For communications professionals in southern Africa SOUTHERN AFRICAN

WIRELESSCOMMUNICATIONS MARCH/APRIL 2018 Volume 22 Number 6

l Ka-band: the best option for broadband via satellite? l RF technology: the key to smart city applications l A network on wheels – the ultimate in mobile deployments

SAWC 1804 p1 (Cover).indd 1 20/04/2018 10:14 SAWC 1804 p2 (Rajant).indd 1 02/05/2018 18:44 SOUTHERN AFRICAN CONTENTS

COMMUNICATIONSWIRELESS

For communications professionals in southern Africa 10 NEWS 5 NEWS SOUTHERN AFRICAN MARCH/ u Quika plans free satellite internet service WIRELESSCOMMUNICATIONS MARCH/APRIL 2018 Volume 22 Number 6 APRIL 2018 u l Ka-band: the best option for broadband via satellite? Eutelsat plans LEO satellite for IoT connectivity l RF technology: the key to smart city applications l A network on wheels – the ultimate in mobile deployments Volume 22 u Bentley Walker to expand with HYLAS 4 Number 6 u ZICTA names fourth MNO for Zambia u DSA applauds ICASA TVWS decision u Ecobank claims banking app success u SSL set to build AMOS-8 SAWC 1804 p1 (Cover).indd 1 20/04/2018 10:14 u ‘Power and coverage as a service’ in Rwanda u MARS to connect Indian Ocean islands Singtel is Asia’s leading communications u Standard Chartered sets up digital bank technology group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation 14 WIRELESS BUSINESS communication, technology services to UK government can offer billions in support infotainment to both consumers and 20 WIRELESS SOLUTIONS of African infrastructure. businesses. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility 20 WIRELESS SOLUTIONS 22 SATCOMS solutions, data hosting, cloud, network G+D integrates M2M and consumer SIM infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security cards for connected car users. capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 685 22 FEATURE: SATCOMS million mobile customers in 22 countries. DR. NICOLA DAVIES and RAHIEL NASIR find out if Ka-band is the best option for enabling With more than 40 years of experience in broadband connectivity from space. fixed satellite services, Singtel Satellite’s footprint covers more than 100 countries 26 FEATURE: IOT across Africa, the Middle East and the RF components are positioned to be an Asia Pacific regions. Our three teleports integral part of the infrastructure of the point to more than 30 satellites and are Internet of Things, as AMPHENOL RF explains. supported by an extensive and robust terrestrial network of more than 428 30 INDUSTRY VIEW direct points of presence in 362 cities. 30 INDUSTRY VIEW DAVA BAUMANN discusses how a ‘network on wheels’ redefines wireless connectivity. Singtel Satellite is the trusted provider 34 WORLD NEWS with expertise in fixed satellite services, 32 WORLD NEWS mobile satellite services, broadcast u CloudAIR trial completed in Egypt solutions and maritime ICT solutions. u OBS wins world’s tallest building ICT contract Enterprises can be assured of reliable u Viasat launches ‘fastest’ satellite internet and high-quality satellite connectivity to u Peruvian villages go online for first time connect your world anywhere, anytime. u Researchers simulate conditions of Mars u Vodafone introduces 4G mini mobile mast For more information, please visit www.singtelteleport.com or email us at [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS: Southern African Wireless Communications is a controlled circulation bi-monthly magazine. Register now for your free subscription at www.kadiumpublishing.com For more on Singtel, Readers who do not qualify under the terms of control can purchase an annual subscription turn to page 13 at the cost of £110. For more information and general enquiries please contact Suzanne Thomas at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 1932 886 537.

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SAWC 1804 p3 CHANGE PIC NO RADWIN.indd 3 26/04/2018 17:50 See us at East Africa Com May 15-16, 2018 Our beams cover billions of viewers. Kenya Booth #12 Our focus is only on you.

More Coverage. More Throughput. More Services. Across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Spacecom’s AMOS satellite constellation, consisting of AMOS-3 & AMOS-7 co-located at 4°W and AMOS-4 at 65°E, provides high-quality broadcast and communications services across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. With AMOS-17 planned for launch to 17°E in early 2019, Spacecom will further expand its reach, reinforcing its position as a leading satellite operator. www.amos-spacecom.com

SAWC 1804 p4 (Amos).indd 1 26/04/2018 17:55 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html NEWS Quika plans to launch world’s first free satellite internet service

A new company has been set up to technology mitigates several key launch what’s promised to be the engineering challenges to deliver world’s first entirely free high-speed “seamless auto tracking, unlimited satellite internet for consumers in instantaneous bandwidth through developing countries. true time delay, and a 90 per cent London-based Quika was founded reduction in power consumption over by Alan Afrasiab, the CEO and conventional design”. According to president of global satellite networks Isotropic, its technology automatically and services provider, Talia Group. tunes the beam-pointing to maintain Speaking during the launch of the precise accuracy over time that is Quika in January, Afrasiab said: “We uniquely needed for Ka-band systems believe that left unbalanced, entire to optimise the efficiency of the links communities and regions will be Quika believes that the opportunities the internet provides shouldn’t be in the service provider’s network. abandoned by technological and limited by geography, culture, wealth or infrastructure. It will use GEO In a separate deal, Avanti economic progress. Quika will help and LEO satellites to provide Ka-band services for free. Communications is also working bridge this digital and economic divide. with Isotropic to develop a self- “The main reasons for people not plan chosen. The free version will have With offices in the UK and USA, installing terminal to expand its using the internet are inequalities in fixed bandwidth offering download/ Isotropic Systems is developing a markets in Africa, the Middle East relation to income and education, upload speeds of 3Mbps/1Mbps. terminal to support the satellite and Europe. A working prototype as well as the lack of infrastructure, Quika will use high throughput Ka- industry to ‘reach beyond’ traditional is expected in early 2019 and full relevant online content and services, band satellites. It said that while data markets. It claims the fully integrated scale production by mid 2020. plus relatively high costs of access speeds will be fast, internet services high throughput terminal will be the Quika will initially launch its and usage.” provided by geostationary satellites first to offer multi-service, high- internet services in Afghanistan Quika’s free service will be partially mean an average latency of 638ms. bandwidth and low power. and Iraq at the end of Q318 before funded by advertising and through This will make Quika unsuitable for The two companies said they launching in 27 countries in Africa at the subsidisation of the paid version applications such as online gaming will jointly develop an “out-of-the- the end of the year. In the region of which will be available on a pay or screen sharing. However in the box consumer web experience” the continent they include: Algeria, monthly basis or via pre-paid plans. future, the firm aims to utilise low- that eliminates the need for skilled Benin, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Prices have yet to be announced. Earth orbit satellites that promise to installation, and allows internet usage Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Egypt, Ghana, Paid services will include a variety reduce latency to under 100ms. to be fully subsidised by advertising. Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, of bandwidths designed for SMEs In the meantime, Quika has part- Isotropic said its optical technology South Sudan, Togo and Tunisia. and local ISPs, and offer download nered with Isotropic Systems to develop will enable terminals that meet or However, the company points out speeds of 5-50Mbps and upload a self-installing terminal to help bring exceed traditional VSATs at one-tenth that its ultimate vision is to offer speeds of 1-3Mbps depending on the broadband to consumers at no cost. the current cost. It claims that the free broadband services globally. Eutelsat plans LEO satellite for IoT connectivity

Eutelsat has commissioned its first ELO will ELO will also test connectivity LEO (low Earth orbit) satellite. be used to in other frequency bands. Eutelsat Nano- and microsatellite specialist assess the hopes that the synergies developed Tyvak International, a subsidiary of performance through the partnership with Sigfox, of LEO US and Italy headquartered Terran satellites in as well as with other strategic Orbital Corporation, will build the providing IoT alliances in the telecom industry, spacecraft for the operator. connectivity. should open up new opportunities Eutelsat LEO for Objects (ELO) will in this fast-growing market. be used to assess the performance “With the expansion of the of low Earth orbit satellites in provid- Internet of Things, new services are ing narrowband connectivity for the being developed in a wide range of IoT. According to the company, low that are not served by terrestrial Data will then be transmitted daily sectors including smart cities, the Earth orbit is particularly well-suited networks and offer redundancy on to a ground station located in the mining industry, agriculture and for this. It says LEO offers a satellite existing terrestrial network coverage. Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard logistics,” says Jean-Hubert Lenotte, link anywhere in the world, is comple- Located on a sun-synchronous in the Arctic Ocean. chief strategy officer, Eutelsat. “By mentary to terrestrial IoT networks, orbit between 500km and 600km Eutelsat will work with Sigfox analysing the compatibility of LEO and does not impact the cost or the in altitude, the satellite will collect which runs a global narrowband and connected objects, and working energy consumption of the objects. data from connected objects across network dedicated to the IoT. Sigfox with recognised partners in the ELO is scheduled for launch in the globe equipped with the same will analyse the spectrum used by field, Eutelsat aims to provide an 2019. It will backhaul information omni-directional antennas already the satellite in ISM frequency bands, innovative solution which will meet from objects located in areas used by terrestrial IoT networks. and process data from objects. the needs of future clients.”

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 5

SAWC 1804 p5-12 (News) NO RADWIN.indd 5 26/04/2018 17:57 NEWS

Bentley Walker to expand ZICTA names fourth MNO in Africa with HYLAS 4 for Zambia

The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has awarded a fourth mobile license to UZI Zambia Limited. In its official notification, ZICTA announced that the operator has been granted a network license under the international market segment, and a service license under the national market segment with “associated resources” (see HYLAS 4 lifted-off on board Ariane News, Nov-Dec 2017 issue). flight VA242 on 5 April. A series of While the sums due for the pre-planned in orbit tests will now licenses have not been disclosed, take place over the coming months UZI has pledged to invest more before it goes live. than USD350m and says it will Bentley Walker is aiming to HYLAS 4 will extend Avanti’s in the Nigerian gateway as it create 450 direct employment “significantly increase” its EMEA coverage to 1.7bn people across aims to ensure that services from opportunities to support its coverage with the help of Avanti. 118 countries, and support Bentley HYLAS 4 are delivered efficiently operations in the country. The company has announced that it Walker’s market expansion into in-country and interconnected with The company plans to deploy will start service roll out across Africa West, Central and South Africa. other networks, ensuring access a nationwide network which utilising its initial USD1m bandwidth UK-based Bentley Walker is is available to enable high-speed will support 5G as well as LTE commitment on Avanti’s HYLAS 4 said to be the largest supplier and internet everywhere, including technologies. It will also implement which was successfully launched by operator of VSAT networks outside remote and rural locations. The 100 universal access sites in Arianespace on 5 April 2018. of North America. According to an satellite can also support 2G, 3G unserved and underserved areas. The satellite’s payload includes independent audit, the company and 4G backhaul services. UZI now joins MTN, Airtel and 64 active Ka-band fixed beams and has so far sold and brought online MDXI GM Gbenga Adegbiji state-owned Zamtel in Zambia’s four steerable beams. It aims to more than 40,000 VSATs. says: “Our engineers have already mobile market. It was widely expand capacity over Europe, and In a separate deal, MainOne will implemented a bespoke colocation thought that Vodafone would be East and Southern Africa, as well as host and manage Avanti’s gateway solution to support the largest GES awarded one of the licenses after provide new capacity across West Earth station (GES) at its MDXI in the region with uninterrupted entering the country in 2016 but and Central Africa. Latin America data centre in Lagos. Avanti has power, connectivity and security to only as a provider of data services can also be targeted. already invested up to USD20m ensure 24/7/365 operations.” using TD-LTE. However at the end of March, Vodafone Zambia announced that it was set to launch DSA applauds ICASA for VoLTE commercially within the next three months under a newly its TVWS regulations acquired license from ZICTA. Uzi Zambia is a subsidiary of The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance digital divide and inexpensively Netherlands-based Unitel International (DSA) says the Independent delivering broadband,” says DSA Holdings which also has a presence Communications Authority of South president Kalpak Gude. “The two in Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, Africa’s recent decision to publish its biggest barriers in South Africa, like Cape Verde and Portugal. regulations on the use of TV white much of Africa, are accessibility DSA president Kalpak Gude says ZICTA’s decision to award both space spectrum marks a “huge and affordability, so we congratulate TVWS can complement LTE. licenses to the company has been step forward” in enabling affordable [ICASA] for publishing its regulations, questioned by some observers on broadband across the country. and it highlights how TVWS can including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, social media who believe UZI does The alliance has been play an important part of a national Malawi, Nigeria, Mozambique and not have the same clout as bigger championing TVWS for several telecommunications infrastructure.” Tanzania. “We believe South Africa’s players in the telecoms space. years now. Its members believe that The next step for ICASA is to actions will spur more regulators in According to the authority, the it offers the strength in providing make its type approval process the region and around the world to licenses were granted after it carried connectivity over large geographical operational and the TVWS database move rapidly,” says Gude. out a technical and financial evaluation areas through the use of dynamic commercially available as these TVWS technologies use unused of the investment proposals that spectrum access technologies. are both necessary for commercial or unassigned spectrum in the UHF it received from applicants. ZICTA “TV white space technology deployments to move forward. and VHF bands and operate on a said it had received two proposals provides an alternative but The DSA says TVWS regulations secondary basis without causing by the deadline of 18 December complementary ecosystem to are being considered in a number interference to primary users, such but did not reveal the identities of LTE technologies for bridging the of other countries in Africa as television broadcasters. any other applicants.

