Vodacom following Vodafone lead with WiMax and ADSL?
Vodafone has seen its average revenue per user (ARPU) come under increasing strain which is why they are exploring additional revenue streams like wireline and fixed mobile broadband services.
According to Unstrung, Vodafone has already launched commercial fixed WiMax services in Malta, and are busy acquiring licenses, testing, and investing in the technology worldwide.
Unstrung pointed out that “Vodafone currently uses WiMax for fixed broadband services, but that it is just ‘one element of its Mobile Plus strategy, which it launched about a year ago, along with other broadband technologies such as DSL’.”
Locally Vodacom’s entrance into the fixed broadband space may be seen as a first and even slightly controversial, given their connections to fixed line operator Telkom, but it is clearly in line with Vodafone’s international operations and future plans.
Broadband is not only viewed as a future revenue stream, but also as a high-speed gateway into the user’s home over which other services like IP-TV, Video-on-demand and triple play services can be offered.
These new services create additional revenue streams to lift the ARPU, which is key to any telecoms provider’s future strategy as traditional voice revenues are continually shrinking.
MTN does not appear to have the same drive as Vodacom to dominate the local broadband space, something that may come to haunt them in a few years time.
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