Mobile computing is a growing phenomenon in the workplace and out with leading researchers already recognising the emergence of a ‘post PC’ era. As more people access IT applications and content by preference using their tablets, ‘phablets’ and smartphones, a whole new set of challenges and opportunities are emerging. In South Africa, however, the majority lag the mobility hype by about two years....

Providing high-quality broadband to consumer and enterprise customers is a key issue in Africa that affects both fixed and mobile operators. Broadband will be the major growth area in Africa over the next five years – it is the fastest-growing segment in the region. Most of the growth will come from mobile broadband, as this is the major channel through which customers can access the Internet...

Developing Telecoms annual survey of telecom trends in emerging markets is now complete. We contacted senior executives at over 700 companies - vendors, network operators and mobile service providers - known to be active in emerging markets.

So what are the top telecoms trends for 2013 in emerging markets?

2013 will prove to be another interesting year for the sector...

As 2013 gets underway, we will see a shift towards a truly digital society...

Emerging markets have always been quick to adopt innovative mobile technologies:  low ARPUs means this is essential to creating a strong business case. In 2013 as we see smartphone penetration in emerging markets rising rapidly, we’ll see this trend continue, with new, efficient technologies deployed throughout the network...

The mobile data boom that is set to continue into 2013 and beyond, and service providers will need to find technologies and strategies to survive and thrive...

India's telecom sector faced a particularly turbulent year, but 2013 may well turn around a lot of the negativity that affected the country's market last year.

Broadband will only get bigger and better in 2013...

Content delivery networks will become even more widespread in 2013...

Emerging markets will have easier access to high-speed internet in 2013, which will accelerate uptake...

Western Union views the following as the strongest digital trends in the financial services industry in emerging markets in 2013...

LTE will continue to grow, with the TDD strand becoming more high-profile in 2013...

In 2013, there will be a continued shift in focus for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) from ‘volume-led’ acquisition growth to a ‘value-based’ retention and growth strategy...

The key word for emerging markets this year is mobility...

This year, there will be a significant shift from VPNs to public, private and, importantly, hybrid clouds...

Brazil will see a major overhaul of its networks in 2013... 

The CSPs in emerging markets making the most gains in 2013 will be those prepared to innovate in service offerings and customer experience, making the most of the information they will have at their fingertips...

Churn will continue to be a major issue for operators in emerging markets in 2013...

Some emerging markets are amongst the most "bandwidth-hungry" environments, even compared to the traditional, more mature North American and European markets...

Smart device users will increasingly consume data that they don't have to pay for in 2013...

Network virtualisation will be a major trend going into 2013...