6 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p5-12 (News) NO RADWIN.indd 6 26/04/2018 17:57 SAWC 1804 p7 (PCCW).indd 1 03/05/2018 14:32 NEWS A dozen O3b satellites now in space SES has successfully launched four As a result, it’s claimed the satellites and continents with high performance throughput, more coverage, and new O3b satellites. They were sent will deliver connectivity with a “low communications anywhere on Earth. more capabilities to our customers.” into space on board an Arianespace latency, fibre-like” performance. “This is the beauty of our MEO This was the fourth O3b launch Soyuz rocket from Kourou, French Built by Thales Alenia Space, SES constellation,” says Martin Halliwell, performed by Arianespace. The first Guiana on 9 March. says the four new Ka-band satellites will CTO, SES. “It can easily be scaled 12 satellites were launched by three The new spacecraft will join SES’ enable it to meet the growing demand to respond to demand in an agile Soyuz launch vehicles in 2013 and existing constellation of 12 medium for bandwidth in the telecom, cloud, manner while beams can be allocated 2014, and the company has been Earth orbit (MEO) satellites in May. maritime, energy, and government dynamically to where the demand is, contracted to launch another quartet They will be around 8,000km from the markets. By augmenting its O3b fleet, and thus deliver low-latency connectivity during the first half of next year. planet which is four times closer than the firm says it is scaling its “unique” where our customers need it. By Is Ka the best option for delivering broad- their geostationary (GEO) counterparts. ability to connect people, businesses, augmenting our fleet, we will offer more band via satellite? Feature pp22-25. Ecobank claims success for Orange plans to help citizens innovative banking app seize power in Africa Since launching a mobile banking Group CEO Ade Orange is aiming to become a key in conjunction with technical partners. app around 18 months ago, Ecobank Ayeyemi said player in the energy transition Various daily, weekly or quarterly claims it has now processed nine Ecobank’s app sector in Africa by providing services subscription packages are available. million transactions worth more than usage has been directly to the general public or as For example in the DRC, monthly USD1bn across 33 African countries. growing at an a wholesaler to public operators. subscriptions start at USD15. The app was developed as a average 700k Orange already provides a service Payment via Orange Money makes it single, unified financial services new customers offering rural populations access possible to automatically grant or re- platform and enables any user to per month. to solar energy in the DRC and establish the service remotely for the open an Ecobank Xpress account Madagascar. It has now introduced the requested period. Orange reckons instantly on their mobile device. donations, buy airtime instantly service in Burkina Faso, and further its service makes solar energy Customers are able to transfer and generate payment tokens for launches are planned in Senegal, more widely accessible thanks to money instantly within Ecobank cardless ATM withdrawals or at an Mali, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. the flexibility of mobile payments. locally or across Africa using Xpress agent locations. The Orange Energie kit includes a The operator adds that a new Rapidtransfer, a service that is According to group CEO Ade solar panel, a battery and accessories milestone will be reached in the 1Q18 claimed to be faster and more Ayeyemi, Ecobank’s strategic aim such as LED lightbulbs, phone with the distribution of 12,000 Energie affordable than competing options. is to deliver “innovative, efficient rechargers, etc. The equipment is kits in West Africa. Orange says the They can also make transfers to and cost-effective” services to provided by partners (BBOXX in the next step will involve the “massive” other local bank accounts, mobile those who are typically outside DRC, D Light in Madagascar and deployment of the Energie service in wallets and to Visa cardholders. of the formal economy. “Our app Niwa in Burkina Faso) and is said to other countries across its footprint, In addition, the app offers not only removes the barriers that be quick and easy to set-up – all the and the sale of several hundred convenient payments using have financially excluded so many user needs to do is install a solar thousand kits in the next five years. Ecobankpay Scan+Pay through Africans but offers next-generation panel on the roof and a control unit The firm believes the energy sector Masterpass, mVisa and Mcash, and functionality to help them send in the house. Orange offers a full represents a significant opportunity offers options to pay utility bills, money, make withdrawals or pay for guarantee that covers the entire for its plan for diversification in Africa school fees, subscriptions, make goods and services.” installation, maintenance and repairs where power cuts are frequent. Zambia gets cloudier with Gilat Telecom’s help Gilat Telecom (formerly Gilat Satcom) offering services shortly. of where it is stored and is easy to has been granted a license to provide According to the company, restore. The firm adds that all of its cloud and fixed broadband services customers will benefit from a cloud services are available using a across Zambia. range of value-added services ‘service-as-you-go’ model. The operator claims the new license such as a high-performance Wi-Fi In a separate development, Gilat will enable its local subsidiary to meet package that promises to bring fast has also launched a new remote the rising demand from businesses broadband to offices without the connectivity service for organisations who are looking for a higher-quality need to lay fibre to the building. that work in African areas with little broadband service and a wider Among some of the other benefits or no network coverage. Gilat Telecom’s new service for range of managed services than is a priority-based traffic management It uses a terminal from Swedish remote users features the compact currently available from Zambia’s system, a cloud PBX service to firm Satcube that weighs just and lightweight Satcube. It is existing operators. reduce the cost of all calls, and a 8kg. Gilat says the device can be designed to be as easy to set up Gilat Telecom Zambia has already data protection service that provides transported as hand luggage on a and use as a smartphone. opened an office in Lusaka and is now another level of security by storing plane, and can be setup without any recruiting a local team. The company all of an organisation’s critical data engineering expertise to connect to with a variety of different packages is also completing work on its PoP in the cloud. Gilat says the data is its global satellite network. Users then available. The service provides speeds in the capital and expects to start automatically backed-up regardless pay a monthly fee for connectivity of up to 20mbps and uses Ku-band.

8 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p5-12 (News) NO RADWIN.indd 8 02/05/2018 18:59 SAWC 1804 p7 (Avanti).indd 1 02/05/2018 18:42 NEWS

Cassie Lessing, SSL set to build AMOS-8 CEO, Strato IT Group Spacecom’s mission in Africa is gain- spacecraft’s C-band transponders ing momentum with news that it has to provide high throughput internet, contracted SSL to build AMOS-8. voice, data and broadcast services US-based SSL (Space Systems to the growing communication ON THE NETWORK Loral) is now a subsidiary of Maxar markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Technologies and will develop Cobbett Hill was one of Spacecom’s AMOS-8 using what’s claimed first partners and the two companies Mobile-first to be the world’s most popular have been working together now for commercial communications more than 10 years. solutions driven satellite platform, the SSL 1300. Scheduled for launch during the Scheduled for launch to 4ºW by second quarter of next year, AMOS-17 by IoT growth SpaceX in the second half of 2020, is specifically designed for meeting Spacecom says the new satellite will Africa’s growing demands. With Two years ago, when we launched, deliver “state-of-the-art” broadcast, what it describes as “extensive” Ka-, South African businesses were broadband and data services to Ku- and C-band services, Spacecom slowly starting to adopt limited- Africa, the Middle East and Europe. says its satellite will combine broad scope mobile applications. It says AMOS-8 will include flexible regional beams and high throughput While the uptake was slow, these high power Ku- and Ka-band spot beams to maximise service businesses did enjoy a significant payloads with steerable antennas to delivery and spectral efficiency enough lead over competitors and enable customers to deliver various from its 17°E orbital position. experienced the immediate benefits added value services. The satellite The company claims AMOS-17 of a mobile-first approach. But this will be colocated with AMOS-3 and will be the “most technologically is starting to change. Adoption and will be designed with a service life advanced” satellite to service Africa Cobbett Hill teleport will use C-band innovation are increasing in parallel, of at least 15 years. and will deliver a large variety of transponders on Spacecom’s closing the initial gap fast. In a separate development, Cobbett services from its “state-of-the-art” AMOS-17 to provide high throughput We are noticing a much deeper Hill Earthstation has entered into a digital payload. internet, voice, data and broadcast level of development within mobile long-term agreement for capacity on Ido Ginzburg, the company’s services to sub-Saharan Africa. apps, with businesses starting to Spacecom’s forthcoming AMOS-17 VP sales North America, UK and push the limits of what these can communication satellite. Nordic, adds: “The satellite will for furthering a new digital age in do across the entire company. An independent teleport based connect Africa, Europe and the sub-Saharan Africa in which satellite Sitting behind this innovation and in the UK, Cobbett Hill will use the Middle East, creating a unique bridge services will be at the centre.” growth is the rise of the IoT. The total number of IoT devices is predicted to surpass mobile phones worldwide Clear Blue and Vanu team for unique ‘power by the end of 2018, making it the largest group of connected devices. Exacerbating this phenomenon is and coverage as a service’ in Rwanda that by 2021, there will be 7.7bn Canada-based off-grid power mobile broadband subscriptions, specialist Clear Blue Technologies 9bn mobile subscriptions, and is helping Vanu to provide cellular 6.3bn smartphone subscriptions. coverage that will support up to a This makes mobile-first an million customers in rural Rwanda. inevitable enterprise strategy Vanu grew out of what’s within the next five years. described as “groundbreaking” While enterprise adoption of IoT research in software radio at and its implementation is growing the Massachusetts Institute at a rapid rate globally, the South of Technology. The company African time to market is still very has since pioneered a wireless slow. There is a mix of businesses communications solution and a still delaying the overall decision to ‘coverage-as-a-service’ business develop and implement a mobile model that is claimed to make Clear Blue’s ‘power as a service’ business strategy, while others are it economically viable to provide will provide reliable, wireless, clean managed power for Vanu’s base station. trying to fit a mobile strategy into telecom services to remote areas. a five-year IT strategy. Clear Blue’s Smart Off-Grid remote control and management “This assists in our objective to Despite this, growth and con- solution and service will provide over the internet. It claims all this lower the cost per cell site to a level tinued development of enterprise the accompanying ‘power as “slashes” maintenance time and that permits sustainable service in apps is inevitable. Machine learning, a service’ to deliver reliable, costs by up to 80 per cent. sparsely populated areas.” AR together with IoT will continue to wireless, clean managed power “Clear Blue’s Smart Off-Grid Beard says Vanu’s aim is to help bolster enterprise mobility and the for the Vanu cellular base station. system enables us to install our MNOs extend coverage to rural increased use of mobile apps. These The company’s system includes communications solutions in areas communities in Rwanda, and that technologies together with a cloud a hybrid controller, integrated without grid power or skilled labour by working with Clear Blue in the strategy will unleash immense poten- communications network and the for ongoing system maintenance,” future, it will roll out rural market tial for mobile app development.” Illumience cloud software for full says Vanu Group CEO Andy Beard. solutions for operators worldwide.

10 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p5-12 (News) NO RADWIN.indd 10 26/04/2018 17:58 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html NEWS MARS connects Indian Ocean islands PCCW Global and Mauritius Telecom capacity of 16Tbps. MARS will the new cable is live, but will also designing, building, and maintaining have partnered to construct and be ready for service in 2019 and have access to a “rich portfolio” submarine cables around the world maintain a high-speed submarine PCCW will manage its operation. of digital applications, online to assist another service provider, cable connecting the Indian Ocean With a population of around services and content via PCCW’s in this case Mauritius Telecom, to Islands of Rodrigues and Mauritius. 40,000 people, Rodrigues is the international network. commission their own fully-maintained PCCW will work with Huawei second largest island in the Republic Frederick Chui, PCCW Global’s cable investment. This completely Marine Networks to build the of Mauritius. The partners claim SVP of global data sales, PCCW eliminates any risk in the development, 700km Mauritius and Rodrigues that the island’s residents will not Global, says: “This project is very maintenance and operation of what Submarine Cable System (MARS) only benefit from vastly improved exciting for us because we are might otherwise have been which will have a bandwidth design bandwidth and connectivity once using our experience gained in a technically daunting project.” Connecting Africa and the world 0n-demand

WIOCC will deploy Epsilon’s Infiny platform to provide customers in sub-Saharan Africa with on-demand connectivity to major global financial and communications hubs. Service providers will be able to use the platform to access any of Epsilon’s 90+ PoPs globally and gain direct connectivity to cloud and IXP providers. The company claims Infiny makes procuring and managing global connectivity simple with round the clock access to services via its intuitive web portal or APIs. Epsilon says users will be able to rapidly provision a suite of on-demand connectivity services via a web-based portal, APIs and iOS or Android mobile apps. They can choose from a range of services from port-to-port, port-to-cloud, port-to- internet exchange, SIP-trunking and inbound, last mile DIA and SD-WAN. “Partnering with Epsilon further expands our capabilities, offering our customers more flexibility in accessing global hubs,” says WIOCC CEO Chris Wood. “The African market wants network services that can support the cloud, matching the speed and accessibility of other ICT solutions.” Wood adds that WIOCC plans to de- ploy Infiny more widely across Africa. Often described as “Africa’s carriers’ carrier” WIOCC is said to run a unique, diversity-rich, high- redundancy network – which brings together 55,000km of terrestrial fibre in Africa and investments in more than 60,000km of international submarine cable.

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 11

SAWC 1804 p5-12 (News) NO RADWIN.indd 11 26/04/2018 18:03 NEWS

MTC suffers outage Standard Chartered sets

Namibian cellco MTC up digital bank in Africa suffered an “operating system malfunction” in early April Standard Chartered Bank has have incorporated innovative leading to network failures. As a launched its first digital bank in technology to allow them to result, 54,595 data subscribers and Africa in Côte d’Ivoire. execute all banking activities from 56,877 SMS customers had their By downloading Standard a mobile device. This includes 70 bundles terminated in error. MTC Chartered’s app, new clients can banking services through the app.” spokesperson Tim Ekandjo said all use their mobile devices to open Gupta adds that clients will affected customers will be given their an account. It’s claimed they can also be able to track and trace lost data allowances on top of their upload all verification documents a request submitted – a first for existing packages. They will be able and fully complete the onboarding Standard Chartered. to use the allowances for 24 hours to process within 15 minutes. The bank launched the new make up for the day that was lost due “Our new digital bank was service with the support of the Côte As the bank’s digital ambassador, to the network outage which Ekandjo developed with our clients in d’Ivoire government. Sunil Kaushal, international footballing legend described as an “isolated incident”. mind,” says Jaydeep Gupta, Standard Chartered’s regional Didier Drogba (centre) became Standard Chartered’s regional CEO for Africa and Middle East, the first person in Côte d’Ivoire head of retail banking, Africa hailed the achievement as a “key to open a digital account. He Cyber threat and Middle East. “We have taken milestone” on the company’s digital is pictured with Sunil Kaushal, into consideration the feedback journey, and that it underlines Standard Chartered’s MEA CEO received by our clients at each a commitment to investing and (left) and Côte d’Ivoire ICT in routers stage of the design process and growing in the market. minister, Bruno Nabagné Kone. Security experts at Kaspersky Lab have uncovered a sophisticated threat used for Plan International upgrades VSAT systems cyber-espionage in the Middle East and Africa that has existed since at Satcoms specialist ITC Global has years to 24 Plan International sites Global’s local presence in Burkina least 2012. The malware, dubbed been awarded a three-year contract across Western and Central Africa. Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Slingshot, attacks and infects victims renewal by Plan International for Services will include a customised DRC. The field electronics refresh is through compromised routers and can service to multiple sites in Africa. VSAT network in addition to a full expected to be completed later this run in kernel mode, giving it complete Plan International is a non-profit upgrade of existing system electronics year, all while being backed by ITC control over victim devices. Kenya development and humanitarian used by the 2.4 metre antennas that Global’s round-the-clock network and the Yemen account for most of organisation that aims to advance are already in place at each site. monitoring and support for the the 100 victims that have also been children’s rights and equality The upgrades will be carried out entire contract lifecycle. seen in Libya, Congo, Sudan, Somalia for girls. ITC Global has been its by local field technicians who work This latest contract follows ITC and Tanzania. Kaspersky Lab advises communications provider on the with Plan International’s team across Global’s recent deals with multiple users of Mikrotik routers to upgrade continent for nearly 10 years. the region. They will perform site NGOs covering connectivity needs to the latest software version as soon The company will provide remote visits for equipment replacement and for more than 80 sites across Africa as possible to ensure protection communications over the next three general maintenance, enabled by ITC and the Middle East. against known vulnerabilities. African-brand Omantel Wholesale and DE-CIX partner for global peering and interconnection smartphone Omantel Wholesale has partnered Cloud growth is Omantel Wholesale claims its African firm Mara Corporation with DE-CIX to simplify and accelerate driving demand, geographic location and more than 20 is promising to launch a unique the speed at which local, regional says Omantel subsea cable relationships enable it to and high-quality smartphone and global service providers Wholesale VP create solutions that directly impact across the continent in the next few connect to the latter’s worldwide Sohail Qadir. upon how its customers and their months. The Mara X will be launched internet exchange points. clients experience cloud, content, and as part of Google’s Android One According to Omantel Wholesale, their applications and services. portfolio and will run the company’s the partnership is part of its global Omantel Wholesale’s global network The company’s VP Sohail Qadir latest OS, Android 8.0 Oreo. It promises strategy for enabling transformation can use DE-CIX exchanges to peer, says: “Growth in cloud and content to be “extremely affordable” and and innovation with ultra-low latency interconnect, and optimise cloud is driving demand for enhanced feature a “carefully curated” set of pre- networking. The company is a and content for end users. The quality of experience for end users installed apps. The Mara Group began member of the Asia Africa Europe-1 partnership includes connectivity around the world. This partnership as a small IT business in Uganda and (AAE-1) cable consortium and to DE-CIX IXPs in Marseille and will enable service providers to has since expanded to become a multi- offers connectivity from South East Frankfurt, as well as Istanbul, simplify how they connect to sector investment company that now Asia to Europe via the Middle East. Hamburg, Munich, Dusseldorf peering exchanges and create a employs over 14,000 people across 25 (Also see News, Jun-Jul 2017.) and New York through DE-CIX’s ‘one-stop shop’ for customers using African countries and three continents. Customers that connect to GlobePEER Remote service. the AAE-1 cable system.”

