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Internet World Stats > Africa > South Africa
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South
Africa
Internet Usage and
Marketing Report
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Internet Usage and Population
Statistics:
|
YEAR
|
Users
|
Population
|
% Pen.
|
Usage
Source
|
|
2000
|
2,400,000
|
43,690,000
|
5.5
%
|
ITU
|
|
2001
|
2,750,000
|
44,409,700
|
6.2
%
|
IWS
|
|
2002
|
3,100,000
|
45,129,400
|
6.8
%
|
ITU
|
|
2003
|
3,283,000
|
45,919,200
|
7.1
%
|
Wide World Worx
|
|
2004
|
3,523,000
|
47,556,900
|
7.4
%
|
Wide World
Worx
|
|
2005
|
3,600,000
|
48,861,805
|
7.4
%
|
Wide World
Worx
|
|
2006
|
5,100,000
|
49,660,502
|
10.3
%
|
I.T.U
|
Latest Population
Estimate:
49,660,502
population for 2007, according to world-gazetteer.com.
South
Africa Country Area and Maps:
1,219,090 sq
km - see South Africa
maps.
Gross National
Income:
GNI per
capita is US$ 3,630 ('05) according to World
Bank.
South
Africa Internet Service Providers (ISP):
ISPA Members
List.
|
South
Africa Search Engines and Directories:
South Africa
Online
South African Directory.
Ananzi
South African web sites Directory.
South African Web
Directory featuring local links and
information.
Search ZA
New comprehensive search engine for .ZA
domains.
South African
Directories
List to South Africa search engines.
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Internet
Access to Grow in South Africa
5 January 2004
The rollout of Internet access services by South Africa's second
telecommunications operator is one of three factors which will
kick-start growth in Internet access in the country in 2004,
according to a study of South Africa's Internet industry by
independent technology research organisation World Wide Worx.
The licensing of the second national operator (SNO) by the
government means that the monopoly currently enjoyed by Telkom
will soon come to an end.
Internet Broadband Usage
According to The Goldstuck Report: Internet Access in South
Africa 2004, the rollout of high-speed or broadband wireless
access by Sentech, and the healthy rand-dollar exchange rate,
will also significantly contribute to increased access in the
country.
Sentech has been granted a wide-ranging licence to provide
access services, while the stronger rand will reduce the costs of
equipment to build infrastructure.
"From having no choice at all, the South African market will
suddenly be faced with two new players who are both eager to
supply Internet access needs", says World Wide Worx MD Arthur
Goldstuck, who led the research in collaboration with IT
outsourcing organisation Netsurit and internet service
value-added applications provider Systemsfusion.
Internet Growth in South Africa
The last three years have seen a dramatic slowdown in Internet
access growth in South Africa. According to ITU, 3.1-million
South Africans had access to the Internet at the end of 2002.
Growth in Internet access in 2002 was around 7%, the slowest
since the Internet became available to the South African public
in 1993, and the first time it had been below 20%.
In 2003 growth was set to be only 6%, with 3.28 million South
Africans expected to have access to the Internet by the end of
2003. This is a mere 1 in every 13 South Africans, marginally up
from 1 in 15 at the end of 2001. (South Africa's total estimated
population stands at 47.5-million.)
For the first time, the annual survey included a survey of
small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) usage of the Internet,
which saw research partner Netsurit surveying more than 2200
SMMEs with Internet access.
Almost half of SMMEs reported e-mail as their primary use of the
Internet, while a third cited banking as their primary online
activity.
The survey also found that small businesses with Internet
connections were increasingly pursuing high-speed connectivity,
with only one out of five using traditional dial-up modem
access.
On the technology front, the report concludes that 2004 will see
the biggest explosion yet of technology options available to
Internet users in South Africa.
"From broadband wireless supplied by Sentech to ADSL and ISDN
from Telkom, to a range of creatively packaged technology options
from a variety of ISPs, it's like 1994 all over again", says
Goldstuck.
"Once again, the challenge will be an educational one for the
existing market, and affordability for those who are still not
connected."
Nevo Hadas, VP of marketing for survey support partners
Systemsfusion, warns that this poses a huge challenge to ISPs.
"They have to make their offerings not only simple to use, but
also simple to understand", he says.
"The Internet user wants a fast, reliable connection, rather
than a technically brilliant way for it reach the computer. The
industry has to be technically brilliant in such a way that the
user doesn't even know about it."
Internet Dial-up Usage
The size of the dial-up market passed the one-million mark for
the first time in 2002, largely due to the marketing campaigns of
Telkom and Absa's Internet services, while the subscriber base of
traditional ISPs fell for the first time.
ISPs tended to be more focused on serving existing customers
than on chasing growth in users, and this in turn resulted in the
most profitable year yet for the access industry, despite the
slowdown in user growth.
