In Part 1, I discussed the positive role mobile devices are playing in emerging countries around the world. In Part 2 I will explore where telecommunications companies believe their next greatest mobile marketing opportunity is the world.
Mobile markets have become saturated in many areas of the world so mobile manufactures are now looking for new services and locations to market their technology. Emerging areas such as China, India and Latin America have all been explored, so where is the next big mobile frontier?
Africa, is now considered one of the last important and untapped locations for mobile companies to penetration in the world. While there are still opportunities in developed countries to market data and content delivery services, mobile industry experts believe Africa is currently less risky from a business perspective. Africa is also easier to penetrate from a marketing perspective because the demand is so large.
Africa also has a very large population with a low mobile saturation level, which provides for large minute-usage profits. And mobile companies view Africa as a future success story because of its unique cultural and economic conditions, and as a location for innovation and new product introduction such as M-Banking.
In the telecommunications space, voice traffic has traditionally been the revenue generator, although in 2010, emerging markets like Africa have seen data transmission (including voice over IP) exceed voice traffic. Mobile companies are also exploring ways to develop new business opportunities through data traffic use; this is because the margins are typically smaller than voice usage profits.
So what are the new opportunities in mobile within emerging nations?
A 2009 World Bank report ‘Information and Communications for Development 2009, found the mobile platform as the "single most powerful way to reach and deliver public and private services to hundreds of millions of people in remote and rural areas across the developing world".
Considering the large populations of emerging countries, their recent exposure through the internet and wireless mobile services to news, trends, and cultures worldwide, content developers of the future will focus on the development of educational content via mobile and wireless communications.
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