12 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

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SAWC 1804 p13 (Singtel).indd 1 19/04/2018 11:06 WIRELESS BUSINESS UK government can offer billions in support of African infrastructure The UK’s Department for International the ability to support infrastructure have no access to reliable drinking infrastructure it will be very difficult Trade (DIT) says it can facilitate projects in South Africa (up to water, 620 million have no access to for Africa to boost its ability to buy billions of pounds in lending GBP4bn), Kenya (up to GBP1bn) electricity, while only 34 per cent of and sell with the rest of the world.” and guarantees to help African and Nigeria (up to GBP750m). Africa’s people have adequate road The DIT has established the Africa countries deal with a chronic lack All projects must include at least access. The World Bank estimates Infrastructure Board, which brings of basic infrastructure. 20 per cent UK content as well as the chronic infrastructure backlog together UKEF, the Department for The DIT in Africa has a presence meeting all other lending criteria. to be about USD93bn a year in the International Development, as well as in 21 countries across the continent Africa is said to be the second- sub-Saharan region alone. UK infrastructure and mining firms and can enable the provision of these fastest urbanising region in the world “There is enormous scope for Africa that are already active in the region. facilities through its export credit behind Asia, with estimates showing to boost its exports to the UK and Its ambition is for UK government and agency arm, UK Export Finance that more than half of its projected indeed other parts of the world if it industry to work together to identify (UKEF). Loans can be extended in 2.2 billion people will live in cities in can address its infrastructure backlog,” major infrastructure projects across the local currencies of nine African the next 30 years. However, according says Emma Wade-Smith, the UK’s trade Africa that can benefit from the UK’s countries for projects ranging from to data compiled by the US-based commissioner for Africa. “Research extensive expertise in the fields of transportation, mining and general Brookings Institution, 319 million shows that in the long term, trade is finance, engineering and governance, construction, For example, UKEF has people across sub-Saharan Africa better than aid, and without adequate as well as health and safety.

Angola Cables gaining momentum Equinix’s MI1 is also known as released in mid-March, NSR revealed take advantage of this downstream with SACS the NAP of the Americas (NOTA) that on average, capacity price opportunity where managed services The South Atlantic Cable System and is the key gateway for internet declines for 2016-2018 ranged from are expected to represent 15 to 25 per (SACS) has made landfall at traffic between the US and Brazil. 32 to 57 per cent across various cent of the entire business portfolio Fortaleza on the Brazilian coast. In a separate deal announced in applications and regions. According in the next three to four years. Currently being built by Angola early March, Mauritius registered IOX to the research firm, the road ahead Cables, SACS will be the first direct Cable and Angola Cables have signed “appears unclear as greater supply Critical comms for transport market link between the Americas and a joint provisioning agreement aimed enters the scene, demand lags in some forecast boom over next few years Africa, and promises faster routing at developing and enhancing their markets and competition intensifies”. Total critical communications with higher capacity. respective network capabilities and NSR stated that while operators revenues associated with transport The cable arrived in Brazil on services across the Americas, Africa, are now deploying strategies such as will be worth more than USD3bn by 22 February. It is now entering the Europe and India. By partnering vertical specific market entry part- the end of 2020, says IHS Markit. final phase of completion and is with Angola Cables, IOX is said to be nerships and framework agreements According to the analyst, public expected to be fully operational by consolidating its position by extending on discounts, these haven’t stopped safety and security organisations the third quarter of 2018. its network to Europe, South America the impact of the widening gap in represent the largest adopters of SACS will link to the 10,556km and North America for the benefit of supply-demand economics. It added critical communications globally, Monet submarine cable system to its customers through cable systems that this trend is exacerbated by com- accounting for around 38 per cent provide onward connectivity to the US. operated by Angola Cables. petitive sales positioning by operators of PMR deployments in 2017. Angola Cables is also an investor in “The sharing of services between in each region. NSR reckons that However in aggregated terms, IHS Monet and recently signed a backhaul the complementing routing of the despite expecting to see smaller price says business critical sectors – the deal with FiberLight LLC to provide IOX Cable System and SACS will decreases in 2019, the industry must ‘non public safety sectors’, including extended connectivity, starting with seamlessly connect customers and wait longer for them to bottom out. buses, trams, metros, trains, ports, the Miami region and later expanding businesses across Asia, Africa and “With video hotspots facing airports and utilities – make up the to other locations. FiberLight currently the Americas,” said Nunes. “This pressure from both global pricing largest combined worldwide market owns more than 1,900,000 miles of is a win-win partnership as it fuels declines and OTT opportunities for for critical comms. dense fibre optic infrastructure and expansion and growth for both our non-streaming content, along with Within that market, transportation a backbone of more than 26,000 companies, more importantly though, consumer broadband over Ka-band accounts for the largest share PoPs that cover a growing footprint it provides an information bridge that HTS consistently in the USD150 per of deployments, and the firm of US metro areas. has the potential to accelerate and Mbps per month range, the chances projects that as the world economy Angola Cables operates two fibre stimulate socio-economic investment of recovery remain uncertain,” said continues to strengthen, business optic pairs within the Monet system, and development between these NSR analyst and report author Gagan critical sectors will continue to gain one transmitting data from Fortaleza important geographies.” Agrawal. “However, with capex per prevalence in this global ecosystem. to US shores and the other carrying Gbps for new satellites marking new The Asia Pacific region is forecast traffic to São Paulo. The company’s Satellite capacity pricing continues to lows, declining lease prices come to experience the largest growth of CEO Antonio Nunes said: “The link-up fall amidst oversupply as a blessing to service providers in critical comms technologies, followed with FiberLight will allow Angola Cables Satellite capacity prices have fallen data and mobility, so they can fund by the Americas and Europe and the to deliver reliable, high-graded services for a third straight year, according expansion of their businesses and Middle East. IHS believes the market is beyond the Monet cable termination to a new study published by create mini telco businesses backed being fuelled by the need to promote point of MI3 Equinix and the data Northern Sky Research (NSR). by satellite in the scaling process. security, ensure personal safety and centre in Boca Raton at Equinix’s MI1 In its Satellite Capacity Pricing Agrawal believes that the satellite create business efficiencies. colocation facility in Miami.” Index, 4th Edition (Q1 2018) report operator segment is also likely to Robin Davis, chair of the TCCA’s

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SAWC 1804 p14-17 (Wireless Business) AM.indd 14 26/04/2018 18:13 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html WIRELESS BUSINESS

(TETRA and Critical Communications 7,000 100 availability of affordable, high Association) transport group, says: 90 quality fibre and the need to use 6,000 “We have seen continued growth in 80 the CPRI. It claimed that the latter the adoption of TETRA technologies 5,000 70 has been controlled by a small

in the transport market over a 4,000 60 group of vendors that implement number of years as users transition 50 it in semi-proprietary ways. “This 3,000 from analogue radio systems to ,000 sites 40 raises high barriers to entry for %centralised secure digital ones. Live information 2,000 30 alternative equipment providers, and data enables better operational 20 such as those supported under the 1,000 decisions to be made, whether that is 10 Facebook Telecom Infra Project, on vehicles or on platforms. and threatens MNOs with lock-ins 0 0 “Suppliers supporting the adoption 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 and high prices. It also makes of the transport user base are C-RAN Trad %C-RAN many C-RANs economically non- innovating with the latest technologies viable because of the high cost of to provide some pretty amazing Centralised or virtualised site installed base versus traditional. low latency fibre and CPRI.” solutions to support multi modal SOURCE: RETHINK RESEARCH transport networks and smart cities.” Qualcomm rejection of Broadcom Full RAN virtualisation will take a C-RANs have had to be very localised. proposal leads to bitter dispute Developing markets spearhead decade and could delay 5G “It is essential that new emerging US president Donald Trump has mobile growth It will take operators ten years to standards, preferably from the IEEE, intervened in the war of words that has The mobile industry signed up its five achieve full virtualisation of the take hold to open up the ecosystem been raging between semiconductor billionth unique mobile subscriber RAN once they begin the process, and accelerate adoption,” said the device makers Qualcomm and last year and is forecast to add says Rethink Technology Research. analyst. “Operators which support Singapore’s Broadcom. Their dispute almost another billion by 2025, In its cloud RAN (C-RAN) full C-RAN will have a far easier, follows a proposed takeover bid from according to GSMA Intelligence. deployment forecast 2017-2025, the cheaper task to implement 5G. Broadcom that was announced In its Mobile Economy report pub- analyst said that the move to a fully However, the process of virtualising last year and would have become lished in February, the association’s virtualised, cloud-based radio access the RAN may delay 5G upgrades.” the biggest merger ever in the research arm said there will be 5.9 network is being held back mostly by Rethink added that the biggest technology sector. billion subscribers over the next seven the lack of interoperable standards. barriers to all types of C-RAN are In early November 2017, Broadcom years, which is equivalent to 71 per “This is one of the main things related to fronthaul, mainly the proposed to acquire Qualcomm in cent of the world’s expected popula- preventing C-RAN from happening tion by that point. The GSMA believes earlier, and most shipments will not growth will be driven by developing start until this has been ironed out, a countries, particularly Bangladesh, process that could take another three China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, years before shipments break the three as well as markets across sub-Saharan million a year barrier,” stated Rethink. Africa and Latin America. As a result, the company believes The report also said that in under centralised and virtualised macrocells a decade since the first commercial and microcells will be deployed at a 4G networks were launched, LTE is on CAGR of 23 per cent between 2017 track to become the world’s leading and 2025. And although these mobile network technology by next will overtake new deployments of year and to account for 53 per cent conventional cells in 2019, it said of global connections by 2025. most of these deployments will still be According to GSMA Intelligence, centralised rather than fully virtualised. the mobile ecosystem accounted for Once operators start to deploy RAN 4.5 per cent of global GDP globally VNFs, usually conforming to ETSI in 2017, a contribution equivalent to NFV specifications, Rethink reckons USD3.6tn in economic value added. there will be a sharp acceleration It says this contribution is forecast of growth in the number of C-RAN to reach USD4.6tn or five per cent sites, adding that full C-RANs will of GDP by 2022 as countries around remain rare until mid-2020. the world increasingly benefit from “There is now a major dilemma the improvements in productivity for operators between simply and efficiency brought about using centralised RAN or going by increased take-up of mobile for a fully virtualised RAN,” said services and M2M/IoT solutions. the firm. “The former is simpler Furthermore, the report said and delivers some efficiencies; the that in 2017, the wider mobile latter is very difficult and disruptive ecosystem supported 29 million jobs to implement, but we believe will (directly and indirectly) and made revolutionise cellular economics.” a substantial contribution to the According to Rethink, the two key funding of the public sector; almost barriers have been availability of fibre USD500bn was raised through and the vendor “stranglehold” on the general taxation while spectrum CPRI (common public radio interface). auctions brought in USD25bn. It said that this has meant most early

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SAWC 1804 p14-17 (Wireless Business) AM.indd 15 02/05/2018 19:08 WIRELESS BUSINESS

a transaction valued at USD130bn. control of its board. The company Qualcomm. It said the proposal stockholders,” claimed Broadcom. Under the proposal, Qualcomm also expressed concerns about the “materially undervalues” Qualcomm In its response, Qualcomm said: stockholders would receive USD70 per regulatory issues surrounding the and falls “well short” of the solid “CFIUS has determined that there share consisting of USD60 in cash and proposal, and what it said were regulatory commitment the board are national security risks to the USD10 per share in Broadcom stock. the absence of commitments by would demand given the significant United States as a result of and Around two weeks later, Qualcomm’s Broadcom to resolve those issues, its downside risk of a failed transaction. in connection with the transaction board unanimously rejected the lack of committed financing, and the At a meeting between the two proposed by Broadcom. offer, describing it as an “unsolicited uncertainty surrounding its transition companies that took place on 14 “Broadcom’s dismissive rhetoric proposal”. Tom Horton, the company’s from Singapore to the US. February, Qualcomm continued to notwithstanding, this is a very presiding director, said: “After a Broadcom reacted to this in an express concerns regarding the serious matter for both Qualcomm comprehensive review, conducted in online statement issued in January potential risks of the proposed and Broadcom. Broadcom’s claims consultation with our financial and legal 2018: “Qualcomm has once again transaction, despite Broadcom that the CFIUS inquiry was a advisors, the board has concluded that made intentionally vague statements including an USD8bn regulatory surprise to them has no basis in Broadcom’s proposal dramatically regarding ‘regulatory challenges’ that reverse termination fee and six per fact. Broadcom has been interacting undervalues Qualcomm and comes are simply unfounded, misleading, cent per annum of net dividends in with CFIUS for weeks and made two with significant regulatory uncertainty.” and a disservice to Qualcomm the event of a failed transaction. written submissions to CFIUS.” In December, Broadcom notified stockholders. Qualcomm’s rhetoric By now, Broadcom was seeking In compliance with the Qualcomm of its intention to nominate is vague for a reason – because it is the election of six rather than 11 committee’s order, Qualcomm 11 independent individuals for election not grounded in reality.” nominees to Qualcomm’s board and said its shareholders’ meeting to Qualcomm’s board. Broadcom The company went on to say wrote to stockholders urging them to and election of directors would president and CEO Hock Tan said: that there were no antitrust issues vote for this at Qualcomm’s annual be delayed for at least 30 days “We have repeatedly attempted to concerning the proposed transaction, shareholders’ meeting that was due pending a full investigation into engage with Qualcomm, and despite and that it had “extensive experience” to take place on 6 March 2018. Broadcom’s acquisition proposal. stockholder and customer support of completing complex acquisitions But two days before this, Broadcom However, in mid-March the White for the transaction, Qualcomm and had begun the process of gaining claimed it discovered that the meeting House stepped into the row and has ignored those opportunities. regulatory approvals as well as would be delayed. According to the ordered Qualcomm to immediately The nominations give Qualcomm “redomiciling” to the US by May 2018. company, Qualcomm had “secretly and permanently abandon the stockholders an opportunity to voice In early February, Broadcom filed” a request with the Committee proposed takeover saying that it their disappointment with Qualcomm’s improved its offer. Qualcomm on Foreign Investment in the United could threaten US national security. directors and their refusal to engage stockholders would now receive States (CFIUS) at the end of January According to reports, US officials in discussions with us.” an aggregate of USD82 per share 2018 to initiate an investigation. “It also feared that the takeover could However, Qualcomm rejected the 11 consisting of USD60 in cash should be clear to everyone that this result in Chinese companies such nominees and described Broadcom’s and the remainder in Broadcom is part of an unprecedented effort by as Huawei gaining a global lead in action as a “blatant attempt” to seize shares. This was also rejected by Qualcomm to disenfranchise its own 5G development. INVESTMENTS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS Date Buyer Seller Item Price Notes Canada-headquartered EXFO is acquiring 97.44% of Astellia’s share capital & at least 95.07% of 28/2/18 EXFO Astellia Company EUR25.9m the voting rights. It reckons the purchase of the French company creates “a new global force in network test, monitoring & analytics”. Nokia has now completed its acquisition of Seattle-based Unium. The firm’s specialist software 16/3/18 Nokia Unium Company NA is claimed to provide operators with an intelligent mesh Wi-Fi solution that constantly optimises in-home Wi-Fi connections through self-learning & self-healing capabilities.

