The diversity among the countries in this group is immense, ranging from South Africa which has the continent's most advanced telecommunications networks and markets, to countries which have only recently emerged from civil war like Angola and Mozambique and which are consequently at a very low level of development, even though their mobile markets are growing very rapidly. In between are relatively wealthy nations like Botswana and Namibia which benefit from their close ties with South Africa, and the island nation of Mauritius, sporting some of the best telecoms indicators of the continent.

A return to peace in mineral-rich Angola in 2002 has led to a triplication of foreign investment during 2003. The licensing of four new fixed-network operators has introduced competition to this sector, but still less than 1% of the population have access to a fixed-line. The mobile sector has been competitive since 2001, and despite spectacular growth especially during 2004, market penetration is still low at under 4%. The government has, however, achieved its goal of raising the number of fixed-line and mobile phone subscribers to over 500,000 by 2005 ahead of time.

Botswana is one of the continent's wealthiest nations with a thriving economy that rests on diamond exploitation and tourism. Its telecommunications sector features a modern network and advanced services. Two mobile operators serve the country's 1.8 million citizens with penetration exceeding 30% while the government-owned national operator BTC has seen a decline in the number of connections due to the success of the mobile networks. Enormous potential exists in Internet service provision where access is disparately low compared with fixed-line penetration.

Telecommunications in the Kingdom of Lesotho has undergone gradual transformation from a state-owned monopoly to a privately majority-owned national operator in 2000 with competition in the mobile sub-sector since 2002. Mobile penetration exceeded 8% in 2004 compared with a fixed-line teledensity of under 2%. The use of Wireless Local Loop (WLL) technology has led to an accelerated increase of teledensity. This in turn will foster growth in Internet penetration. After the end of Telecom Lesotho's exclusivity period in February 2006, more competition may be introduced in the fixed-line, international gateway and satellite services markets.

Madagascar's telecom sector is based on modern structures with an independent regulator and full competition in mobile telephony. During 2004, the transfer of a majority stake in the national operator Telma to a strategic investor was completed. Despite this, national teledensity remains extremely low. The bulk of telephone connections are provided by the country's mobile networks. Internet penetration is impeded by the low number of fixed-line connections, high Internet tariffs and limited number of PCs available in the market. Aggressive attempts by the government to curb corruption and kick-start economic development have begun to bear fruit after a political crisis in 2002 threatened to undo many of the economic gains made in recent years.

Malawi's telecommunications sector is among the least developed in Africa with a fixed-line penetration rate below 1%, despite more than doubling the number of fixed-line connections from 1999 to 2004. The mobile sector has grown more than seven-fold during the same period, but market penetration is equally low at just over 1%. With the establishment of an independent regulator to oversee the transformation of the sector, major developments have occurred including the partial privatisation of Malawi Telecom in 2004. Increased infrastructure investment in the incumbent's network is expected to occur after privatisation, giving impetus to Internet penetration. 2005 may see the licensing of a third mobile operator, and a second national operator is planned in the medium term.

The island nation of Mauritius is actively pursuing a policy to make telecommunications the fifth pillar of its economy and to become a regional telecom hub with Singapore as a role model. In 2003, the telecom market was opened to full competition, one year ahead of plan. A second national operator was fitted out with the country's second fixed-line, third mobile and seventh international gateway licence in early-2004. At the same time, eight companies were licensed for the newly legalised provision of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony to retail customers. Mauritius was the first country in Africa to launch commercial Third generation (3G) mobile services in November 2004. The key focus in the Mauritian telecommunications sector leading into 2005 is on deployment of new technologies and applications, e-commerce and development of the island as a free port for technology companies.

Mozambique remains one of the least developed markets in Africa, but peace in recent years and radical reforms have transformed the country into one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent. The telecoms sector is independently regulated and a second mobile licence was awarded to Vodacom in mid-2002. The mobile sub-sector has experienced triple-digit growth rates almost every year since 1997. In a bid to encourage competition, the state-owned telco TDM was converted into a limited company in 2003 and its mobile subsidiary mCel was spun-off into a stand-alone company. The sale of a majority stake in TDM to a strategic investor is being planned and a second fixed-line operator is to be licensed before the end of 2007.

Namibia's fully digital telecom network has one of the most modern backbone infrastructures in Africa, with fibre optic links connecting the length and breadth of the country which has helped to drive growth in the Internet and mobile telephony sectors. While mobile and fixed services are still a monopoly, plans are underway to introduce competition and further privatisation. Teledensities are above the regional average with 6% for fixed lines and close to 20% for mobile. The award of a second mobile licence is expected to lead to an improved standard of service as well as boosting the development of communications in rural and remote areas. A second fixed-line operator is also planned.

South Africa's telecom sector boasts the continent's most advanced network in terms of services provided and technology deployed. The much delayed and controversial process of awarding a Second Network Operator (SNO) licence had still not come to fruition at the end of 2004, but in June of that year, four companies were licensed to provide services in under-serviced areas, heralding the introduction of competition in the fixed-line market for the first time. Sweeping liberalisation measures announced in September 2004, including the legalisation of VoIP telephony, are set to change the country's telecoms landscape fundamentally. Market penetration of the three mobile networks passed the 50% mark during 2004, compared with around 10% for fixed lines. Third generation (3G) mobile services were introduced in December 2004.

The telecoms sector in the small kingdom of Swaziland features an old-style posts and telecom monopoly operator for fixed services but with private participation in mobile and Internet services. Nevertheless, fixed and mobile penetration is relatively high compared with other countries in the region. While Internet usage is growing reasonably fast, the level of penetration is still well below international standards, but about average in the region. The government is considering unbundling the national operator to create discrete telecom and regulatory entities and later privatise them.

Zambia has an independently regulated sector with three competing mobile networks and a monopoly fixed-line operator, Zamtel. Efforts to privatise Zamtel initially failed, but in a new round of bidding in 2004 a Chinese investor emerged as the preferred bidder for a 20% stake. The fixed telephone network is still at a very low level of development with fewer than 90,000 connected main lines for a population of almost 11 million. This in turn has impeded growth in the Internet sector. The mobile sector has consequently experienced strong growth, and plans to license a fourth mobile operator may be revisited in the near future.

Despite Zimbabwe's deep economic crisis, now in its sixth year, the country's telecom industry has been relatively healthy over the past few years, with reasonable growth occurring in the mobile and Internet sectors and a limited but slowly improving telephone network. Attempts to privatise the national telco during this time have failed, as has a second national operator, unable to raise the necessary funding, but with economic indicators slightly improving towards the end of 2004, a potential third carrier recently established may be more successful in the future. Growth of the country's three mobile networks has been slowed down by the crisis, but an immense pent-up demand is now being addressed following major infrastructure upgrades in 2004.

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