A couple of highlights from the BMI-TechKnowledge Telecom Trends event in Johannesburg on 13 April:

• General increase in broadband penetration to PCs in the home from 1% to 6% among LSM 3-6.
• Half of these people use a handset to access the internet — definite increase in wireless access at home.
• 20% of handsets in SA are now 3G capable.
• Billions of USD investment in telecoms in Angola (ADONES system commissioned) — watch this space.
• 2010 global mobile data traffic nearly tripled for the 3rd year in a row.
• Traffic demand on mobile networks per month:
  • Non smartphone demand: 2009: 1.5MB … 2010: 3.3MB
  • Smartphone demand: 2009: 35MB … 2010: 79MB
  • Tablet demand: 2009: 79MB … 2010: 405MB
  • Laptop demand (using cellular dongles): 2009: 1.1GB, 2010: 1.74GB
• March 2011:
  • MTN: 60MB per month usage by smartphone users
  • Vodacom: 42MB per month usage by smartphone users

Overall the demand in internet, mobile and voice services is on a radical increase while revenue margins are decreasing. Expect consolidation in the market, especially amongst broadband ISPs, as well as increased competitiion.