LATEST COMPANY RESULTS Sales EBITDA EPS Date Company Country Period Currency Notes (m) (m) (units) Earnings down 7.7% compared to six months for December 2016. CEO Rodolphe Belmer says: “First half results were in line with our 16/2/18 Eutelsat France 1H17-18 EUR 696.6 544.6 NA expectations, with the decline in revenues mostly reflecting, as in the first quarter, an unfavourable comparison basis in FY17.” Total revenue grew 7% from ZAR14.6bn for FY16. Total subscriber growth 15.7 20/2/18 Cell C South Africa FY17 ZAR 7.8 (bn) NA up 6% to reach 16.3 million. Data revenue Increased 29% & data usage (bn) rose by 90% YoY. Current active data customers increased to 12.6 million. Group revenue for 2017 increased 6.6%, partially driven by consolidation of Warid in Pakistan and positive effect from the RUB appreciation against the USD. Reported EBITDA increased 11% while underlying EBITDA decreased 0.4% 22/2/18 VEON Amsterdam FY17 USD 9,474 3,587 NA organically to USD 3,675m. The FY17 underlying EBITDA margin was 38.8%, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points YoY, missing the FY17 target of flat to low single digit accretion, due to margin pressure in Russia, Algeria & Bangladesh. Reported revenue down 1.6% & -5.2% YoY. Outgoing CEO Karim Michel Sabbagh said 2017 was a year of transformation as the company established 23/2/18 SES Luxembourg FY17 EUR 2,035.0 1,324.2 0.80 two market-focused units, SES Video & SES Networks. He added : “Business performance was below our expectations as the market remained challenging throughout 2017, compounded by some fleet health issues.” Net loss of USD178.7m. CEO Stephen Spengler said 2018 targets are to capitalise on better performance & economics associated with the 26/2/18 Intelsat US FY17 USD 2,149 1,629 NA services delivered by the Epic high-throughput fleet which will be completed later this year with the launch of the Asia Pacific-oriented Horizons 3e. Company also plans to launch Intelsat 38 in 2Q18.

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Orange and Apigate to launch digital for the API businesses, where two Swedish company says this structure as part of an MoU signed in February. API hub major telecom operator groups are will establish Media Solutions The two companies say they will Orange and Apigate, a subsidiary of collaborating to expand their reach as a “leading independent video focus on wireless communications Malaysia’s Axiata Digital, are partnering across each other’s footprint.” technology company with strong and and test concepts to better serve to strengthen their respective API hubs Orange said its tie-up with Axiata committed financial support driving their common customers, including as part of their mutual ambition to symbolises its vision to partner continued investment in innovation the three Chinese network operators advance global digital transformation. businesses from the smallest startups and growth”. The terms of the and other global operators that The companies said that their new to the largest organisations in order to transaction remain confidential. Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) has been joint hub, Bizao, will draw on their help them seize all the opportunities Media Solutions employees and serving for many years. respective geographical strengths presented by the digital age. contractors, as well as specified assets R&S will provide technical across Africa, the Middle East and and liabilities, will transfer to the consultancy and product support in Asia to deliver a suite of APIs to Ericsson off-loads most of Media new company upon closing which is the test lab. It will then collaborate businesses. They claimed this will Solutions business expected in Q318, subject to custom- with Unigroup Spreadtrum & RDA provide a “streamlined and efficient” Ericsson has partnered with One ary closing conditions and approvals. on testing for network operators method of accessing customers via Equity Partners to further develop Over the last several years, around the world. The partners a single entry point across regions. its Media Solutions business. Ericsson says it has transformed say their common goal is to enable The partners added that under their At the end of January, Ericsson its Media Solutions’ products with chipset solutions that better fit proposed collaboration, APIs can concluded the review of strategic what it says is a cloud-enabled, global operators’ requirements. be delivered to international and opportunities for the business which standards-based, integrated Unigroup Spreadtrum & RDA local companies alike, resulting it began in March 2017. The company end-to-end roadmap. The overall had already been working with R&S in consolidation of traffic and evaluated different opportunities for mission has been to advance video for 2G, 3G and 4G. R&S will now expansion of reach. the units, including partnerships, service delivery with state-of-the-art support Unigroup in 5G sub-6GHz Apigate will deliver a digital divestments and a continued in- infrastructure and software. and mmWave chipset design and enablement hub to the soon-to-be house development, based on what Angel Ruiz will continue to lead development. The companies say launched Bizao, as well as a hub- generates the best long-term value. Media Solutions as CEO. this will ultimately accelerate 5G chip to-hub connection of the two oper- One Equity Partners (OEP) is prototyping, and will further optimise ators’ API platforms to facilitate a a private equity firm said to have Rohde & Schwarz, Unigroup Spreadtrum 5G manufacturing and hasten the single technical, commercial, and a “deep expertise” in media and & RDA to set up joint test lab technology’s time to market. financial integration. telecom investments. OEP and Rohde & Schwarz and fabless Further cooperation between the Axiata Digital chief executive Mohd. Ericsson will form an independent semiconductor company Unigroup partners will look at automotive Khairil Abdullah said: “This partner- company with the latter retaining Spreadtrum & RDA are to establish a electronics and cellular and non- ship marks an important milestone a 49 per cent shareholding. The joint operator test laboratory in China cellular IoT applications.

NEW APPOINTMENTS Date Name New employer New position Previous employer Previous position Nahaat Cumii Internatonal 5/2/18 Zantel Head of business & wholesale Commercial executive Mahfoudh (Econet) Replaces Karim Michel Sabbagh who will step down in April 12/2/18 Steve Collar SES President & CEO SES Networks 2018 to “spend time with his family & pursue new interests”. Replaces Padraig McCarthy who has announced his retirement 12/2/18 Andrew Browne SES CFO O3b Networks & will step down in April 2018. 13/2/18 Jeff Garte Globecomm CFO Hibernia Networks SVP of corporate development Jon Eddy, VEON’s previous head of emerging markets, is stepping Aamir Hafeez 15/2/18 VEON Head of emerging markets VEON down. Ibrahim will now oversee the company’s businesses in Algeria, Ibrahim Bangladesh & Pakistan while remaining CEO of Jazz in Pakistan. Chief sales officer for Vodacom Vodafone Global 22/2/18 Mickey Mashale Vodacom Managing executive & head of sub-Saharan Africa region Business Enterprise 5/3/18 Alioune Ndiaye Orange CEO for MEA Sonatel Group Director general 5/3/18 Bruno Mettling Orange Non-executive chairman for MEA Orange CEO for MEA Orange Business 5/3/18 Helmut Reisinger CEO Orange Business Services EVP international Services Executive director in charge of Director to the chairman & CEO, & secretary of executive 5/3/18 Hugues Foulon Orange strategy for the group & cyber Orange committee security Mari-Noëlle 5/3/18 Orange Deputy CEO of the group & CTIO Orange Senior EVP, innovation, marketing & technology Jégo-Laveissière CEO wholesale & international 5/3/18 Jérôme Barré Orange Orange Executive director, HR networks 12/3/18 Cathy Smith SAP MD, SAP Africa Cisco MD for sub-Saharan Africa Luis Jiménez Eutelsat 12/3/18 Global EVP, data business line Various Technology entrepreneur & board director Tuñón Communications VP of marketing & product 15/3/18 David Sumi Siklu Proxim Wireless SVP of engineering management 15/3/18 Gerard Halimi Siklu VP of sales, rest of world ECI African market director 27/3/18 Chris Bowen Digi International VP of sales, EMEA Macronix International VP worldwide automotive & GM of Macronix Europe 5/4/18 Richard Staveley ip.access CEO Stratto Co-founder & CCO John-Paul 6/4/18 SES Networks CEO SES Networks EVP of product, marketing & strategy Hemingway

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 17

SAWC 1804 p14-17 (Wireless Business) AM.indd 17 26/04/2018 18:14 R&D. Nearly 40% of employees work Petrochemical | Power | in the R&D function. There are 10 R&D centres globally, in Shenzhen, Forestry | Public Health & Dongguan, Harbin and Nanjing in China, Education Bad Munder in Germany, Cambridge in We provide energy solutions to customers UK, Zaragoza in Spain and Vancouver from over 50 countries and regions, and Toronto in Canada, collaboration and serve over 90% of China’s new to keep Hytera at the forefront of petrochemical projects and 50% of China’s communications technologies. new forestry PMR projects. Hotel | Supermarket | WE BELIEVE Property | Enterprise Together, we can make cities safer. We are a brand of choice for global We will realize this vision through high-end property, hotel and customers continuous innovation, dedication from other commercial sectors, and our to customer values, and sustainable products and solutions sales rank No. 1 contributions to the communities for ten consecutive years in China. where we operate. We will continue to leverage our technology leadership and a global SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY team of professionals to enable cities We believe we can make cities safer with on demand mission critical together with our eco-system. We communications in all scenarios, realize this vision through continuously from daily command and control to contributing our technologies and emergency response, disaster relief, expertise to assisting with disaster relief and anti-terrorism efforts. efforts and to supporting those in need around the world. Respond & Achieve We provide on demand mission critical communications in the most Contact Details challenging environments. Our experienced teams are proud to Martin Pinard, have supported government agencies Business Development Director, and commercial organizations around S.A. Hytera (Pty)Ltd. the world facing increasingly complex and demanding situations. We offer Tel: +27 82 326 6470 a full portfolio of PMR and Integrated Command & Control solutions to increase E-mail: [email protected] customers’ situational awareness, collaboration and response rate.

Hytera Communications Corporation Limited – Police | Fire Dept. | Justice We have accumulated deep business leading global provider of innovative professional insight and numerous successful cases after serving public security industry for over 20 years, with leading PDT, DMR and TETRA solutions. Sepura, a mobile communications solutions highly valued brand for European public security customers, occupies 49% global Hytera Global utilities, transportation, oil & gas and the capacity and remit to deliver the of sextors including public safety, public public security market share with its Hytera Communications Corporation other sectors. next generation of mission critical transport, oil & gas, utilities, mining, TETRA terminals. Limited is a leading global provider broadband-enabled terminals. industry and others. of innovative professional mobile Sepura communications solutions that improve Sepura Group became part of Hytera Teltronic Devoted toturning leading and mature Metro | Airport | Port | organizational efficiency and make the Communications Corporation Limited For over 40 years, TELTRONIC, a technologies into solutions that our Railway | Highway world safer. in May, 2017. Established as Sepura subsidiary of Hytera Communications customers can count on for problem We serve 30% of urban mass transit projects Following the Sepura acquisition, in 2002, and with over 100 years of Corporation Limited, is a world leader solving, Hytera promotes the integration in China, and have developed China’s 1st Hytera owned Sepura, Teltronic, Norsat, history in Cambridge, U.K., Sepura is a in the design and manufacturing of of communications with managerial smart airport O&M software “SmartAir”. PowerTrunk, Sinclair etc, has around leading provider of TETRA products and missioncritical radio communications. excellence. What we are looking for is the Teltronic, dedicated to public transportation 9000 personnel serving customers in solutions for organzinations worldwide. With the combined objectives of solution that works for today and tomorrow. solutions and new-generation of PMR 120 countries and regions, including Sepura brings to Hytera Group a wealth innovation and the highest quality, With a focus on Research and applications in command & control, governmental organizations, public of technological capability and industry TELTRONIC provides complete wireless Development since its inception, Hytera leads the global mass transit industry www.hytera.com security institutions, and customers in knowledge in the TETRA space, and communications solutions for a variety invests around 15%of its revenue in with its TETRA + LTE solutions

Hytera SAWC 1803 v1.indd All Pages 02/05/2018 10:44 WIRELESS SOLUTIONS

Mobile operators can install the new software in data centres, JMA claims indoor wireless campuses, technical rooms, etc. first with fully virtualised RAN JMA Wireless claims its XRAN significantly reducing the footprint, resources to sites when and where north-bound interfaces, and can adaptive baseband platform is the power and cooling requirements. they are needed to “dramatically” therefore integrate with existing first virtualised RAN built as 100 JMA reckons this unique combined increase utilisation efficiency. OSS and BSS within the network. per cent software that is designed solution provides an entirely new JMA also claims its platform Regardless of where it is to scale to commercial networks on approach for wireless systems “significantly reduces” opex by deployed, JMA says XRAN takes off-the-shelf server technology. in corporate and commercial providing IT-centric orchestration advantage of central operations XRAN has been developed to provide buildings, large venues, and highly and policy-based operational tools. It and elastic resource intelligence, all of the RAN functions necessary densified urban areas. says configuration, policy setting and enabling operators to capitalise on for complete LTE mobile and IoT By leveraging embedded monitoring are founded on web-centric the best economics for backhaul connectivity, and integrates with JMA’s intelligence, the company says interfaces to provide easy visualisation or fronthaul connectivity, as well as TEKO DAS platform via high capacity XRAN can increase or reduce site and streamlined workflows. the benefits of cloud economics. fibre connectivity. According to the capacity based on how many mobile The firm adds that XRAN’s jmawireless.com, xran.com company, this eliminates costly layers devices are present. Its adaptive operations platform is compliant Analyst warns full RAN virtualisation will of analogue equipment and cabling, baseband functionality applies with 3GPP and industry standard take a decade – Wireless Business, p15. Helping extract the most Advantech Wireless releases from location-based services solid-state power amplifiers

