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Special Anniversary Issue

Africa Afrique www.communicationsafrica.com THIRTY YEARS THAT CHANGED A CONTINENT Africa’s communications revolution

Subsea cable Morocco deployment Why e-commerce is Innovation under the here to stay ocean Fixed wireless VSATs access Intelligent approaches Is 5G FWA a way to remote education forward for Africa?

features: ● Analogue TV on the way out ● SDN on the way in ● Data centres on the way to everywhere regular reports: ● Agenda ● Solutions S01 CAF 3 2021 Start_Layout 1 17/08/2021 05:59 Page 2 S01 CAF 3 2021 Start_Layout 1 18/08/2021 08:39 Page 3 CONTENTS

Agenda 4

Quotes 6

Events 8

Solutions 32

Cover photographs supplied by Malawi Administration / Adobe Stock FEATURES / Alain Charles Publishing

A note from the Editor Communications Africa: thirtieth anniversary 10 The past thirty years have seen many major developments in the African telecommunications market. We asked THIRTY YEARS AGO, when this magazine some of the companies that have helped to bring connectivity to the continent to choose the ones they feel have was first published, communications been the most significant. technology in Africa was unreliable and, often, unavailable. Then mobile networks arrived. Data centres 12 It has undoubtedly been the mobile A new era for data centres in Zimbabwe. Plus a look at more efficient data centre design and a round-up of recent phone that has done the most to developments. transform African communications since 1991 – but today satellite Subsea cable deployment 15 communications and subsea fibre are helping to continue the transformation. subsea cables technology advances are driving resilience, speed and data volume as the undersea cable market continues to expand. So what have we learned? First of all that better communications, inarguably, boosts earning power and GDP. Most VSATs 19 importantly, however, people just want How satellites and VSATs are helping to support education and learning in some of Africa’s remotest areas to communicate. That’s why the argument that mobile phones would be a luxury for the few in Software-defined networks 22 Africa has been proved wrong. New SDNs are redefining network architectures in markets around the world. Here’s why. business models made communications more affordable. The market grew. Then new innovations followed, none more Country focus 23 influential than mobile money, which There’s been significant growth in e-commerce in Morocco in the past year – and it looks like it’s going to continue. Africa arguably pioneered. It’s a genuinely inspiring story – and it’s not over yet. Subsea cable, 4G and 5G 25 affordable smartphones, fibre rollout What is the relationship between licensed technologies like 4G and 5G and fixed wireless access? And what could and falling satellite bandwidth costs will FWA mean for Africa? bring new and diverse services to ever- greater numbers of African consumers and businesses. The next thirty years Country focus 28 could be even more exciting. The South African switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting is finally under way – but what took it so long?

Editor: Vaughan O'Grady - [email protected] Assitant Editor: Deblina Roy - [email protected] Editorial and Design team: Mariam Ahmad, Prashanth AP, Fyna Ashwath, Miriam Brtkova, Praveen CP, Shivani Dhruv, Manojkumar K, Unique Pattnaik, Rahul Puthenveedu, Deblina Roy Vinita Tiwari and Louise Waters Production: Srinidhi Chikkars, Dinesh Dhayalan, Swati Gupta and Eugenia Nelly Mendes Head Office: Middle East Regional Office: Email: [email protected] Alain Charles Publishing Ltd Alain Charles Middle East FZ-LLC University House Office L2-112, Loft Office 2, Publisher: Nick Fordham 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place Entrance B, PO Box 502207 Magazine Sales Manager: Edward Somgal - Tel: +91 88841 93373 London SW1W 0EX, United Kingdom Dubai Media City, UAE Email: [email protected] Telephone: +44 20 7834 7676 Telephone: +971 4 448 9260 Country Representative Telephone Fax Email Fax: +44 20 7973 0076 Fax: +971 4 448 9261

India Tanmay Mishra +91 98800 75908 [email protected] Nigeria Bola Olowo +234 8034349299 [email protected] Subscriptions: [email protected] Derek Fordham UAE Murshid Mustafa +971 4 448 9260 +971 4 448 9261 [email protected] Chairman: Printed by: Buxton Press Printed in: August 2021 USA Michael Tomashefsky +1 203 226 2882 +1 203 226 7447 [email protected] Communications Africa/Afrique is a bi-monthly magazine ISSN: 0962 3841 Serving the world of business

