). This report is priced at $595 and can be purchased online here (http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_091111.htm?sc=PRN111709_INAME1.9 ) or by contacting Amalia Vega at avega@pyr.com or telephone at +1-619-229-9940.

About Pyramid Research

Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com) offers practical solutions to the complex demands our clients face in the telecommunications, media and technology industries. Our analysis is uniquely positioned at the intersection of emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models, powered by the bottom-up methodology of our market forecasts for over 100 countries - a distinction that has remained unmatched for more than 25 years. As the telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network, Pyramid Research works with Heavy Reading, providing the communications industry's most comprehensive market data, trusted research and insightful technology analysis.

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading online media, research, and focused event company serving the $3 trillion worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technology and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading's research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Expo London, The Tower Summit @ CTIA, and Optical Expo, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.

About TechWeb

TechWeb (http://techweb.com/aboutus), the global leader in business technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today, more than 13.3 million* business technology professionals actively engage in our communities created around our global face-to-face events, Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat, and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network, Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, and Wall Street & Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services including next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

*13.3 million business decision-makers: based on number of monthly connections

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities - from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists - with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/.

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CONTACT: Jennifer Baker, +1-617-871-1910, jbaker@pyr.com

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