Intersec says its Geo-Intelligence systems; GeoHub which enables Advantech Wireless Technologies Suite represents a major step third-party applications to leverage has launched a new 3.2kW Ku-band forward towards helping telcos in location events; and GeoTravel outdoor modular satellite solid- gaining the maximum benefits of which can be used to customise state power amplifier. (SSPA). end-to-end location-based offers. customer engagement before, The firm says its new modular The new suite is based on during and after roaming abroad. Summit systems are designed to Intersec’s Fast Data Analytics Intersec claims its unique location- be used as direct replacements of concept is in response to the higher platform and features a complete based approach lies in the combination older generation Klystron vacuum power and wider bandwidth demand array of location-based solutions. of a number of factors which include: tube or TWT (traveling-wave tube) of traditional large teleports while These include GeoInsights which traditional active queries with passive amps. Advantech says the all outdoor at the same time reducing opex. It provides demographic studies for collection of signalling traffic; the ruggedised systems offer very high reckons that the new amps are ideal smart cities, transport planning, orchestration of both methods; the power and wide bandwidth to allow for large DTH teleport uplinks. geomarketing and billboard audience ability to narrow location to subcell operation over the entire Ku-band The company adds that without monitoring, among others. There’s levels; the ability to store location spectrum with multiple carriers and using expensive filter combiners, its also GeoReach for location-based information into a historical database; “outstanding” linearity. system is ready today to support advertising, enabling brands to and to work on all technology The systems are said to feature new higher modulation and error trigger ads based on their audiences’ networks, including Wi-Fi. built-in redundancy with soft failure correcting codes, as specified in DVB- locations, as well as GeoTrack for The firm adds it will be developing mode, and are able to operate S2X, or higher data rates. Combined IoT tracking and asset management, additional products to offer off-the- simultaneously on both polarisations with a high gain antenna, its says the insights and business processes. shelf use cases to its customers, as or on a single polarisation with system can completely saturate all Other features include: GeoSafe well as a data marketplace. double amount of power. transponders on any satellite. for connectivity to public warning www.intersec.com Advantech says the new design www.advantechwireless.com GCF certifies LTE devices for critical communications The Global Certification Forum (GCF) It leverages Group Communication In an MoU that was updated is extending its certification scheme to System Enablers and Proximity-based earlier this year, the GCF and TCCA critical communications devices. The Services, and is part of Release 13 (TETRA and Critical Communications required test cases are expected to be of the 3GPP specifications. Mission Association) have committed to work finalised by 3GPP RAN5 during 1Q18, Critical Video over LTE and Mission together in areas related to 3GPP paving the way for Mission Critical Critical Data over LTE have already Mission Critical Services. Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) over LTE device been standardised within Release The GCF has also extended its certification to start later in the year. 14, while further enhancements membership categories to now In response to demand from public are being developed for Release 15. include virtual network operators safety authorities for access to secure capabilities over LTE networks. These additional features could also which will make certification wireless broadband communications, MCPTT provides enhanced voice- be brought within the scope of GCF accessible to MVNOs including 3GPP is developing specifications to based PTT communication based on certification in response to requests public safety network providers. deliver a variety of mission critical the 3GPP Evolved Packet System. from members. www.globalcertificationforum.org

20 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p20-21 CHANGE PIC NO RADWIN.indd 20 26/04/2018 18:17 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html WIRELESS SOLUTIONS

B24 is “first affordable radio” Also look out for... in unlicensed 24GHz band Mimosa Networks reckons the B24 proprietary Spectrum Reuse Sync surveillance locations without fibre, is the first affordable gigabit-speed (SRS) technology. This is said to thereby eliminating the cost and radio in the unlicensed 24GHz band. allow up to eight collocated B24s rights-of-way access required here. The wireless backhaul solution is to share the same channel, on www.mimosa.co said to be engineered for a number the same tower or rooftop, each Vodafone displayed its 4G lunar of urban applications including running at 1Gbps. base station at Mobile World microPoP backhaul, rooftop-to- For redundancy and flexibility, Congress in February. rooftop connections for enterprise, concurrent Ethernet and fibre campus and multi-dwelling units, connections are supported – as well as video surveillance or according to Mimosa, this is a Vodafone to set smart city connectivity. feature that has never been available Mimosa says the B24 delivers in products with similar price points. up LTE network speeds of up to 1.5Gbps IP The vendor adds that in video throughput, automatically surveillance applications, the on the Moon allocating traffic dynamically as radio offers the “highest quality” Vodafone plans to create the first needed. It claims the radio offers video over a wireless backhaul. 4G network on the Moon. Berlin- “superior reliability” for backhaul Its adds that the B24’s compact based PTScientists is working with links of up to 3km, and leverages design means it can be placed at the mobile operator’s German division and car-maker Audi to achieve the first privately-funded G+D integrates M2M and consumer lunar landing next year. In collaboration with Nokia, Vodafone will create a network that SIM cards for connected car users will connect two Audi-designed G+D Mobile Security has unveiled an plans and to access information lunar rovers to a base station in the eSIM management enabled solution services by using their vehicles as Autonomous Landing and Navigation that will allow car owners to download the mobile device. Phone calls can Module. Nokia Bell Labs says it will their private mobile subscription to be received/placed via the in-car create a space-grade ‘Ultra Compact a second SIM which is soldered into infotainment system under their usual Network’ that will weigh less than the vehicle’s telematics box. number. After an initial eSIM-based one kilo, the same as a bag of sugar. While M2M-SIM cards are already registration process with the mobile the-air. According to the firm, the The 4G network will enable the lunar a common feature in most modern operator, car owners can then also solution enables new application vehicles to communicate and transfer and connected cars, access and use their data services in the car. opportunities for cellcos, car scientific data and HD video while they usage of this integrated card is The integration of the consumer manufacturers, car OEMs and end carefully approach and study NASA’s limited to eCall and other telematic SIM card and the car user’s mobile users. It claims several devices can Apollo 17 lunar roving vehicle that was services provided by the car-maker. subscription is achieved via AirOn, be connected with the network in an used by the last astronauts to walk G+D Mobile Security has worked G+D’s eSIM management solution easy and fast way, while the “highest on the Moon in December 1972. with BMW, Intel, Deutsche Telekom which supports both M2M and security and scalability is provided by Vodafone testing indicates that and AT&T on a system that will allow consumer applications, and enables the user-friendly service platform”. the base station should be able to car owners to use their existing data the download of eSIM profiles over- www.gi-de.com/mobile-security broadcast 4G using 1800MHz spectrum and send back the first ever live HD video feed of the Moon’s surface. This will be broadcast to a global audience Next-generation broadband gateways via a deep space link that interconnects ARRIS International has introduced to offer 802.11ac and upgrade to The second device is the NVG558. with the PTScientists server in the what it says are two future-ready .11ax in both dual-band and tri- According to ARRIS, this is an advanced Mission Control Centre in Berlin. next-generation broadband gateways band configurations. fixed wireless broadband gateway PTScientists CEO and founder Robert that offer flexible network migration. ARRIS says the device also that supports triple-play services Böhme says: “This is a crucial first The NVG578 is a customisable makes smart-home integration thanks to integrated technology that step for sustainable exploration of the PON (passive optical network) easy, thanks to optional IoT radio can deliver LTE and 3.5GHz CBRS. It solar system. In order for humanity gateway that promises to deliver the support. It reckons says the unit also has potential to leave the cradle of Earth, we need scalability service providers need as service providers to support future 5G services. to develop infrastructures beyond they evolve their networks to meet the get the connectivity, Both platforms offer Docker our home planet. demands of new services and faster reliability and container support and also “The great thing about this LTE speeds. This includes today’s GPON longevity that is feature HomeAssure, ARRIS’ solution is that it saves so much power, speeds, as well as next-generation now expected from intelligent Wi-Fi solution that and the less energy we use sending XGS-PON and NG-PON2 speeds of a hub supporting extends coverage and is said data, the more we have to do science.” up to 10Gbps symmetrical. the rapidly growing to simplify the end-user Wi-Fi The Mission to Moon is due to On the wireless side, the NVG578 number of smart- experience. launch in 2019 from Cape Canaveral supports Gigabit Wi-Fi with options home devices. www.arris.com on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2019.

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 21

SAWC 1804 p20-21 CHANGE PIC NO RADWIN.indd 21 02/05/2018 19:01 FEATURE: SATCOMS

The rise and rise of Ka-band satellites over Africa

Yahsat’s third Ka-band satellite, Al Yah 3, is transferred to the launch pad in French Guiana before its relatively successful launch on 26 January 2018. With many of the latest satellites for Africa developed specifically for Ka-band, DR. NICOLA DAVIES and RAHIEL NASIR find out if that’s the best option for enabling broadband connectivity from space.

t the World Economic Forum held Other targets include ensuring more people broadband connectivity. And arguably, the best in Davos in January 2018, the UN’s have sustainable digital skills, boosting possible solution involves the use of satellites. Broadband Commission launched connectivity for small businesses, and achieving Ayet more targets to bring online the world’s 3.8 gender equality across all targets. The world is a “connected village” billion people who are still not connected to the None of this will sound particularly new – the internet. It has set what it describes as seven UN has been setting similar targets since the With the demand for affordable broadband “ambitious yet achievable” targets in support turn of the century, first with its millennium connectivity increasing, many operators have of Connecting the Other Half of the global development goals which were then followed up been focusing on developing and launching population over the next few years. in 2015 with the sustainable development goals. satellites that feature Ka-band payloads. By 2025, the commission says: And yet, according to the UN’s own statistics, Ka-band spectrum operates in the upper

u All countries should have a funded national billions of people around the world still lack any frequencies (26.5-40GHz) which allows for broadband plan or strategy, or include kind of internet access. Out of the 47 nations greater bandwidth than C-, L-band or Ku-bands. broadband in their universal access and defined as “least developed countries” by the While Ku also operates at a higher speed, much services definition. ITU, 28 are in Africa while the others are located of the bandwidth is already taken up, leaving

u Entry-level broadband services should be mainly in Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East. little access to the average consumer. made affordable in developing countries, Of course, resources are scarce in these Ka utilises smaller and cheaper equipment, at less than two per cent of monthly gross countries. And as is well documented, severe making it an ideal choice for consumer internet national income per capita. weather and terrain often further inhibit the use. While airlines have leveraged Ku-band

u Broadband/internet user penetration should installation of the infrastructure needed to spectrum for several years, they are beginning to reach 75 per cent worldwide, 65 per cent in advance a developing nation. But there are harness technology that also supports Ka in order developing countries, and 35 per cent in least technical solutions to help both overcome these to give passengers internet access during flights. developed countries. challenge as well as support targets for universal While C-band frequencies (which operate

22 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p22-25 (Satcoms) RN-BiG GEEK.indd 22 02/05/2018 19:00 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html FEATURE: SATCOMS

within 4-8GHz) are less focused this makes them less susceptible to weather changes. A The view from JUPITER less focused signal also lends itself to greater coverage. However, while broadband via satellite Hughes has developed JUPITER technology which it uses as the foundation of its own using C has been available for many years, Ka-band systems to support a wide range of applications and markets. DAVE REHBEHN shares the dish is much larger, making it awkward to the company’s wisdom and experience about how Ka could be king. transport and install in remote areas. These dishes are also somewhat more expensive. Hughes claims to be the world’s largest Ka- The company adds that another important Nonetheless, although Ka may be regarded band system operator. The company – which benefit of Ka is the availability of greater more popular at the moment, Patrick Van is also credited with inventing commercial-use amounts of spectrum versus Ku. It says that Niftrik, SES’ EMEA VP of spectrum management VSATs in the mid-1980s – says that as booming while a typical Ku satellite might operate and development, says that we would not be demand for HDTV and broadband in many across 750MHz of spectrum, a Ka satellite where we are today as a society without C-band. regions exceeded Ku-band capacity limits, the might operate across 1500MHz or more of In a blog posted in 2015, he wrote: “The world industry moved into the much higher frequency spectrum for the gateway feeder beams alone. became a connected village first and foremost Ka-band. But the early generation Ka satellites But Hughes goes on to state that just because thanks to satellite, and it started with C-band.” traded coverage for capacity and could only the industry can make 100+ Gbps satellites does Martin Jarrold, chief of international generally support only a few Gbps total not mean that every operator should be planning programme development at the Global VSAT capacity if used for data communications. to deploy such large capacity spacecraft. The Forum (GVF), adds that C-band continues to “Consider a typical satellite that supports a company believes that a partial payload or even serve an extremely important purpose, and payload of 24 C-band transponders (36MHz a dedicated Ka-band payload but with a smaller points out that UN organisations use the each) and 24 Ku-band transponders (36MHz satellite mass (and thus lower capacity) may be spectrum for vital public safety functions, each),” says Hughes. “The total of 48 attractive to service providers for a variety of disaster relief efforts, humanitarian and transponders means that the satellite supports reasons. These including: a small geographic development programmes. a total of 1.7GHz of capacity. Assuming that coverage area; anticipated slow fill rate, thereby Furthermore, Ka frequencies have often a 36MHz transponder translates to about reducing the need for immediate deployment been dismissed due to the potential of fading 70Mbps of data, then this 1.7GHz of capacity of a lot of capacity; and lower capex compared in stormy weather. Eran Shapiro, director of would achieve a little over 3Gbps of capacity to the cost to launch a dedicated satellite. business and technology ventures for Spacecom, when used for data communications.” On the issue of rain fade, Hughes points out says: “C-band remains the band of choice due Enter the high throughput satellite (HTS). that this was also an issue when Ku-band was to its greater effectiveness in relation to rain According to Hughes, these achieve greater first popularised. As a result, the company says fade and greater geographic reach.” capacity through the implementation of multiple its JUPITER technologies have been developed Researchers continue to work towards spot beams such that frequency can be reused. with a “rich” set of features to mitigate addressing the rain fade issue, and one such These spot beams are separated from one attenuation due to atmospheric moisture. These advancement involves the use of adaptive another by a combination of frequency and include forward and return channel mitigation coding modulation (ACM). By automatically polarisation and are also smaller. This then techniques that offer a number of features such strengthening and adjusting the coding and enables a greater overall number of beams as: uplink power control at the gateway stations; modulation of the satellite and therefore and thus a higher level of frequency reuse. satellite automatic level control; adaptive coding providing ‘uninterrupted service’, rain fade As an example, the company describes an HTS and modulation of the forward channel; use of becomes less of a problem, according to design that employs 60 spot or user beams. larger antenna to generate higher EIRP; dynamic frequency control specialist Bliley Technologies. “If each of these beams has 500MHz of forward symbol shifting; amongst others. While one of the advantages of leveraging Ka is channel capacity and 500MHz of return channel “It should be noted that Ka-band has the use of a smaller antenna, researchers have also capacity (a typical Ka-band allocation), then the already been widely and successfully deployed found success in using larger antennas to combat satellite is able to deliver 60GHz of capacity in high rain areas,” says Hughes. “[Our] rain fade in certain situations. Additionally, satcom throughout the footprint of these 60 beams. As experience has been that Ka-band availability services provider Link Communications Systems can be seen, through frequency reuse, an HTS in the range of 99.7per cent can be achieved, says rain fade can be avoided by using antennas design is able to achieve considerably more GHz even in high rain fade areas, such as Florida.” in pairs as part of the ground infrastructure (but as compared to a conventional satellite without it also notes that interestingly, rain fade doesn’t frequency reuse, in this particular case more than Dave Rehbehn is VP of continue to decrease with the addition of more 30 times the amount of spectrum.” international sales and than two antennas). Hughes continues by saying that many marketing at Hughes Network Compared to other spectra used by satellites, HTSs utilise Ka-band frequencies for the Systems. The above article Ka frequencies have only been available for simple reason that the orbital slot allocation contains extracts from his white a relatively short amount of time. The GVF for other bands has long been exhausted. It paper “The View from JUPITER: suggests that the band wasn’t even utilised for says that while it’s extremely difficult to obtain High-Throughput Satellite Systems” which was commercial purposes until the 1970s. commercially viable Ku-band slots from the first published in 2013. All information used with Superbird A1 was the first satellite to support ITU, Ka-band slots are generally under-used. kind permission from Hughes Networks Systems. Ka-band technology. It was developed by Sky Perfect JSAT and was launched in December operators have launched spacecraft with Ka- and 2020. Of these, 24 support Ka-band, and 1992 to cover Japan. Superbird A1 has since band missions, and there have also been several include dedicated birds for the region such as been retired. It was not until 1999 that a relative newcomers who develop, build and launch HYLAS 4 from Avanti Communications. commercial communications satellite that used satellites that exclusively use the spectrum. Avanti launched its first satellite in 2010, but Ka was orbited. Developed by Asia Broadcast its first African orbiter came two years later Satellite, ABS 7 was positioned to support Ka keeps coming with the launch of HYLAS 2. Both carry Ka- services in Afghanistan/Pakistan and the Middle band payloads, as does its third Africa satellite East, and continues to function today. Around 48 satellites are presently scheduled which is currently being constructed under a Since then, all of the mainstream satellite to launch around the world between 2018 joint venture with the European Space Agency

