CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, September 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Total broadband adoption in Africa will increase at a CAGR of 28 percent
through 2013 as new undersea cables boost Africa's international bandwidth,
reducing the number of coastal countries without any cable access from 19 to
one, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com), the
telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network
(www.lightreading.com).

Africa Connects: Undersea Cables to Drive an African Broadband Boom
describes in detail the upcoming evolution of Africa's international
bandwidth market, as five major new cables and a host of smaller ones are
deployed and launched over the next three years. The 15-page report then
discusses how this increase in capacity will affect African broadband end
users, driving adoption of fixed and mobile broadband by reducing tariffs by
up to 72 percent. Finally, it examines how this changed environment will
affect African broadband operators and looks in detail at two key markets,
Egypt and Kenya, to see how their contrasting regulatory environments will
affect the impact of the newly available bandwidth. Download an excerpt of
this report here: http://www.pyr.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PR090309_INSAME1.6

The biggest change to African telecom markets over the next three years
will be invisible. "Twelve new undersea cables planned for launch between
third quarter 2009 and mid-2011 will remove the most serious obstacle that
has historically prevented operators from taking advantage of Africa's great
unmet demand for broadband services," says Dearbhla McHenry, analyst at
Pyramid Research and author of the report. "As a result, the cables will
increase Africa's total international bandwidth from about 6 Tbps to as much
as 34 Tbps and will reduce the number of coastal countries without any cable
access from 19 to one," she adds.

"Through the end of second quarter 2009, 40 percent of continental
Africa's 47 nations had no direct cable connections at all, forcing operators
to rely on expensive satellite links," McHenry explains. "The combination of
heavy reliance on satellite and monopoly control of local access to undersea
cables meant that prices were also astronomical: Rates for SAT-3, for
example, are about US$4,500 to US$12,000 per Mbps per month, which is more
than 20 times more expensive than bandwidth prices in the U.S.," she says.

The quintupling of Africa's international bandwidth will support the
upcoming boom in African broadband adoption by increasing capacity and
bringing down prices for end users. "By early 2011, we expect that more than
half of all African markets will have 3G, while broadband coverage is
increasing daily via both wireless and wireline technologies," McHenry
comments. "We forecast that total broadband adoption in Africa will increase
at a CAGR of 28 percent from 2009 to 2013, as increased competition in the
international bandwidth market brings down prices and as new cables support
the corresponding increase in demand."

Africa Connects: Undersea Cables to Drive an African Broadband Boom is
part of Pyramid Research's Africa and the Middle East Telecom Insider report
series. This report is priced at US$595 and can be purchased online here:
http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_090821.htm?sc=PR090309_INSAME1.6
or by contacting Amalia Vega via email at avega@pyr.com.

For more information about Pyramid Research's products and services,
please visit www.pyr.com or contact us at info@pyr.com.

About Pyramid Research

Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com) offers practical solutions to the complex
demands our clients face in the telecommunications, media and technology
industries. Our analysis is uniquely positioned at the intersection of
emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models, powered
by the bottom-up methodology of our market forecasts for over 100 countries -
a distinction that has remained unmatched for more than 25 years. As the
telecom research arm of the Light Reading Communications Network, Pyramid
Research works with Heavy Reading, providing the communications industry's
most comprehensive market data, trusted research and insightful technology
analysis.

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading
online media, research, and focused event company serving the US$3 trillion
worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for
technology and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the
media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading's
research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most
comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis
in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20
targeted communications events including TelcoTV, Ethernet Expo New York and
Ethernet Expo London, The Tower Summit @ CTIA, and Optical Expo, as well as
focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives.
Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and
operates as a unit of TechWeb.

About TechWeb

TechWeb (http://techweb.com/aboutus), the global leader in business
technology media, is an innovative business focused on serving the needs of
technology decision-makers and marketers worldwide. TechWeb produces the most
respected and consumed media brands in the business technology market. Today,
more than 13.3 million* business technology professionals actively engage in
our communities created around our global face-to-face events, Interop, Web
2.0, Black Hat, and VoiceCon; online resources such as the TechWeb Network,
Light Reading, Intelligent Enterprise, InformationWeek.com, bMighty.com, and
The Financial Technology Network; and the market leading, award-winning
InformationWeek, TechNet Magazine, MSDN Magazine, and Wall Street &
Technology magazines. TechWeb also provides end-to-end services including
next-generation performance marketing, integrated media, research, and
analyst services. TechWeb is a division of United Business Media, a global
provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a
market capitalization of more than US$2.5 billion.

*13.3 million business decision-makers: based on number of monthly
connections

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information
distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization
of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve
professional commercial communities - from doctors to game developers, from
journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists - with integrated
events, online, print, and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in
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information, go to http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com.

Media Contact:
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