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Avanti Communications and Clear Blue Technologies to deploy Mauritius Commercial rural connectivity across sub-Saharan Africa Bank to adopt MITECH’s AVANTI COMMUNICATIONS, ONE of the leading TRAC system in the cloud providers of high throughput satellite capacity across EMEA, has announced a partnership with THE MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL Clear Blue Technologies International Inc, the Bank Ltd (MCB) is adopting Smart Off-Grid company, to enable mobile network MITECH’s system TRAC (trade operators and telco tower companies to deliver risk active control) to support a

rural network coverage to areas across sub- Communications Avanti Photo: continuous and significant Saharan Africa. growth in its Commodity Trade Within the next three to five years, the partnership Finance (CTF) business. is expected to deliver mobile network coverage to the TRAC is a trade risk and 400 million people that currently cannot access mobile Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to become one of the collateral management system largest telecom markets in the world. broadband services. supporting structured trade Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to become one of This partnership will accelerate the rural rollout of commodity finance. The TRAC the largest telecom markets in the world. Sub-Saharan low-cost connectivity solutions in areas where solution handles not only Africa has a young population with a projected high network coverage and broadband services have Transactional Commodity population growth, at a rate of 2.7% per year, more been limited or non-existent. Avanti and Clear Blue Finance but Borrowing Base than double the rate of growth in South Asia and Latin have already successfully provided these structures as well. America. As a result, telecom operators are expected connectivity solutions in significant deployments Rajeshwar Pertab, head of to invest US$52bn in infrastructure from 2019-2025, across Africa’s largest economies. Middle-Office, MCB, stated, much of which will be in rural deployment. Avanti’s rural network coverage solution supports “MITECH’s expertise and TRAC’s Miriam Tuerk, CEO and co-founder of Clear Blue 2G, 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity across Africa. As part extensive functionalities Technologies, said, “With only 26% of sub-Saharan of this joint rural deployment effort, Avanti will provide convinced us to adopt the Africa already connected through mobile internet, critical, high throughput Ka-band satellite connectivity solution and streamline we’re looking forward to bringing connectivity to areas and VSAT equipment. At the same time, Clear Blue will information flow between our where costs and lack of infrastructure make internet deploy its smart off-grid solar-powered solutions with customers, front-office and services prohibitive.” remote management and control. middle-office teams.

Out There Media and MTN Ghana launch telco- Millicom signs agreements to conclude Africa driven mobile advertising divestiture programme GLOBAL MOBILE ADVERTISING company Out There Media (OTM) has partnered with MILLICOM INTERNATIONAL CELLULAR SA (Millicom) has signed MTN Ghana to provide digital advertising services for its customers. agreements for the sale of its operations in Tanzania and for its stake in MTN Ghana will adopt OTM’s award-winning mobile engagement technology the AirtelTigo joint venture in Ghana. platform, Mobucks, and leverage its network of brands and brand agencies, driving Once closed, the transactions will complete Millicom’s multi-year plan advertiser interaction and engagement with its 25 million subscribers in Ghana, to divest its African operations and focus on its Latin America markets. three times the reach of Facebook in Ghana. In Tanzania, Millicom has agreed to sell its entire operations to a OTM’s proprietary mobile technology Mobucks is expected to enable MTN consortium led by Axian, a pan-African group that was part of the Ghana to bring its customers targeted and interactive messaging campaigns from consortium that acquired Millicom’s operations in Senegal in 2018. their chosen brands and agency partners. MTN’s telco insights and wide reach In Ghana, Millicom along with its joint venture partner, Bharti Airtel combined with Mobucks’s precise targeting and personalisation capabilities will Limited, has signed a definitive agreement for the transfer of AirtelTigo to enable “micro-targeting at scale” for its future brand clients. the Government of Ghana. Millicom will take a US$25mn charge as a result Several brand partners have signed up to be among the launch partners and of this agreement. innovation leaders on the Mobucks platform including Cadbury Richoco, Glitz Millicom CEO, Mauricio Ramos, commented, “Today, Tigo is a leading Natural Care, Mandela Mile, Marie Stopes, Mycare Mobile, Odibets and provider of broadband services to consumers, businesses and PharmaAccess. One project came from Cadbury Richoco which ran a mobile governments in Latin America, where penetration and data speeds remain messaging campaign to raise awareness for its national educational support low by the standards of more mature markets. Through our investment- programme “My Ghana, My Pride”, by inviting school children to enter an essay led strategy, we are bringing reliable high-speed mobile and fixed competition to win scholarship funding. The campaign achieved an average click broadband to the communities we serve in the region.” through rate of 5.5% beating current industry benchmarks for campaign Ramos further added, “With today’s announcement that we are engagement levels. divesting our remaining African businesses, we close a chapter in our “Ghana has the highest mobile penetration rate in West Africa, and mobile history and open another solely focused on the Latin American region.” technology plays an increasingly important role here,” said Dario Bianchi, digital Financial details were not disclosed, and completion of each transformation lead at MTN Ghana. transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including “As MTN works towards becoming a digital operator by 2023, it is extremely regulatory approvals. important that we partner with the best brands to bring our customers the right Millicom is one of the leading providers of cable and mobile services content, to enhance their digital experience and enable them to enjoy modern dedicated to emerging markets in Latin America and Africa. As of 31 connected life. Out There Media is the perfect partner for this, combining its December 2020, Millicom operating subsidiaries and joint ventures technology with our data and our reach to deliver impactful engaging, interactive employed more than 21,000 people and provided mobile services to and innovative mobile advertising campaigns for our subscribers.” approximately 55 million customers.