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SAWC 1804 p22-25 (Satcoms) RN-BiG GEEK.indd 23 26/04/2018 18:41 FEATURE: SATCOMS

and will consist of eight beams within a single Like Avanti’s HYLAS 4, Al Yah 3 will also Martin Jarrold, steerable antenna capable of covering an area expand Ka-band coverage across Africa as well Chief of international the size of Southern Africa. as establish a presence for Yahsat in Latin programme In the meantime, Avanti has just launched America. The hybrid electric propulsion satellite development, HYLAS 4 (see News, p6). The hybrid propulsion is due to begin delivering commercial services Global VSAT Forum satellite features part traditional chemical later in 2018. It promises to bring Yahsat’s orbit raising, part electric orbit raising and commercial Ka-band coverage to an additional electric station keeping which means it will 19 new markets in Africa and reach 60 per cent reach geostationary orbit in just 10 days, saving of the population, as well as cover more than 95 around 90 days of electric orbit raising. Avanti per cent of Brazil’s population. “HTS offers enormous advantages says HYLAS 4 was therefore able to reach its on After experiencing two tragedies over the station location by mid-March 2018. It adds that last few years – first with the loss of AMOS-5 to many of the world’s developing the launch configuration also provides a “lower in 2015 (see ‘Rocket Power’ feature, Jan-Feb mission risk profile”, and means it is able to carry 2016), and then with AMOS-6 exploding on the regions, including Africa and South sufficient fuel to support up to 19 years in orbit. launch pad in 2016 (see News, Sep-Oct 2016) The firm adds that the new Ka satellite doubles – Spacecom plans to launch a new satellite in Asia, in terms of meeting consumer the capacity of its existing fleet and covers more early 2019. AMOS-17 is specifically designed than 35 countries across the globe. The addition for Africa and will operate from 17°E to expand broadband service demand.” of HYLAS 4 will also see Avanti complete its coverage across the continent as well as the coverage across Africa, in addition to having the Middle East and Europe. Spacecom says it capability to cover Latin America. “These markets will offer “extensive” Ka-, Ku- and C-band high for Eutelsat – together with Facebook, it was can be reached through the satellite’s four throughput satellite services, combining broad planning to use capacity on the satellite for steerable beams which can be placed anywhere regional beams and high throughput spot its ‘Konnect Africa’ broadband initiative. Since across the Earth’s disc visible from the orbital beams to maximise throughput and spectral then, Eutelsat has launched Konnect Africa as slot of the satellite,” states the company. efficiency. The firm claims AMOS-17 will be a separate broadband service business and has Yahsat is another operator committed to the “most advanced” satellite over Africa, and contracted to lease capacity on Yahsat’s Al Yah 3. Ka-band. On 26 January 2017, the UAE-based deliver “unique” service capabilities that are not Set up by Eutelsat in 2015, Konnect Africa’s company confirmed the successful launch of its possible on traditional satellites. ambition is to provide affordable broadband third satellite, Al Yah 3. It said that the mission Another company aiming to make its satellite connectivity across sub-Saharan Africa. It experienced some challenges during the launch debut in Africa is Global IP. Its first high capacity launched commercial services in June 2017 stages, which resulted in the satellite being inserted satellite, GiSAT-1, is currently being built by and is currently developing partnerships in nine into an orbit that differed from the flight plan. But Boeing and when it is launched at the end African countries. Last November, the company Yahsat pointed out that the satellite is “healthy and of 2018, the company claims the 150Gbps unveiled its SmartWIFI hotspot service to enable operating nominally,” and that a revised flight spacecraft will be larger than all the other Ka retail outlets as well as healthcare centres or plan will be executed in order to achieve the satellites located over Africa combined. schools to become a connectivity point and operational orbit and the original mission. The loss of AMOS-6 created a problem digital gateway for the surrounding population. Eutelsat claims users will be able to connect to the internet from a distance of several hundred metres around the hotspot, and that access can be extended to several kilometres via off-the- shelf Wi-Fi repeaters. Users can access the new service through vouchers or mobile payment schemes. Eutelsat adds that SmartWIFI also comes with a unique local data storage system, enabling users in remote areas to access smart digital content free of data charges, including online courses and education programmes, sports and entertainment. Away from Konnect Africa, Eutelsat’s upcoming launch schedule for 2018-2019 includes four new satellites of which three will serve Africa while the fourth will use the company’s Quantum beam technology and offer flexible coverage. Two will offer Ku-band transponders. The company has also recently announed the development of its first low Earth orbit nanosatellite although this will use narrowband technology for IoT applications (see News, p5). Going low

Clearly then, the future of broadband using satellite technology centres around leveraging Set up by Eutelsat in 2015, Konnect Africa’s aim is to bring affordable broadband connectivity to Ka-band technology. So where does that leave sub-Sahara Africa. It is currently developing partnerships in various countries on the continent a new generation of satellite companies that where it will offer services via Yahsat’s Al Yah 3 which was launched in January 2018. plan to put hundreds of low Earth orbit micro

24 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p22-25 (Satcoms) RN-BiG GEEK.indd 24 02/05/2018 17:37 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html FEATURE: SATCOMS

satellites into space to create a clustered, mesh to delivering broadband via satellite. “In this At the end of the day, the choice of high network that will cover the planet? respect, HTS offers enormous advantages to frequency spectra like Ka- or Ku-band, or a Since one of the major purposes of utilising many of the world’s developing regions, including lower frequency like C, is going to depend on LEO satellites is to enable remote connectivity, Africa and South Asia, in terms of meeting the needs of the consumer. At this point, the the ground equipment needed to pick up lower consumer broadband service demand,” he says. pros and cons to each spectrum are dependent frequencies such as those in C-band will need to The cost of engineering HTS systems has on how they are utilised. As Shapiro concludes: be large. This is likely to make such equipment come down, and the product reliability continues “Those who have the means and can afford to difficult and expensive to install in remote areas. to increase. Furthermore, satellite companies invest in a new ground terminal and technology, Although forthcoming LEO missions from the will continue engineering structures to serve a may likely go for a DTH Ka-band-based satellite likes of Leosat, OneWeb, and Sky Space and Global variety of consumers, including the military, broadband service. Enterprise and service have a lot to offer, the GVF’s Jarrold says several humanitarian organisations, as well as the operators who need to quickly expand their factors need to be considered for their success. average consumer. Consequently, the technology business and assure high service availability will Firstly, and as highlighted above, he reiterates will continue to improve to support all bands. continue with C-band.” n that Ka-band may not be fast enough for online games or interactive programmes. Secondly, while LEO satellites require less power and are less expensive to produce, more of them must be deployed to create and support a reliable network. Thirdly, he points out that when a LEO satellite moves over the ocean or across an unpopulated area, the opportunity to generate revenue diminishes. Another factor to consider is that because so many satellites are required, the process of synchronising them could present an issue. Furthermore, engineers will need to focus their energies on utilising those satellites already in orbit in addition to developing new satellites to add to the network. Ultimately however, while LEO satellites have the potential to change the market landscape, the GVF says the technology will be “complementary” to traditional (GEO) HTS systems. Jarrold says: “Each has advantages over the other, with innovation in both of these space-based technologies continuing as the demand for availability and quality of services delivered to customers grows.” Spacecom’s Shapiro is likely to support this view when he says: “We should not base our businesses on one technology, rather, we should spread our risks.” Technology continues to evolve and when satellites are developed Shapiro says they need to be versatile enough to support any advances that take place from construction to launch. And they need to be upgradable as well. Like others within the industry, Shapiro believes that if engineers focus on making a variety of bandwidths faster and more reliable through their satellite technology, there will be more options for the consumer. Jarrold is quick to point out that frequency should not be the only factor considered when it comes

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 25

SAWC 1804 p22-25 (Satcoms) RN-BiG GEEK.indd 25 02/05/2018 17:37 FEATURE: IOT

How wireless radio frequencies enable the IoT

When it comes to implementing an RF-based solution in IoT architecture, Amphenol RF says the quality of the connectors used will go a long way to

determining how well the solution will perform. PHOTO: GSMA Due to the wireless nature of applications in the Internet of Things, RF components are positioned to be an integral part of the network infrastructure, as AMPHENOL RF explains.

he Internet of Things is delivering the data to support continual process optimisation of online services from existing systems, etc. promises of greater efficiency, improved While IoT solution architecture includes both However, impediments to deploying smart city production, enhanced and new services, software and hardware components, let’s focus IoT solutions can include: Tas well as deeper levels of control and data on hardware. u Establishing locations for the distributed devices acquisition for city planners, city managers, Widely distributed hardware resources are used u Gathering the necessary permits required for agriculture, manufacturing and consumers. to provide the localised control, communication co-location on or in existing utility infrastructure

The widespread availability of wireless and data acquisition capabilities required for u Implementing the solution quickly and cost connectivity is fuelling the growth and success effective operation. These resources can include: effectively

of IoT solutions. And because such solutions existing Wi-Fi networks; smart or internet capable u Operating and maintaining the deployed solution typically rely on resources distributed over wide devices such as sensors and environmental Meanwhile, smart agriculture IoT solutions geographical areas for system operation, RF- monitors; hubs collecting input from several address water management, monitoring environ- based infrastructure is ideal. wireless and wired devices; and additional mental variables relating to soil, plant health, The benefits of the IoT are well documented, and devices required to manage the efficient flow water and heat stress of animals, monitoring as well as being used to deliver optimised use of of communications and commands, including animal health, managing livestock feeding on a existing infrastructure, solutions also promise: internet and other network servers. per animal basis through RF tags, integration

u Decentralised access to legacy databases to of weather data for crop management, links to facilitate self-service by stakeholders in various Challenges of IoT implementation commodity markets, and use of distributed or instances such as license renewal and registration mobile devices. Impediments here can include:

u Integration of AI for semi-autonomous Smart city IoT solutions are designed to improve u Distances between IoT hardware components

operation of manufacturing, agricultural and utilisation of capital investments including u Lack of existing utility infrastructure (poles, urban processes optimisation of traffic flows on highways, light rail cell service, etc.)

u Acquisition of larger volumes of more detailed and public transportation management, provision u Harsh operating environments

26 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p26-28 (IoT feature) AM.indd 26 03/05/2018 11:56 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html FEATURE: IOT

The idea of Industry 4.0 might be considered more akin to smart agriculture than smart cities because of the harsh environments encountered in many situations and the potential for significant distances between hardware components. Consider, for example, mining, refining, and chemical production operations. These situations typically occupy sizeable areas and many of the process components are located outside. Structures for attaching wires may be widely separated or be unsuitable for direct attachment. Furthermore, IoT components can be exposed to the weather as well as dusty, caustic or corrosive environments that can impact hardware life and functionality. Regardless of the IoT application, RF provides an optimal solution in many, if not the majority Simplified IoT architecture and connectivity. of, cases. Wired solutions, on the other hand, bring a surfaces. If the wiring breaks, it must be design flexibility and support 100 per cent number of issues. For instance, running additional repaired by qualified crews, and if it is wireless or hybrid approaches; and they create the wire (copper, fibre or coaxial) on poles requires underground, the cost and delay is significant. infrastructure for connecting mobile distributed permits and permission from the host utility. On top of all this, there may actually not be devices carried on vehicles and farm equipment. Adding wires may also necessitate a loading any poles available when it comes to smart study to confirm the ability of the poles to handle agriculture deployments, and going underground The perfect connector for optimal the extra wire’s weight, weight from icing on the is rarely practical. RF performance new wire, as well as wind loading. What’s more, Solutions that are based on RF are ideal for a co-location on utility poles and other facilities number of reasons: there are fewer co-location More devices than ever before are being sold with typically incurs an ongoing, periodic fee. requirements; they are easier to maintain (a failed a wireless connectivity capability. This additional Meanwhile, underground wiring involves unit can often be put back into service with a capability is an acknowledgement of the flexibility expensive excavation and repair of disrupted board replacement); they provide architectural RF provides, and is a response to widespread

