Mobile WiMAX is now available in eighteen Libyan cities, including Tripoli,
Benghazi, Sabha, Sirte, Misurata, Khomus, Ijdabia, Al Baidha, Gharyan,
Benwaleed, Zuwara, Tarhun, Al Brega, Obari, Zleitin, Zawia, Raslanuf and
Ghadames. We do not know if the WiMAX network is being used for true mobile
operation (via USB dongle products attached to notebook PCs).
The officials at the LTT have told
The Tripoli
Post that they are all eager provide the service.
Comment and Analysis: We continue to see great potential for WiMAX in the
developing world, especially North Africa and the Middle East. While European
telcos (e.g. BT, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom) are faced with issuing profit
warnings and watch helplessly as their share prices fall sharply, Middle Eastern
telcos are doing well. For example, Wataniya in Kuwait has seen impressive
growth, with profits for Q308 rising 64% year-on-year. That bodes well for
broadband wireless deployments in the region. The money is there to finance the
build-outs that are being postponed in the developed world (due to the ongoing
credit crisis).
According to the WiMAX Forum, "In developing regions where fixed broadband
communications links are currently insufficient and there is the need and drive
for rapid rollout of high-speed communications, there will be a greater
frequency of multiple-user subscriptions than in economically developed areas.
Therefore in countries and regions such as Brazil, China, India, Russia, the
Americas, Middle East/Africa, Eastern Europe and Developing Asia Pacific, WiMAX
CPE will account for a higher proportion of subscriptions than in North America
and Western Europe throughout the forecast period."
Last week we talked to the Brigadier Engineer in the Egyptian Ministry of the
Interior, who is responsible for the WiMAX deployment in that country. In a
forthcoming blog post, we plan to bring you the details of this multi-service
WiMAX fixed/ nomadic network, which is being used to interconnect Police
Stations in Cairo.
Alan Weissberger
DCT Advisors
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