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Sparkle collaborates with Google to build Blue and Raman submarine cable systems

SPARKLE, THE FIRST international service provider in Italy and among the top ten global operators, has announced a collaboration with Google and others to build the Blue and Raman Submarine Cable Systems Blue will connect Italy, France, Greece and Israel, while Raman will connect Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman and India. Each equipped with 16 fibre pairs and embracing the innovative concepts of open cable, supporting multiple fibre tenants and open landing station, enabling competitive access to the cable termination points, the two systems set a new reference in terms of diversification, scalability and latency throughout these geographies. In particular, Blue will be deployed along a new northbound route in the Mediterranean, crossing the Strait of Messina, rather than following the traditional

route through the Sicily Channel. As a result, internet service providers, carriers, Stock Adobe

telecom operators, content providers, enterprises and institutions will benefit from Photo: high-speed Internet and state-of-the-art capacity services with unparalleled diversity and performances. BlueMed flexible design allows seamless express connections throughout the Within the Blue System, BlueMed submarine cable is now Sparkle’s own private Mediterranean Basin. domain, sharing its wet components with four additional fibre pairs and an initial alternative priority access for other upcoming submarine cables looking for a design capacity of more than 25 Tbps per fibre pair, and is extended up to Jordan diversified entry to Europe, backhauled to Milan’s rich digital marketplace, and thus (Aqaba) with additional private branches into France (Corsica), Greece (Chania – a new reference gateway between Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Crete), Italy (Golfo Aranci – Sardinia and Rome), Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, Blue and Raman are expected to be ready for service in 2024, with the Cyprus and more in the future. Tyrrhenian part of BlueMed planned to be operational already in 2022. BlueMed flexible design allows seamless express connections throughout the Elisabetta Romano, CEO of Sparkle, said, “With Blue and Raman Submarine Cable Mediterranean Basin, with unprecedented latency and spectral efficiency, and Systems, Sparkle boosts its capabilities in the strategic routes between Asia, Middle sophisticated regional subsystems, based on specific customer requirements. East and Europe and the enhanced BlueMed strengthens our presence in the In addition, Sparkle’s Genoa Open Landing Platform is set to become the greater Mediterranean area."

iSAT Africa and SES Networks to provide NuRAN signs MoU with MTN and Telinno 4G Services in East Africa NURAN WIRELESS INC, a supplier of mobile and broadband wireless FIXED SATELLITE SOLUTION and infrastructure solutions, has signed an MoU with MTN to develop rural professional service provider sites under the network-as-a-service model (NAAS) in South Sudan.

iSAT Africa and global content Stock Adobe This is for the deployment of sites through the build, own, operate, connectivity solutions provider and transfer (BOOT) revenue share model. SES have signed a three-year Photo: Pursuant to the terms of the MTN MoU, the parties intend to install partnership agreement to enable The fibre-like connectivity will equip iSAT a minimum of 250 rural networking sites in South Sudan within the communities living across the Africa to enable local mobile operators to next 24 months, subject to the conclusion of a definitive agreement deploy 4G services to close the digital divide. easternmost peninsula of Africa with a ten-year term within four months of the signature of the MoU. to enjoy 4G services on their mobile phones. The agreement is intended to provide mobile connectivity solutions This new service will be available first via SES’s O3b medium earth through the NuRAN NAAS model. orbit (MEO) constellation to subsequently migrate and expand to SES’s The NuRAN NAAS model facilitates network expansion for mobile next-generation MEO system, O3b mPOWER, in 2022. operators by managing and controlling the build, operation, and Through SES’s O3b mPOWER system that can deliver low-latency high- maintenance of cellular sites along with associated capital expenditures. speed connectivity services from tens of megabits to multiple gigabits per The sites are then monetised by providing connectivity on a paid for second to a single site, iSAT Africa will be able to quickly scale its network service basis. Leveraging its carrier-grade mobile network infrastructure to meet anticipated extensive connectivity demands. The fibre-like solutions as well as its extensive expertise in the building of cost- connectivity will equip iSAT Africa to enable local mobile operators to effective cellular infrastructure, NuRAN to setup network operations deploy 4G services to close the digital divide. iSAT Africa is among the from the ground up with an exceptional return on investment. first companies in Africa to sign up for O3b mPOWER. Apart from this agreement, NuRAN has signed another MoU with According to the GSMA 2020 report, mobile coverage has been Telinno-Consulting Limited for the deployment of rural sites under the expanding in sub-Saharan Africa quickly; 3G coverage expanded to 75% NAAS in Mali, West Africa and with Sierra Leone Telecommunication compared to 63% in 2017, while 4G doubled to nearly 50% compared to Company Limited in Sierra Leone, West Africa, for the deployment of 2017. However, the coverage gap in Sub-Saharan Africa remains the sites through the BOOT revenue share model. highest globally as it is home to 67% of the world’s population not covered Under the terms of the MTN MoU, the parties intend to install a by mobile broadband. minimum of 250 rural networking sites in South Sudan within the next This is because attempts to deploy 4G networks in sparsely-populated 24 months, subject to the conclusion of a definitive agreement with a rural and remote areas continue to be an economic challenge. With telcos ten-year term within four months of the signature of the MOU. and internet service providers increasingly seeking innovative, cost- “Arrangements like these, where we partner up with companies effective yet reliable connectivity solutions, SES’s MEO satellite-based such as Telinno and Sierra Tel, will help us to fast-track our mission of MEF-certified service that can ensure seamless interconnectivity with any bridging the digital divide within the targeted timelines,” stated Denis network is an ideal solution. Lambert, vice-president sales and business development.