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 27

SAWC 1804 p26-28 (IoT feature) AM.indd 27 03/05/2018 11:56 FEATURE: IOT

Network Tolerable availability of radio frequency systems that Service Traffic rate Energy source Feasibility type(s) delay provide internet access for cloud-based control Structural 802.15.4; Wi-Fi 1 pkt every 10 30 min for data; Mostly battery 1: Easy to realise, by seismograph and data analysis. health and Ethernet min per device 10 sec for alarms powered may be difficult to integrate. This rapid growth can put engineers at a Waste Wi-Fi; 3G and 4G 1 pkt every hour 30 min for data Battery powered or 2: Possible to realise, but requires management per device energy harvesters smart garbage containers. disadvantage if they do not have RF experience Air quality 802.15.4; Blue- 1 pkt every 30 5 min for data Photovoltaic panels 1: Easy to realise, but greenhouse gas or lack a track record of integrating RF capable monitoring tooth and Wi-Fi min per device for each device sensors may not be cost effective. components in their designs. Amphenol RF Noise 802.15.4 and 1 pkt every 10 5 min for data; Battery powered or 2: The sound pattern detection monitoring Ethernet min per device 10 sec for alarms energy harvesters scheme may be difficult to claims to be the largest RF connector provider implement on constrained devices. globally, and the company says engineers Traffic 802.15.4; Bluetooth 1 pkt every 10 5 min for data Battery powered or 3: Requires the realisation of both air congestion and Ethernet min per device energy harvesters quality and noise monitoring. and installation technicians should be able to City energy PLC and Ethernet 1 pkt every 10 5 min for data; Mains powered 2: Simple to realise, but requires address a number of key issues when deploying consumption min per device tighter require- authorisation from energy operators. ments for control wireless connectivity solutions such as: Smart 802.15.4 and On demand 1 min Energy harvester 1: Smart parking systems are already u Does the RF device’s PCBA (printed circuit parking Ethernet available on the market and their integration should be simple. board assembly) use through board or surface Smart 802.15.4; Wi-Fi On demand 1 min Mains powered 2: Does not present major mount components? Which connector is best lighting and Ethernet difficulties, but requires intervention on existing infrastructures. suited for the situation? Automation 802.15.4; Wi-Fi 1 pkt every 10 5 min for remote Mains powered and 2: Does not present major u Are the PCBA launch geometries (antipads, and salubrity and Ethernet min for remote monitoring, few battery powered difficulties, but requires intervention of public monitoring; 1 pkt seconds for in- on existing infrastructures. trace widths, and gaps) optimised to handle building every 30min for loco control the project frequency? in-loco control

u What type of antenna connection is preferred Table 1: services specification for the Padova City project to meet initial cost requirements and ease of future maintenance? solution. Amphenol RF can help by offering an ZigBee, and Bluetooth. The modules are frequently

u What type of data and command communi- extensive array of technical product and product part of the reference designs that engineers utilise cation is required in terms of quality, packet application data in addition to its engineering to speed development of their own products. size, and speed? capabilities. One example is the availability of RF connectors are designed into a PCBA to

u Where will the RF device be mounted – in an ANSYS HFSS 3D component models (see figure facilitate connection of antennas, support the enclosure, corrosive environment or harsh 1 below) for many Amphenol RF connectors. frequency and impedance of the solution, and weather environments? These free downloadable files allow engineers protect against environmental conditions (IP67

u What are the RF frequency and quality to test a PCB connector’s performance in their or IP68 spec connectors). requirements? PCBA design with an extremely high degree Pre-configured cable assemblies are designed

u Are the antennas mounted internally or externally? of accuracy. These files eliminate the need for to provide affordable, proven antenna connectivity

u What type and form factor of antenna is being building prototypes to determine performance, to antennas located outside the electronics case used? How far is it from the RF Hardware? reducing both development costs and time. or inside larger hardware cabinets. They are also

u How many distributed devices will be connected When it comes to implementing a RF-based ideal for prototyping hardware designs. to a single antenna? Is a multi-port connector or solution, the quality of the connectors used Custom cable assemblies can be engineered and single connector more applicable? will go a long way to determining how well the manufactured to solution specific requirements

u Can the design utilise pre-configured, off-the- solution will perform. Regardless of the type that existing, off-the-shelf alternatives cannot shell assemblies or is a custom connector required, a reliable, durable, high-performance satisfy. For instance, Amphenol RF can manufacture more beneficial? connector is a necessity for optimisation of cable assemblies that: incorporate any connector Table 1 (above right) is taken from an article RF signal transmission. Proper connector configuration; use any cable type including those review written by Judith Sobotie1 regarding specification and procurement is critical. that are ruggedised and armoured; support hybrid the Padova, ITALY Smart City project. The RF/digital solutions; support ganged connectivity; table illustrates the complexity of a smart city Examples of end use applications comply with IP67 and IP68 protection. technical architecture in terms of integrating the Every RF device has an antenna and nearly various components into a properly functioning Prefabricated wireless modules that incorporate every antenna needs a connector. Amphenol RF IoT solution. It lists communication options, Amphenol RF connectors are commercially connectors employ the most advanced materials data timing, packet sizes, and more. available. These modules are designed to provide and production methods without compromising It is crucial for engineers to select the right engineers with compact, functional sources of manufacturing efficiency and productivity. The connector for each layer in any proposed wireless and RF connectivity including Wi-Fi, company’s connectors’ role in the IoT ecosystem is fundamental to the proper functioning of IoT solutions by providing sound, reliable, durable, and high performance connection to antennas and delivery of the RF signal with minimal loss and distortion. n The above feature is based on the article Amphenol RF enables the Internet of Things, first published in January 2018. All content and material is published here with kind permission of Amphenol RF.

1 http://www.etcs.ipfw.edu/~lin/CPET581- InternetOfThings/1-Lectures/2-5-2016-PaperPPT- slides/IoTResearchDirection_JS.pdf with her review being taken from the following source: A. Zanella, N. Bui, A. Castellani, L. Vangelista and M. Zorzi, Figure 1: Amphenol RF’s ANSYS HFSS 3D component model is available for many ‘Internet of Things for Smart Cities’, IEEE Internet of of its range of connectors. Things Journal, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 22-32, 2014.

28 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p26-28 (IoT feature) AM.indd 28 03/05/2018 11:57 Moving Wireless Forward Mobile Mark is a leading supplier of innovative, current major projects for National Express, West high performance antennas to wireless companies Midlands, UK.” across the globe. We’ve been in the wireless industry for over 30 years and have our roots Remote Monitoring & Surveillance in the early Cellular trials. We have grown and Surveillance plays an important role in maintaining evolved over the years, along with the industry. secure settings. Network deployments need to be low We are now looking for maintenance and weather resistant. Broadband surface Today, we benefit from enhanced design capabilities distributors throughout Africa mounts offer flexibility for multi-frequency coverage and expanded production capacity – along with and are rugged and dependable. YAGI antennas a greater understanding of new and emerging Commercial Fleet Management provide practical point-to-point coverage. 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Mobile A variety of network analyzers and an anechoic chamber Public Transit & Bus Management Mark’s infrastructure antennas have been used for enable us to conduct measurements up to 13 GHz, From monitoring the location of the bus to monitoring rapid deployment and redundancy coverage for and ensure that the antennas designed meet or the condition of its tires, wireless has become an effective wireless coverage in isolated settings. exceed customer requirements. essential part of professional bus management. Mobile Mark’s multiband antennas allow the Smart Cities & Smart Highway We have onsite injection molding equipment and system to capture that information and transmit it For cities and highways, the lynchpin of a successful a fully equipped modeling shop staffed with skilled back to a central monitoring station with real-time “Smart” system will be dependable wireless connections. model makers to assist in the design phase and help connectivity. 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Mobile Mark NAWC 1703.indd 1 06/04/2017 12:53 INDUSTRY VIEW: NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE Creating a truly mobile network

Connectivity to cell towers – which can be few and far between in remote areas – could be further hindered by any number of things, ranging from distance to rugged terrain or extreme weather conditions. DAVA BAUMANN discusses how connectivity can be re-imagined using portable cell towers and kinetic mesh network architecture.

ith the number of connected devices, cell towers (or any towers at all) located within Kinetic mesh: the key to IIoT and sensors and ‘smart’ technologies their range, and it can take an enormous effort digital transformation on the rise, industry leaders are to have one installed in a new location. Win a unique position to modernise their working But what if, instead of being statically tied to Industrial operators can kickstart their environments and gain a number of never-before one site, the cell tower had the ability to get up and organisation’s journey to digitisation by deploying accessible skills, including real-time visibility drive directly to the place you needed it, moving a kinetic mesh network topology. This type of into the status of people, equipment, and with ease to rapidly expand coverage to that area network allows for multiple nodes to connect, operations of their organisations. across the entire fleet and area of operation? broaden and strengthen the network where However, with this new toolbox of skills and These cell towers on wheels could also spread necessary. With the nodes essentially acting as technologies, organisations find themselves as far and wide as a site requires, flexibly compact, rugged, transportable, mini cell towers, faced with another dilemma: the need for a augmenting or creating infrastructure ad hoc virtually anything in the organisation’s infrastructure robust, reliable and mobile network that can to provide ubiquitous coverage across growing can be turned into networking equipment. keep up with these demands 24/7. operations – no matter how far out they span. In comparison to a regular cellular network, It is the operators of large worksites that are And as more connected people, devices and which has limited cross communication, a often forced to watch productivity slow to a halt machines are added to the expanding site, new kinetic mesh network can communicate peer- as cellular and other ‘make-to-break’ traditional cell towers would simply roll in to provide the to-peer seamlessly via numerous instantaneous networks struggle to keep up with such new and increased network support required, as well as connections. These form an adaptable, dynamic dynamic operations. Connectivity to cell towers – work with the nodes installed on the numerous network that has the ability to provide reliable which can be few and far between in remote areas moving assets the organisations have. wide-range communications practically anywhere. – could be further hindered by any number of With the roving connectivity of a cell tower on Without the need to trade-off one feature things, ranging from distance to rugged terrain or wheels, the many moving assets that make up for another, kinetic mesh networks provide extreme weather conditions. Reliable connectivity an industrial site – from equipment to vehicles unwavering bandwidth at high-speed, complete issues can leave operators feeling trapped and to people – could take robust connectivity with mobility, true mission critical reliability and their fleet stranded, limiting productivity and them as they travelled. The tower would simply scalability – a true future-ready network. putting organisations in difficult positions. follow along, dodging line-of-sight issues caused Building a reliable network starts with reliable What operators need in this day and age is by rugged terrain and seamlessly connecting hot hardware, and with the introduction of IIoT a completely mobile network – a ‘cell tower zones to allow operators to maintain unwavering applications, they need more from their networks on wheels’, to synonymously move or have the connectivity to, communications with, and and they need it now. From rising bandwidth ability to become one with the fleet. control over all the ‘things’ that power more demands to an increase of cyber security concerns, efficient and productive operations. the need for unwavering communications are at an Instant connectivity with total Giving the network the ability of ‘wheels’ all-time high. For example, devices connected via mobility and scalability means that even outer-edge communications Wi-Fi experience a three to five second disconnect would be completely reliable and provide a as they move between access points.1 This slight Operators in remote and/or sprawling industrial previously impossible connection directly to a break in transmission can make or break mission environments don’t always have enough existing control centre. critical situations, with essential data being lost

30 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p30-31 (Industry View) AM.indd 30 26/04/2018 18:43 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html INDUSTRY VIEW: NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

or interrupted. The potential benefits that kinetic reporting back to the command centre weekly. Dava Baumann, mesh networks bring when it comes to digitising This process is long, tedious and potentially VP of global industrial organisations are limitless, and due to unsafe for employees, and furthermore, the marketing, the nature of the mesh network topology, there data collected on each weekly trip is virtually Rajant are numerous ways it can be used to transform redundant once it reaches the command centre. Corporation a company’s daily operations. Digital technology adoption is offering a For example, kinetic mesh’s ‘predictive way forward, helping industry leaders move maintenance’ feature gives companies the ability from caution to optimism in the coming years. to visualise a problem and respond before it According to Deloitte,3 77 per cent of oil and happens, minimising maintenance costs by up to gas organisations surveyed in 2017 are either empowered to continuously monitor, manage 30 per cent and eliminating complete breakdowns exploring or designing their organisations with the and control their fleets of high-value equipment, of equipment by nearly 70 per cent, significantly future in mind. The fastest growth areas of digital vehicles and personnel wherever they roam. reducing capex and opex. Furthermore, automation investment in the sector are predicted to be in AI, Kinetic mesh networks are proven to stand up of machinery or other previously manual processes robotics, drones, and wearables. And it is with this to the extremes of mine environments, and and monitoring equipment and methods can growth that organisations can expect increases in effectively connect sprawling open pit and boost productivity by as much as 30 per cent.2 production by at least 20 per cent, with features underground mining operations. such as remote wellhead monitoring installed.4 For example, an industry model for an open Organisations are catching on With 89 per cent of oil and gas professionals pit mine producing 80,000 tons of ore per day believing mobility will revolutionise their operating estimates the cost of the required machinery to be Oil and gas field environments are already environments,3 kinetic mesh networks give in excess of USD47.5m.5 These high-value assets tempestuous and unpredictable enough, even operators the unwavering and secure connectivity must be carefully managed to ensure uptime is before throwing network and connectivity needed to access and act on ever-increasing always optimised, which in turn will maximise issues into the mix. Rapid developments in volumes of data, thus ensuring that productivity is production. By placing nodes directly on these technology are disrupting organisations’ current maximised throughout inevitable market swings. vehicles, shovels and pumps, the organisation can operating models and pushing for change, Automation of processes and machinery, precision seamlessly link them together – gaining real-time forcing companies to update their thinking drilling, wellhead communications, automated information from each asset’s applications on when it comes to technology. Changing the way drilling and pumping, drones for surveillance status, efficiency, maintenance needs, and more, organisations think when it comes to realising and inspection, together with production control even as they move across the rugged landscape. new tech and shifting the focus from simply and reporting are the key areas of interest for a In 2017, fleet automation and optimisation implementing a gadget or wearable here and successful transition into the digital age. were the key trends in the mining industry, there to a total overhaul of network infrastructure Like oil and gas organisations, mining with Deloitte estimating in its annual trend should be viewed as a necessity, not a burden. companies can also reap the benefits of kinetic report that approximately 35 per cent of Today’s oilfield operators must manage mesh in their impending digital transformations. current mining positions in South Africa will be remote wells across hundreds of square In an industry where short periods of completely automated by 2037.6 By analysing miles of rugged terrain, manually retrieving operational downtime can cause millions of real-time data with analytical engines, mines can information from each individual wellhead and dollars in losses, mining operators must be often improve their processed mineral yields by three to 10 per cent within months. Using self- driving technology in mines can result in a 15 to 20 per cent increase in production, as well as reduced costs in fuel and maintenance.4 Autonomous equipment, aerial surveillance and inspection, automated positioning systems, M2M communications, and production reporting are only some of the potential applications that kinetic mesh networks could support in mines across the world. They have already been implemented in some of the largest mining operations around the world to reliably cover people and assets across all remote sites. And so far there is no sign of any slowdown – globally, 69 per cent of mining firms say they are looking at remote operation and monitoring centres, 29 per cent at robotics, and 27 per cent at unmanned drones.6 n

1 https://www.mbtmag.com/article/2016/07/your- network-infrastructure-ready-iiot 2 Industrial IoT Survey 2017, MindBrowser & The IoT Magazine 3 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/ Deloitte/us/Documents/human-capital/us-cons-og- hc-trends-industry-report.pdf 4 https://www.rajant.com/moving-assets/ A kinetic mesh network topology features multiple nodes that basically act as transportable mini cell 5 https://www.rajant.com/applications/mining/ towers. Virtually anything in the organisation’s infrastructure can be turned into networking equipment. 6 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/ Giving the network the ability of ‘wheels’ means that even outer-edge communications would be Deloitte/global/Documents/Energy-and-Resources/ completely reliable and provide a previously impossible connection directly to a control centre. gx-er-tracking-the-trends-2017.pdf

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 31

SAWC 1804 p30-31 (Industry View) AM.indd 31 26/04/2018 18:43 WORLD NEWS World’s first CloudAIR trial is completed on live network in Egypt

