By Technology Times Reporter

July 14, 2008. The Technology Times 2008 Mid-Year Review of the Nigerian Telecoms Market, a report of an in-depth survey into trends and developments that have shaped the telecoms market in the first half of the year will be unveiled for the global audience on Tuesday August 26, 2008, the technology news provider, Technology Times said weekend in Lagos.

The second edition of the annual survey that examines the impact of new technologies; growing investments and policy/regulatory environment have continued to shape telecoms in Nigeria also feature a spotlight on West Africa's emerging telecoms hotbed, Ghana.

Editor, Technology Times, Shina Badaru, said in Lagos, while unveiling the company's new brand campaign that the survey, underway by the Technology Times Intelligence Unit, the research and surveys service of Technology Times refocuses attention on the growing local and international interest in the Nigerian telecoms market.

According to him, the outcome of the survey is the landmark report that analyses current market developments, regulatory environment, trends while providing guidance on future outlook through the eyes of decision makers in the telecoms market, service providers, market watchers, regulatory agencies, lawmakers, consumer rights bodies, consumers, among others. It is also complemented by analysts drawn from media, academia, technology sector, financial services industry, government, regulatory agencies, NGOs and development agencies.

The survey covers main strategic, technological, financial and business models developments in Nigeria. Ghana was also selected as a case study of a West African economy shaping up to become the next a telecoms investment destination to watch within the sub-regional telecoms market, the company says.

"The recent happening in Ghana following the issuance of the country's sixth mobile licence to Nigeria's second national operator, Globacom Limited and acquisition of controlling stakes in Ghana Telecom by Vodafone of UK is sending initial positive signals that she is emerging as a sub-regional investments hotbed within the wider emerging telecoms markets. Ghana has in recent times attracted attention in Nigeria, Africa and the international investment community and our research team has refocused that economy driven by our readers' interest that wherever Nigeria's strategic investment interest goes, our attention also shifts. That aligns with our vision of providing the Nigerian perspective and inputs into the global ICT industry", says Badaru.

According to him, "in a bid to track developments that have shaped the market in the first half of 2008, a major segment of the report will provide round up of telecoms news that have impacted the economy including mergers and acquisitions, new technology rollout and upgrades, subscriber data and financial results, among others."

According to Technology Times, the market-led survey publication also assesses telecoms operator dynamics driving the industry, policy and regulatory issues as well as products and services in the market covering service providers in access technologies across mobile, fixed, satellite, broadband and dial-up Internet, among others.

Official data by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reveals that the market continues to witness impressive growth with the nation's installed telecom capacity currently heading for the 100 million mark.

According to official figures, Nigeria's telecoms subscriber base reached a mid-year peak of 49.6million lines as current installed capacity of 94.9million bring the nation's teledensity to 33.72.

By mid-year, total active lines in the telecoms market has also grown from 41.9 million to 47.2 million with the mobile GSM sector accounting for 44.9 million; fixed wired/wireless service providers recording marginal drop from 1.57 million to 1.53million while mobile CDMA services grew from 384,315 lines to 734,444 lines.

"One of the key highlights of that industry performance indicator that was discernible to the Technology Times Intelligence Unit during their review was that it is emerging that as the mobile CDMA sector became more aggressive in the marketing of its services in the first half of the year, uptake has also grown but network expansion has not kept pace with demand. Of course, that sends an initial alert on possible quality of service issues if necessary steps are not taken", he adds.

Badaru says the survey team also understudied the impact of regulatory, legal and policy reforms and the impact they have continued to have on developments in the Nigerian telecoms market.

"Significantly, the 2008 review focuses on appraising the impact of unification of services with landmark introduction of unified access service licences by NCC. Two years down the line, the Technology Times Intelligence Unit has gone out into the marketplace to document the fundamental changes resulting from that policy measure", says Badaru.

The Scope of the Technology Times 2008 Mid-Year Review of the Nigerian Telecoms Market includes:

• Review of The Post-Unified Telecoms Market in Nigeria

• Visafone: Case Study of New Player's Entry Strategy

• Banking on The Nigerian Financial Services Industry: Opportunities and Challenges of Funding The Next Growth Phase of Nigerian Telecoms

• NCC: Regulatory Environment Impact Assessment

• Policy Reforms: Review of Nigerian Communications Act 2003 by The National Assembly

• Telecoms Market Trend: Next Generation Services and Nigerian Market Reality

• Overview of Market Trend, Market Intelligence, Indicators and more

Technology Times Newspaper, the weekly print edition which commenced in Q4 2005 circulates to an enlightened readership. It appeals to management-level executives within all types of telecoms organisations, ranging from regulatory authorities to service operators, as well as technology, equipment, software and handset suppliers. It also extends to decision makers in the oil and gas, financial services industry and key sectors of the Nigerian economy. Technology Times eNews, the electronic news service edition reaches over 50,000 subscriber base in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.