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QUOTES

The 90-day free data We believe our proven Axian is starting a new campaign seeks to satellite internet chapter in Tanzania and “ensure that no “solution will bring “Zanzibar in the long customer is left behind by cost-effective internet term. We are convinced that ensuring that all our services to Nigerian towns Axian’s model will accelerate customers can now access where large gaps exist digital inclusion and open the internet, even at no between demand and the up access to innovative cost.” affordability and availability services for populations - Peter Ndegwa of internet services.” while supporting economic growth.” CEO - Rick Baldridge Safaricom President and CEO - Hassanein Hiridjee Viasat CEO Axian, which recently bought With our Tier 3 operators Tigo Tanzania and certification we believe The growth and Zantel “this facility will be a development of 10,000 bedrock for increased “MoMo agent economic development in businesses across the We are proud to be Uganda as it will attract country not only benefits the first company by several opportunities for local communities and “number of solar panels colocation, not only economies but has the in five countries in Africa regionally but also ripple effect of many more and the Middle East. As a internationally.” unbanked and underbanked stakeholder in the energy transition, Orange has - James Byaruhanga South Africans having an opportunity to manage their included in its Engage 2025 general manager strategic plan the objective Raxio Data Centre money digitally, wherever they are.” of meeting 50% of the group’s electricity needs - Felix Kamenga from renewable sources by The Council of chief officer for mobile financial 2025.” Ministers has services “unanimously made a MTN South Africa - Alioune Ndiaye historic decision today CEO allowing Ethiopian Orange Middle East and Africa Communications Authority We are very glad to to grant a new nationwide announce the telecom license to the “establishment of Mobile The internet offers Global Partnership for Money Rwanda as a wholly unprecedented Ethiopia, which offered the owned subsidiary of MTN “opportunities for highest licensing fee and a Rwanda. One of the key economic growth in very solid investment pillars in our strategy is to developing countries. By case.” establish platforms that our providing access to customers find valuable.” information, connecting - Ethiopian prime minister people to businesses - Mitwa Ng’ambi Abiy Ahmed in a Twitter post everywhere, and opening CEO up new markets, the MTN Rwanda

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QUOTES

internet can act as an With AirFibre, we have Fintechs are able to enabler of economic activity found a cost-effective present a customer- and an engine for solution to help close the “centric channel to information sharing.” digital divide.” accepting and making - Nic Rudnick - Calvin Collett payments in an extremely agile way. Ease of use, group CEO managing director Liquid Intelligent Technologies MTN SA’s internet service various payment methods, provider, Supersonic and great user experiences continue to drive payment Through the GSMA adoption. If institutions fund, we are now able When we started, we perceive fintechs as key “to embark on our had about 15 sites collaborators, the quest to connect millions of “where we have had opportunity for a mutually unconnected people in the signal as we speak. beneficial partnership Africa to the internet and This is expected to go up increases significantly.” help them get trained in to about 100-250 sites by - Anton Coertzen valuable skills for the new the end of the year.” president of strategic digital economy.” - Dilip Pal partnerships - Bola Lawal chief finance officer Ukheshe Technologies co-founder and CEO Safaricom ScholarX West Africa is A vital part of ATC’s becoming a major We’re proud to sustainability “focus for Kaspersky. partner with Eutelsat “programme is to rely The agreement with “to combine the power more on renewable energy DataGroupIT will see of the Express Wi-Fi solutions to power our Kaspersky gain access to platform and Eutelsat communications sites. new verticals in this region Konnect, with the goal of Having a partner like while helping new and increasing satellite Polarium enables us to existing customers build broadband coverage harness renewable energy their cybersecurity strategy. across rural and sources more effectively. By It also puts Kaspersky in a underserved areas of sub- switching to Polarium’s position to work with major Saharan Africa.” high-end lithium-powered regulators to elevate the backup solutions, we have digital protection threshold - Fargani Tambeayuk reduced our Scope 1 across the region.” head of connectivity policy for emissions and reliance on sub-Saharan Africa - Lehan van den Heever Facebook fossil fuels by over 50% enterprise cyber security since 2018.” advisor in Africa - Tuoyo Ebigbeyi Kaspersky While the rollout of chief technical officer fibre has been fast in American Tower Corporation’s “big metropolitan areas, African subsidiary ATC Africa it has been much slower in peri-urban and rural areas.