The leased line market for corporate access remained healthy,
largely thanks to companies focusing on the reliability of their
networks and putting more backup systems in place. As a result,
the number of lines grew faster than expected, but growth in
users with access to such lines was slower than expected.
Schools connectivity will receive a boost in 2004 as a range of
long-awaited projects are finally implemented.
Further reading on Internet in Africa:
Research ICT Africa
Reports
Research ICT Africa! seeks to fulfil a strategic gap in the
development of a sustainable information society and knowledge
economy on the African continent by building information
communication technology (ICT) policy and regulatory research
capacity in Africa needed to inform effective governance.
High Mobile Sales Could Help
Internet Growth in Africa
Internet in
Africa
A paper on Internet development in African
countries.
South Africa
Briefing from the Economist.
^ top of page
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South Africa Profiles:
South Africa
Profile from BBC News
South Africa
Profile from the World Bank
More figures and updates on South Africa Broadband usage
below.
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South Africa Broadband
and Internet Market Report
Despite being open to competition by more than 200 Internet Service Providers
(ISPs), South Africa’s Internet sector has been stagnant in recent years
due to an expensive operating environment created by Telkom SA’s dominance
in the fixed-line and bandwidth market. Modest growth has now returned to the
market, stimulated by the launch of Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
and wireless broadband services in 2004, followed by continuous price cuts in
the following years. Further stimulus is expected in 2007 from the launch of
the second national operator (SNO) and an expansion of 3G/HSDPA services by
the country’s mobile network operators. This report provides an overview of
South Africa’s Internet and broadband markets, supplemented by profiles of
the main players and key sector statistics.
South Africa - Convergence, VoIP, NGN
and Digital Media Report
With its relatively well developed and diverse infrastructure, South Africa is
taking a regional lead role in the convergence of telecommunication and information
technologies, promising the long-awaited reduction in telecommunication costs and
better availability of information and services. Sweeping liberalisation measures
taken in 2005, legalising - among other things - the use of VoIP, have begun to
change the country’s telecoms landscape fundamentally. Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) are turning into phone companies, and vice versa. Both are
moving into delivering audio and video content over their networks, while in
turn the traditional electronic media carriers are discovering the potential
of their infrastructure for telecommunications service delivery. Consequently
there is strong interest in a number of new Pay TV licences that will be issued in 2007.
South Africa - Fixed Line Market and
Infrastructure Overview and Statistics Report
Although its period of exclusivity ended in 2002, Telkom SA remained the sole
provider of fixed-line telecommunications services in South Africa until early
2007 when the second national operator (SNO) became operational after finally
receiving its licence at the end of 2005. Under Telkom’s monopoly rule,
fixed-line teledensity has continuously fallen since 2000. SNO shareholders
Eskom and Transtel already have significant alternative nationwide infrastructure
in place, as does Sentech, which is licensed to provide multimedia services and
to operate an international telecommunications gateway. Some of the largest
municipalities in the country are also rolling out their own telecommunications
infrastructure. Wireless technologies are being pursued to provide alternatives
to Telkom’s copper access network.
South Africa - Telecom Market
and Regulatory Overview
South Africa’s telecom sector boasts the continent’s most advanced
networks in terms of technology deployed and services provided. The newly licensed
second national operator (SNO) will finally launch services in competition to
Telkom SA in early 2007. Sweeping liberalisation measures taken two years earlier,
legalising - among other things - the use of VoIP, are beginning to change the
country’s telecoms landscape fundamentally. The long awaited new Electronic
Communications Act (formerly Convergence Bill) was finally enacted in mid 2006.
The end of Telkom's monopoly on the SAT-3 submarine cable in 2007 is expected
to help reduce the costs of telecommunication in South Africa which are currently
among the highest in the world.
South Africa - Mobile Market,
Overview and Statistics Report
South Africa has a vibrant mobile market that has seen rapid uptake of GSM since
competition was introduced to the sector more than 10 years ago. With market
penetration exceeding 70% and number portability introduced in 2006, the three
network operators are increasingly forced to find innovative ways of distinguishing
themselves from the competition in order to gain and retain customers. The
introduction of mobile Internet and multimedia services via 3G mobile technology
is one way of doing this and has lead to a marked increase in data traffic.
Another is the adoption of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) model,
highlighted by the entry of Virgin Mobile into the market.
South Africa - Telecommunications Market
Statistics and Forecast Report
The continent’s leading mobile market, South Africa will see a flattening subscriber
growth curve in this market segment over the next few years, leaving service providers
to compete aggressively on price, value-add and quality of services. The boom will
be taken over by the provision of broadband Internet access, combined with voice
and entertainment services in a converging and more competitive environment of
fixed, wireless and mobile platforms. This report contains key statistics for
all three market segments and corresponding forecasts for 2010 and 2015.
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