Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | MobiNil was the last of the Egyptian mobile operators to purchase the licence and also the last to launch services. |
Implications | Up until now MobiNil could afford to compete on price alone; it will now need to come up with innovative services to compete with the both Etisalat Misr and Vodafone. |
Outlook | The operator will now be able to compete on a level playing field, with Etisalat and Vodafone enabling it to compete on mobile data services. |
Egyptian mobile operator MobiNil has announced its will start 3G services in Egypt from 1 September 2008. The operator is the last of the Egyptian mobile operators to have purchased a 3G licence and is now the last to launch services. Both Vodafone and Etisalat have already launched services in 2008. The launch is slightly behind schedule; at the start of the year the regulator stated the frequencies would be available in March 2008, later at the start of April, the operator stated it would start services in July this year (see Egypt: 7 April 2008: MobiNil to Launch Egyptian 3G Services in July 2008), however further details of the delay were not disclosed.
MobiNil operates in a competitive market, competing with two of the strongest operators in the region. Etisalat is currently one of the largest in the Middle East, and has significantly increased its presence in Africa through its stake in Canar Telecom. In Etisalat's other markets where it has launched 3G services, such as the United Arab Emirates, it has launched a range of advanced value-added services over 3G. These include location-based services and video surveillance over mobile. Vodafone has already been successful in its launch of 3G services through the deployment of a range of services; its more successful, Bubble Motion has already contributed to supporting ARPU levels (see Egypt: 31 May 2007: Vodafone Egypt Sees Bubble Motion Service Increase ARPU by 1.5%).
MobiNil has already made plans to integrate a range of mobile services in Egypt including, email, mobile TV, and internet. Mobile number portability (MNP) has recently been introduced in Egypt which will enable users to change operators more efficiently. This is an essential regulation which will greatly benefit MobiNil as it needs to lure more customers to its new services.
Outlook and Implications
After much anticipation, MobiNil can now offer advanced data services to all its customers and offer the same services as Vodafone and Etisalat.
- Mobile Data Services: Now that MobiNil has the opportunity to compete on a level playing field it will be able to offer similar services to that of its competitors Etisalat and Vodafone.
- Market Competition: MobiNil operates in a competitive market with significant opportunities for growth. At 39% mobile penetration is still among the lowest in the North African region, giving all three operators plenty of room for growth. ARPU levels have dropped significantly over the last few years, which is typical of an emerging market; however, MobiNil will now be able to compete on products and services rather than price, which is approaching its lower limit.
- IP NGN: The 3G network is part of MobiNil's IP Next Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture to realise the vision of next-generation mobile services. The IP NGN provides a migration path to an IP foundation and support for both IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and non-IMS applications to achieve more services, better control, and greater network efficiencies. The goal is a network environment where multiple types of services can be continuously deployed to meet customer demands in 3G and other IP service environments.