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Events/Événements 2021 SEPTEMBER/ SEPTEMBRE

6-7 World leading IoT conference series London, UK www.iottechexpo.com/global

14-15 West Africa Com Virtual event https://tmt.knect365.com/west-africa-com/

14-16 SECURA North Africa Algiers, Algeria www.securanorthafrica.com/en OCTOBER/ OCTOBRE

6-7 Digital Transformation Expo Virtual https://dtxevents.io/europe/en/page/dtx-europe

12-14 Broadband World Forum Virtual https://tmt.knect365.com/bbwf/

17-21 GITEX Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE www.gitex.com

20-22 ISACA Helsinki, Finland and VIRTUAL https://www.isaca.org/training-and- events/conferences NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE

8-12 AfricaCom CTICC, Cape Town https://tmt.knect365.com/africacom/

15-18 Cairo ICT Cairo, Egypt https://cairoict.com/ DECEMBER/DECEMBRE

3-6 IBC2021 Amsterdam, the Netherlands https://show.ibc.org/ibc2021-show-dates-annoucement

CABSAT 2021: the future of content? Deblina Roy previews CABSAT, the only event With this in mind, for Communications Africa for content, broadcast, satellite, media and readers, the day-long CABSAT Africa Forum is entertainment industry professionals in the particularly significant for its focus on media MEA region, which this year includes a whole and entertainment insights, day’s forum dedicated entirely to Africa. applied AI in broadcasting and satellite, 5G in Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo: media, production technologies and industry CABSAT – THE MEA region's leading media, stakeholder perspectives. entertainment and satellite event – is back! It For example, a 40-minute panel discussion takes place from 26-28 October 2021 at the will focus on the fast-growing market for Dubai World Trade Centre. African pay TV subscribers. Several pay TV After a year of missed opportunities that players have opted to create their own OTT has forced international media pioneers and video apps or partner with already-established decision-makers to connect virtually, CABSAT OTT players to deal with the threat to profits of is back. Its aim, say the organisers of the 2021 OTT, a transition impacting a number of event, is to put attendees’ businesses at the operators who are experiencing shrinking forefront of the region’s satellite, margins. The discussion will look at how to entertainment and media sectors, giving them monetize in a digital vs traditional age. a platform to connect with more than 10,000 Finally, keeping visitor well-being as the key buyers and decision-makers. number one priority at Dubai World Trade As always, CABSAT 2021 is gearing up to bring Centre, CABSAT 2021 will be held under together some of the industry’s best creative stringent safety and hygiene protocols. The minds on a single, international stage through a venue is certified with the prestigious Bureau series of programmes relevant to a wide number Veritas SafeGuard Label, which attests to its of markets and technologies including OTT compliance with the highest hygiene players, linear broadcasting, Gen Z audiences, AI standards. Also, the team at DWTC are working and home viewing. Additionally, the event’s around the clock to ensure that events run Satexpo Summit gives visitors the opportunity to safely and have implemented a range of meet important members of the global space and measures including an enhanced cleaning satellite industry. regime, improved air circulation, multiple Of course the entertainment industry has hand sanitiser stations and directional remained strong during the pandemic, signage where required. especially at a time when many people are CABSAT 2021 will be held under stringent safety relying more than ever on streaming and TV. For more information, see www.cabsat.com and hygiene protocols.

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Infobip to Power Sophos announces acquisition of Braintrac Expresso Senegal Customer SOPHOS, A GLOBAL NEXT- Communication with GENERATION cybersecurity Whatsapp solution provider, has acquired Braintrace, a move that is set to GLOBAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS further enhance Sophos’ Adaptive service provider Infobip will provide Cybersecurity Ecosystem with WhatsApp customer communication Braintrace’s proprietary Network services and its conversations CPaaS- Detection and Response (NDR) based contact centre solution to technology. leading Senegal mobile operator Braintrace’s NDR aims to Expresso. provide deep visibility into Combining WhatsApp with Infobip's network traffic patterns, including in-house developed Conversations encrypted traffic, without the need Adobe Stock Adobe cloud contact centre solution is set to for man-in-the-middle (MitM)

