In the GSMA Intelligence - Mobile for Development (M4D) Impact country overview series, we analyse the evolution and outlook of national mobile markets in the developing world. Each report covers a single country, combining data analysis with on-the-ground interviews to understand why that mobile market has developed as it has, and what the future holds.

Only a quarter of developing markets1 have introduced Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to date, according to our research, while only a further 15% are known to be implementing MNP in the future. This suggests that about 60% of regulators in the developing world have either decided against introducing MNP, or have made no progress to date.

Only one in three of the African population is currently subscribed to a mobile service, highlighting a major growth opportunity for regional operators that are able to extend affordable services into rural areas.

Africa is on track to become the world's second-largest mobile market by year-end, but the region remains highly dependent on prepaid voice income and is characterised by pricing wars, low usage and the relatively high cost of device ownership, says GSMA Intelligence.

South African fixed-line operator Telkom returned to the country's mobile market this month amid signs that subscriber growth in the sector could be slowing. Telkom has unveiled a new mobile brand called '8ta' offering "prepaid voice and data products from launch" and postpaid products from next month.

MTN's bid to acquire most of Orascom Telecom's African mobile assets will see the South African firm's subscriber base surpass the 100 million mark and strengthen its position as the leading mobile operator group in Africa.

It’s August 2008 and everything appears to be going swimmingly at Zain.

New GSMA Intelligence data reveals that North Africa remained the largest and most technologically advanced sub-region in Africa in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has been a key investment target for many international operators in recent years. According to our latest forecasts, the country is also Africa’s largest mobile market by some distance and had just under 70 million connections by Q2 2009 (second-placed South Africa had 51.6 million).

Zain’s announcement that it is reviewing a sale of its African mobile networks marks a major shift in strategy for a group that had previously seen the region as a major driver of growth. The Kuwaiti-based group had earlier set itself an ambitious target of becoming one of the top ten telcos in the world by 2011, targeting a total customer base of over 150 million. However, a sale of its African networks, which account for 16 of its 23 global markets and some 62 percent of its customers, would dramatically reduce Zain’s customer base and global footprint.

France Telecom-owned Orange has long had a footprint in the predominantly French-speaking areas of West Africa, but this year has seen the operator push into new African markets and seek to exploit its brand profile in the continent.

Despite some vocal opposition in the Ghanaian Parliament over the summer, Vodafone succeeded in completing its US$900 million acquisition of a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom within just a few weeks. It is the group's first acquisition completed under the stewardship of new chief executive, Vittorio Colao, and is seen as a significant addition to Vodafone's EMAPA (Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Affiliates) division, which is becoming increasingly important to the group in offsetting slowing growth in its more mature markets.

The Kuwaiti-based Middle Eastern and sub-Saharan operator Zain has set itself the target of becoming one of the top ten telecoms companies in the world by 2011. It already claims to be the fourth-largest operator in terms of geographic spread following its US$3.36 billion acquisition of Celtel three years ago, which saw it expand from its Middle Eastern base into 14 African markets.

The number of South African WCDMA and HSPA connections surpassed the 1 million mark for the first time last year, establishing South Africa as comfortably the most mature market in Africa in terms of high-speed mobile network

In the opening quarter of 2008, cellular connections in Africa passed 280 million, adding 70 million connections compared to the previous year. In 2007, growth of 38% made it the fastest growing region in the World, ahead of the Middle East (33%) and Asia-Pacific (29%). In early 2008, Africa is set to overtake North America in terms of the number of cellular connections.

Africa is the fastest growing region in the global cellular market. Cellular connections passed 200 million in the first quarter of 2007 to reach a penetration rate of around 21%. Strong opportunities for growth are expected in the various sub-regions of Africa (although the Southern region is showing signs of maturity). Orascom, Millicom, Celtel, MTN and Vodacom are competing strongly in such markets, where network coverage and regulation remain challenging.