Huawei says it has CloudAIR GL15MHz system accelerates scattered spectrum resources are remains stable without degradation. completed the world’s first the full convergence of multi-band fully utilised to deliver higher data “Spectrum allocation is static in the verification of its CloudAIR GL15MHz and multi-RAT networks, increasing rates and better user experience. It traditional refarming solution, which spectrum sharing solution on both LTE data rate and cell capacity does this by increasing flexibility in results sometimes in low utilisation Etisalat Misr’s network in Cairo. available at 1800MHz. It claims the the resource block and spectrum rate” says Etisalat Misr CTO Khalid Since launching 4G services in Egypt platform enables dynamic spectrum allocation used by LTE. Compared to Murshed. “In comparison, CloudAIR in 2016, Etisalat now has 3.4 million sharing between GSM and LTE with LTE 10MHz, Huawei says the system supports more efficient spectrum LTE subscribers. As users increasingly “unprecedented” overlap between the increases average user throughput sharing between GSM and LTE. migrate to LTE, Huawei says effective two technologies, and also promises by 20 per cent on downlink, while That has helped to boost spectral allocation of spectrum resources a smooth transition to LTE as well as peak throughput reached 92Mbps. efficiency and improve the overall to handle growing data traffic has increasing spectral efficiency. It adds that compared to GSM experience of 4G users in Cairo.” become a priority for the operator. CloudAIR uses proprietary 5MHz and LTE 15MHz without the The system will now be deployed on According to the vendor, its algorithms and is said to ensure that CloudAIR feature, the GSM KPI the operator’s entire network in Egypt. OBS wins ICT contract for world’s tallest building

Orange Business Services Planned for completion medical centres and government (OBS) has won a con- in 2020, the 1km Jeddah offices and services. sulting contract to design the ICT Tower will cost around OBS says it will make extensive use infrastructure and smart services for USD1.23bn to build. of digital technologies for smarter the Jeddah Tower, currently being living and working. It will create a constructed by the Jeddah Economic blueprint for the ICT infrastructure of Company in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. the tower, from the plan and design, Due for completion in 2020, the to the build and run phases. tower will be the world’s tallest The firm is working on a number of building at 1km (3,281ft). Its 200 smart city projects in Saudi Arabia. floors will include a 200-bed hotel, They include the King Abdullah offices, flats and shops. Dubbed a Financial District being built by the Al “vertical city”, it is located in Jeddah Ra’idah Investment company, which Economic City (JEC) 12 miles north JEC aims to become the sustain- along the coast, a destination is the largest of four smart cities in of Jeddah and between Mecca and able new northern district of Jeddah for business, housing, tourism, Saudi Arabia being built with a total Madinah on the Red Sea coast. and the focus of economic growth leisure, entertainment, retail, investment of over USD70bn. Airport introduces first cloud-based flight display system Gatwick is said to have costs. It is also said to offer flexibility Gatwick says its new system is more the airport layout and can target become the world’s first and can be run from a mobile device robust to network blips or power appropriate messaging depending major airport to introduce a cloud- without the need for any software failures with mobile battery power on the situation, and can control based Flight Information Display to be installed. Content can be and 4G backup available if required. backlighting to help reduce energy System (FIDS). managed collaboratively with other It also includes a fully independent consumption where possible. While legacy FID systems require organisations, such as airlines and management interface that supports “The solution we now have in place software to be loaded on a separate ground handlers, and different types operation completely independent is resilient, flexible and low cost with PC behind the screen to run them, of content can be hosted depending from any airport infrastructure or highly optimised data transfer,” says Gatwick’s 1,200 cloud-based screens on requirements (disruption, weather, system if required. Gatwick CIO Cathal Corcoran. “We now connect via a web browser advertising, etc.). The system also has awareness are transforming the way airport from any operating system. It’s Furthermore, unlike legacy FIDS, of screen positions with respect to information is communicated and will claimed this takes up only 3Mbps soon allow passengers to interact with of bandwidth which makes the new chatbots using Facebook Messenger, real-time system “extremely” fast Whatsapp and other popular apps.” and responsive to updates, a key Corcoran adds that Gatwick is benefit in times of disruption. The airport’s also exploring the use of the IoT The new VisionAir FIDS was 1,200 cloud- for improving situational awareness developed by AirportLabs and went based screens and machine learning for accurately live in mid-2017. now connect predicting flight departure times. via a web The system can run natively on Last year, the airport also became browser from smart TVs which is said to save on any operating the world’s first airport to deploy infrastructure and maintenance system. AR wayfinding.

32 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p32-34 (World News) AM.indd 32 26/04/2018 18:44 Register here for your free digital edition kadiumpublishing.com/register/sawc.html WORLD NEWS Viasat launches ‘fastest’ satellite internet service

Households in the US can be expanded to aircraft over North ports so that everyone in the now benefit from what is America, the Atlantic and western building can connect wirelessly. It Police tackle said to be the world’s fastest satellite Europe as well as to business also has a phone port, eliminating internet service, a claimed 100Mbps. and government. And it says the the need for a separate ATA Viasat is offering unlimited plans planned launch of its ViaSat-3 (analogue telephone adaptor). city traffic at USD65-USD150 per month – satellite – which is currently under Viasat says its future ViaSat-3 after three-month discount deals – construction – will offer a service to system will offer global coverage thanks to with unlimited VoIP calls to US and billions of people globally. with just three satellites. The first is Canadian numbers at an additional Viasat’s chairman and CEO, Mark expected to go into service in 2020 hundreds of USD29.99 per month. Dankberg, says the ViaSat-2 service for the Americas, with the second The company, which uses its helps to bridge the digital divide in the – covering satellite for Europe, the new radios ViaSat-2 satellite system for the US, giving customers new choices. Middle East and Africa – expected service, offers free installation for a Features of the new offering to launch about six months later. Milan’s police service has satellite dish, modem and router. In include a home gateway with built- A third satellite is planned for the been equipped with 1,750 addition, Viasat says the service will in Wi-Fi and two Gigabit Ethernet Asia Pacific region. new TETRA radios to aid road safety. The radios were supplied by Hytera’s German subsidiary Hytera Peruvian villages go online for first time Mobilfunk and its Italian partner Telecomunicazioni Professionali. Remote settlements in Peru The pilot also features the Parallel the maturity of these technologies to On the congested road network have been connected with Wireless HetNet Gateway (HNG) provide a cost-effective connectivity in the Milanese metropolitan mobile broadband for the first time. which is said to be a carrier-grade in low density areas, getting a voice area, tailbacks, accidents and The deployment is a technology software platform that enables an growth of 12 per cent per month traffic problems are said to be pilot and part of a project called open network architecture by using and Circuit Switch Fall Back (CSFB) a continuous challenge. Hytera Internet Para Todos developed by standard-based and open interfaces success call rate of 99 per cent. reports that officers of the Polizia Telefonica with equipment from US between network components to According to the vendor, intelligent Locale di Milano have their hands company Parallel Wireless. simplify network management and packet processing delivered more full controlling and monitoring To keep costs down, the service integration of new RAN products. than 10GB per settlement of daily the traffic, and that smooth, fast uses mostly off-the-shelf components Parallel Wireless says the 3G and 4G data traffic and each communication is critical to both and open standards. They include a deployment used the full SDR cell availability was 99 per cent. ensure the safety of all road users as converged wireless system (CWS), capability of wireless open RAN Parallel Wireless also claims that well as to be able to act quickly and a low power base station made with technology to provide data and the service, available globally and effectively in the event of an incident. commonly-available components voice services over both 3G and 4G deployed on six continents, offers The city police force has replaced which integrates 3G and 4G access technology to thousands of clients. the lowest total cost of ownership all of its radio equipment with in the same form factor. It adds that the pilot has validated to connect the unconnected. Hytera’s TETRA portable and mobile digital radios. Handheld radios make up 1,350 of the new Space weather global comms impact study devices that have been supplied. PHOTO: OXFORD SPACE SYSTEMS This includes the lightweight and In what has been The WISCER of a joint programme with the US slim (23mm) Z1p that features 3W hailed as a world project uses Naval Research Laboratory. Plans power, GPS, encryption, duplex calls first, a new experiment to study the shoebox- are now in place to launch two and a man down feature. Hytera effects of space weather on global sized CubeSat satellites during 2020-21, says the device complies with IP67 communications is being launched satellites each with a UK and a US payload. for resilience and that it continues by the UK and US governments. known as The UK payload will contain a to be operational after immersion The Wideband Ionospheric Sounder CubeSats. WISCER antenna and waveform in a metre of water for 30 minutes. CubeSat Experiment (WISCER) uses generator that will transmit a signal In the patrol vehicles, there are specially designed shoebox-sized to a bespoke ground signal receiver, now 350 MT680 Plus mobile radios satellites known as ‘CubeSats’. These assessing the impact of the ionosphere (pictured above). With 10W of have been designed to help scientists manager at the laboratory, said: “We’re on the signal. The US payload will transmit power, the device also offers study the Earth’s upper atmosphere trying to find out how the ionosphere measure how electron density changes group call, PSTN calls, emergency and find out how it impacts radio might affect us when we communicate. with altitude. The collaboration is said button and 16 programmable keys. frequencies through space. For example, are signals weaker during to offer the opportunity to generate Police motorcycles have also been The project is being coordinated specific space weather conditions? data cost effectively, with both equipped with new TETRA radios. in the UK by the Defence Science It’s important to understand the countries potentially sharing results. The new radios are said by Hytera and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), effects and how it might impact our In the UK, Thales Alenia Space to have passed their first major test an executive agency sponsored by communications around the world, has been awarded a GBP1.5m when crowds were attracted by the the Ministry of Defence. Dr. Mike specifically with military operations.” contract to build the WISCER Pope’s visit to the city. O’Callaghan, space programme The WISCER project forms part payload and ground signal receiver.

March/April 2018 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS 33

SAWC 1804 p32-34 (World News) AM.indd 33 02/05/2018 18:14 WORLD NEWS 5G launches Researchers simulate in Qatar In what it says is a world living conditions of Mars first, Ooredoo Group has launched 5G, initially for business Scientists have recently Forum (OeWF) – was to test aspects customers, in its home country of completed a four-day project of long range interplanetary space Qatar. Using its 3.5GHz spectrum, in the harsh desert of southern Israel communications as well as examine the operator claims speeds of to simulate living conditions on Mars. challenges and issues that arise 2.3Gbps – twice that of the current Six researchers occupied a mock from manned planetary missions. 4G network – with 3.5ms latency. space station powered by solar panels The site of the project, near the Ooredoo says the launch is part and linked to an off-base operations Ramon Crater, was chosen for its sim- of its Evolution to 5G network and control centre. The daily routine, Aerial view of the Desert Mars ilarities to the surface of Mars, includ- modernisation programme, and food and communication was the same Analog Ramon Station (D-Mars). ing its geology, aridity and isolation. that it plans to roll out the service as it is expected to be during a real One of the participants, Guy Ron, across its global operations that planetary mission, including wearing a Spacecom’s AMOS-7 satellite provided a nuclear physics professor from the include Southeast Asia, the Middle space suit when venturing outside. They the communication links. There were Hebrew University in Jerusalem, says: East and North Africa where it runs ate mostly freeze dried food and drank simulated blackout periods where, “D-Mars is half about the research, networks in Algeria and Tunisia. three litres of water per day. from Earth’s perspective, Mars passes and the other half is about the Spacecom and the Desert Mars almost entirely behind the Sun. outreach. A major part of this project Analog Ramon Station (D-Mars) jointly The aim of the experiment – is getting public interest and getting New group carried out experiments in which conducted with the Austrian Space students interested in space.” for wireless Air Alliance offers 5G service from your seat Two industry groups have combined in a bid to Airline passengers will encouraging others to join – include It says the goal is to create an make radio networks more open, be able to use their US airline Delta, Airbus, Bharti improved passenger experience to maximise the use of off-the-shelf smartphones and tablets in the air as Airtel, Sprint, and OneWeb. The enable the same level of connectivity hardware, minimising proprietary easily as they do on the ground, says latter has struck a deal for Airbus they experience in their living room equipment, and specifying APIs, a new non-profit industry group. to build a fleet of low-Earth orbit anywhere they fly. The alliance claims interfaces, and driving standards. Called the Seamless Air Alliance communications satellites with the the project will also “significantly” The founding members of the Open and announced at Mobile World first set for launch later this year. reduce costs while creating a “smooth, Radio Access Network (ORAN) Congress in February, it aims to cut The alliance says that when the positive user experience”. It adds that Alliance are AT&T, China Mobile, costs with working groups which project is operational passengers’ the internet experience itself will be Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo will develop open standards for devices will seamlessly connect via as good as, and in many cases better and Orange. They say it will extend third-party manufacturers and for satellite, through their current mobile than, the home experience, including the efforts of the C-RAN Alliance billing and deployment. operator, for 5G quality without the low latency, high speed, and a gate- and the xRAN Forum into a single The five founders – who are need for login or credit cards. to-gate continuity of service. operator led effort that will innovate quickly to meet expectations. Vodafone introduces 4G mini mobile mast Free Wi-Fi Vodafone UK claims it has in with its environment in Areas of equipment and is therefore more achieved an industry first Outstanding Natural Beauty. focused on a particular area, whilst on board with the successful trial of a new Unlike other mobile masts, a traditional mast may cover a larger 4G mini mobile mast. Vodafone said the mini mast does range, with greater numbers of cells.” Passengers on board The operator said customers in not require a large technology The spokesperson said it was difficult Finnlines’ ships can now the village of Porthcurno and on the cabinet to house the power supply to specify the mini mast’s actual reach benefit from Wi-Fi thanks to equipment local beach can now experience 4G and electronics. as this very much depends on the installed by Telenor Maritime. The data speeds of more than 200Mbps The mini mast is also said to local environment, geography, etc. connectivity platform includes 3G, as well as a “strong” voice signal. be much quicker to install, taking Ka-band VSAT and mobile broadband Situated on England’s southern around six months to become fully backhaul in a bid to enhance the coast in the county of Cornwall, operational – that’s around a third of customer experience on board. Porthcurno is significant in the history the time it takes to install a standard Particular emphasis was put on of telecoms as it served as a major mast, according to the company. covering areas such as cabins and international submarine cable station, The mini mast has been introduced other previously non-covered sections and the beach was the landing to address ‘not-spots’ and hard-to- on the ship. The service is available point for Britain’s first submarine reach coverage areas such as small on Finnlines’ roll-on roll-off passenger telegraph cables in 1870. villages and business parks. vessels which operate between six Vodafone’s telescopic mini mast is A Vodafone spokesperson said that ports in three countries. Kielo Vesikko, just eight metres high when extended it uses the same output of power as head of passenger services, line to its tallest point, and is around half a traditional mast for the actual radio Vodafone said the mini mast was manager, says moving from a free to the height of the shortest standard equipment. But she added: “However, installed in “significantly” less time paid service was a “smooth” process. mast. It can be painted to blend a mini mast has less such radio than full-sized versions.

34 SOUTHERN AFRICAN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS March/April 2018

SAWC 1804 p32-34 (World News) AM.indd 34 26/04/2018 18:44 SAWC 1804 p35 (Africa Com).indd 1 02/05/2018 18:51 Our global voice termination says...

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