give Expresso Senegal a powerful tool decryption. Located in Salt Lake Photo: to manage customer communications City, Utah, Braintrace launched in and multiple use cases. 2016 and is privately held. According to Sophos’ research, adversaries aggressively and constantly change tactics evade detection and execute their attacks. “This is well beyond just a trend, As part of the acquisition, this is a momentous change in the way Braintrace’s developers, data growing MDR providers in the Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which businesses engage with their scientists and security analysts world, with more than 5,000 underpins all Sophos products customers, and we are certain have joined Sophos’ global active customers. and services. The Braintrace Expresso will see an immediate Managed Threat Response (MTR) Braintrace’s NDR technology is technology will also serve as the improvement and increased customer and Rapid Response teams. expected to support Sophos’ MTR launchpad to collect and forward satisfaction,” said Mirza Bukva, Sophos’ MTR and Rapid Response and rapid response analysts and third-party event data from regional director of Telecom services business has expanded extended detection and response firewalls, proxies, virtual private Partnerships, Infobip Francophone rapidly, establishing Sophos as (XDR) customers through networks (VPNs) and other Africa. one of the largest and fastest- integration into the Adaptive sources.

ICPS and Zwipe to bring biometric Will the office make a comeback post-Covid-19? payment cards in Africa and Asia AROUND 79% OF the workforce aspire to be back in the office at least BIOMETRIC FINTECH once a week, up from 74% last October, highlighting the declining COMPANY Zwipe and appetite to work solely from home as homeworking fatigue sets in, international card payment according to International research conducted by JLL and released by Photo: ICPS Photo: processor and card Tétris Design & Build (owned by JLL, a Fortune 500 company) titled personalisation bureau Worker Preferences Barometer. ICPS are partnering to bring Around 37% feel more productive at home, down from 48% Zwipe Pay ONE-enabled last April. However, 63% of workers do not want to be biometric payment cards to office-bound, showing preference for a hybrid style of working from banks across Africa and The initiative aims to create a strategic both home and the office or third-party locations such as coworking Asia. foundation for a mutually rewarding lounges and coffee shops. partnership. The Covid-19 pandemic The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns worldwide have has boosted the use of contactless technology and ultimately the need challenged conventional ideas on how we work and what a workplace for consumers and businesses to make higher-value payments using should look like. contactless cards. However, the contactless limit increase for payments According to the survey, while the disruption in workflow due to also poses a higher risk for users without an additional layer of security. Covid-19 has had a negative impact on business over the past year, it ICPS and Zwipe have partnered to bring biometric payment cards has also paved the way for innovative working solutions and new ways enabled with fingerprint sensors. With a fingerprint sensor embedded in of achieving a good work-life balance – a top priority for millennials the card, consumers will now benefit from an extra layer of security with and Gen Z. Emma Luyt, co-CEO of JLL sub-Sahara Africa and MD of no need to enter a PIN code on the POS terminal. Tétris Design & Build, is excited by the opportunity for strategic Zwipe is expected to provide the complete Zwipe Pay ONE package workplace design and bespoke office fit-outs as a means to refresh comprising Biometric ISO contact plate module, passive inlay, fingerprint and re-engage with returning staff and believes the innovation it sensor, OS license and enrollment sleeves. As part of this collaboration, demands will bring enormous future value to the office sector. both companies will work closely to promote the disruptive Zwipe Pay Luyt said that business leaders need to get back into the office to ONE-enabled biometric payment cards for ICPS issuers in Africa and Asia. protect and grow their business culture and nurture younger “As a provider of innovative payment services in the African continent, teams who require office infrastructure and connection to perform, but we pride ourselves in delivering future-proof innovations. Together with a rethink of corporate workspaces is necessary if business owners Zwipe we will bring a new payment solution that will help financial want to get employees back and working productively. institutions to differentiate their services, provide safer and much more “Company owners are looking for workspace solutions that can foster secure payment solutions and uplift customer loyalty,” said Khevin inclusivity and co-working while providing quiet spaces for thinking Seebah, CEO at ICPS. and doing,” she added.

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THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY Interviews

How telecoms changed Africa – and Africa changed telecoms Communications Africa is 30 this year. We asked a number of players – both long-established and relatively recent entrants – what they thought had been the most significant developments in telecommunications or broadcasting in the African market since 1991 – or since their own entry into the market. Here’s what they had to say. Photo: Wheere it all began. Three issues of Communications Africa from its first decade. first its from Africa Communications of issues it all began. Three Wheere Photo: LOT HAS CHANGED in 30 years in populations of around 70%, a minority of slowly, translating to fibre connectivity further Africa telecommunications. In the Africa’s urban population able to afford inland, and of course satellite communications early 1990s a business visitor to, say, telecoms and the need for carriers to continue is doing even more, at ever lower cost, to AGhana, would arrange an to make money, a likely mobile penetration connect the unconnected. appointment by fax or even telex or try to get ceiling in Africa would be on or around 10%. The In broadcasting, there’s been a revolution through on an unreliable fixed line service. If actual percentage of individuals who own a too. Countries like South Africa and Nigeria are they were running late, there was no easy way phone in the continent’s most populous now big players in the broadcast content to alert the people they were meeting – and country, Nigeria, is now over 50%. In many market, supporting viewers who, more than certainly not from the back of a taxi. countries it’s higher – over 100% in South Africa ever, are using streaming services – and even A thirty-year-old resident of Accra would and Morocco, for example. watching TV on their phones. barely recognise this description. He or she And Africa may have been late to the mobile Clearly a lot has changed in the thirty years would probably be familiar with basic text and communications party, but it can claim to have since Communications Africa first launched – voice on mobile phones and, today might own been a major innovator through mobile-phone- and these observations are by no means one of a growing number of low-cost based money transfer services, payments and comprehensive. smartphones, on which they can now not only micro-financing. M-Pesa, launched in Kenya in As our thirtieth anniversary approached we arrange meetings, but read the news, listen to 2007, was the first and is still the best-known wondered how best we could review music, watch streaming TV and access one of brand in what is now a global trend. developments in the African thousands of applications designed to make life Fibre connectivity was largely left behind by telecommunications market since 1991. The easier or more fun. mobile – but that may not be the case for much obvious answer was to ask the companies that This wasn’t supposed to happen. As recently longer. The staggering growth of subsea cable have been part of those developments. as 2003 the general view was that, with rural networks with a landing point in Africa is now, Ericsson of course entered Africa in 1894 and,

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Interviews THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

said Todd Ashton, vice president and head of Ericsson South and East Africa, “we’ve seen Todd Ashton, mobile communications come a long way vice-president across the continent over the past 30 years, and head of owing to the incredible potential offered by the Ericsson South and East Africa. continent. Today, a new era of socio-economic prosperity is underway by leveraging new technologies that make it easier to conduct business, increase productivity, and drive economic inclusion.” He continued, “There’s a widespread acceptance that digital transformation is essential to propel Africa towards the future. 4G and 5G adoption will exponentially accelerate the regional digital agenda, and this is something that requires focus from all stakeholders. Looking at the example of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, the continent will see value across the life cycle of network operations. Africa is home to over a billion people, and it is also the continent with the most growing economies globally. ICT is essential for the continent’s development, and adequate ICT service deployment and digital connectivity will play a crucial role in achieving economic sustainability in Africa.” His company’s well-known Ericsson Mobility Report backs this up, showing us that more than 340 million people will soon be connected to mobile broadband across sub-Saharan Africa, and, by 2025, mobile data traffic in Africa will Ericsson Photo: rise by more than 50% year-on-year – by far the Pretoria, South Africa.” services in the 1990s and the liberalisation of highest growth rate worldwide. He continued, “While the network the telecom sector, which opened up private “Financial inclusion will continue to be technologies we bring to the market have sector participation and brought competition. enabled by mobile connectivity,” Ashton added. evolved dramatically, our commitment to the This enabled the data revolution and a move to “Mobile money services have become an African continent remains the same. Nokia has ever-increasing broadband internet capacity essential, life-changing tool across the continent a strong presence, supporting all leading which is now at terabyte connectivity speeds.” for both women and men, providing access to communications service providers (CSPs) and For Riana Strydom, territory sales manager safe and secure financial services. And when the serving millions of end users across the South Africa of Brady Corporation, an access to safe and secure financial services is continent. Most of Nokia’s customers entrust us international manufacturer and marketer of within reach, enhancements in energy, health, providing technology and services across various complete solutions that identify and protect education, and employment opportunities will network domains. From optical transport (33 people, products and places, the focus is fibre. follow and thus, economic growth.” customers), IP routing (48 customers) and core, She said, “Nine years ago fibre did exist in And, after more than 100 years, Ericson still cloud-based and traditional (12 customers), to South Africa, but it was a well-hidden, has a lot to do. He added, “We look forward to access, both fixed via fibre (35 customers) and underutilised technology, not available to our an exciting journey with our partners in the mobile (39 LTE, 29 microwave customers), we mobile network operators. We were using low- African market.” provide key building blocks to implement and quality services like EDGE, 2G and limited GPRS Nokia is another long-term player in the operate critical networks in Africa. Fixed wireless mobile services powered by ageing copper African market. As Soenke Peters, head of access (FWA) is another key technology to infrastructure, and legislation protected the strategy and technology MEA at Nokia, pointed connect the unconnected and delivered to five monopoly of the holding telecommunications out, “Nokia has actively been collaborating with operators already. For 20 CSPs Nokia provides operator at the time.” clients to build reliable critical networks in managed services to ensure smooth and optimal Fibre development started in 2005 with the Africa. Our rich history in Africa starts in 1860 performance of their networks. On top of this, we decision by the country’s High Court to allow when Siemens, with whom Nokia joined hands have enabled various business applications for mobile operators to build their own networks. to become Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) in 26 customers based on our wide and leading She explained, “Using one world-class fibre 2007, started its business activities with CSP software portfolio.” network to service all communication needs, telegraph equipment for the Cape Town to Sam Nkusi, CEO One Africa Broadband was highly successful. Since then, the fibre Simonstown line. Since then, Nokia has led the Connectivity (1-ABC) and group chief managing infrastructure in South Africa has grown rapidly. charge with several firsts, such as Siemens executive, government relations for technology The global situation we have all found ourselves equipping Libya with its first regional nationwide group Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has in since early 2020 with Covid has also automatic switching network in the 1960s, worked in the ICT/telecoms industry for more contributed to the increase in development of Alcatel delivering the first digital exchange in than 35 years. He said, “The most significant the fibre infrastructure.” Morocco in 1976, and Siemens and Alcatel development in Africa was the rapid evolution jointly installing the first electronic exchange in from fixed line telephony to mobile network Continued on page 17

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DATA CENTRES Zimbabwe

Will new approaches transform the use of ICT in Zimbabwe? Photo of Harare: Adobe Stock Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo:

Building an e-government strategy

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services has launched a National Data Centre. It is expected to change the way data and information is managed in the country. Wallace Mawire reports.

HE LAUNCH AND operationalisation of Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), as well as the “This also resonates well with the Whole of Zimbabwe’s National Data Centre is attainment of Vision 2030.” Vision 2030 is Government Approach,” Muswere said. This described as one of the grand described as ‘a vision for inclusive long-term refers to the joint activities performed by diverse T strategies in successfully economic recovery’. ministries, public administrations and public implementing the country’s national ICT According to the ICT ministry, the National agencies in order to provide a common solution (information and communications technology) Data Centre is one of the success stories in the to particular problems or issues. Policy and its e-government Programme. implementation of various projects under the e- The ministry’s goal under the e-government “It is also a clear demonstration of ensuring government programme that the Ministry in programme is to attain 100% e-enablement in that the attainment of the country’s Vision 2030 collaboration with the Office of the President the provision of basic services by the government. is heavily anchored on the modernisation of our and Cabinet is deploying across the public The strengthening of the government portal economy through the use of ICTs,” ICT minister, sector to re-invigorate the performance of and the ministries’ websites is also expected to Dr Jenfan Muswere said earlier this year, adding government institutions, systems and processes. provide a platform for citizens and business to that the SMART Zimbabwe 2030 initiative is the access the government information and services framework which provides for a smart government The National Data Centre that will be housed in the National Data Centre. and consequently for effective e-government. Progress has also been made with the SMART He also said that the ICT ministry would will allow for quick access, Zimbabwe ICT strategy and requirements of continue to provide the enabling environment exchange and sharing of Vision 2030. They include: development of that is necessary for the intensified adoption backbone infrastructure to connect the country and utilisation of ICTs within government and information by the various to the outside world; the modernization of the across the economy at large to ensure that the users within government ICT backbone infrastructure; last-mile country moves in tandem with the new dictates connectivity to all businesses and households of global economics and governance. The National Data Centre is to be used as a through fixed and mobile telephony; and data He added, “This is in addition to ensuring central repository for all government information, links to allow citizens and business to access that ICTs are diffused to penetrate to all corners allowing for quick access, exchange and sharing government services through the portal. of the country, hence bridging the digital divide of information by the various users within The mobile penetration rate is reported to and promoting rural development. Deployment government. It could also offer an opportunity have risen to 87.7% from the 10.4% recorded in of ICT infrastructure and equipment also for the government to save money as ICT 2008. The internet penetration rate is also resonates very well with the National operations will be based on cloud computing. reported to have been consistently growing over

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Zimbabwe DATA CENTRES

the years and currently stands at 59.9% up from “The Community Information Centres some of the objectives under the National the 1.3% recorded in 2008. initiative therefore resonates very well with the Development Strategy. Also community information centres, a key government’s vision that is anchored on The organisation said that the launch of the piece of infrastructure to provide access to leveraging ICTs for sustainable development,” National Data Centre is a step in the right online services to the local communities, he said. At a continental level, it is reported that direction as it pertains to access and usage of particularly the less well-off, have been data centres are entering a number of African ICTs at the government level, which also need deployed throughout the country. markets (see round-up, below). to be facilitated for ordinary citizens, including “They will enable citizens to also access those in rural and marginalized communities. government online digital services amongst There is an urgent need “Such developments, however, do not other things,” Muswere said. operate in a vacuum, with the critical factor Other initiatives include: deployment of pre- for complementary being that of reshaping and refining the fabricated modules (PFMS) kiosks across the legislation, policies and country’s approach to human rights. This also country, e-learning initiatives to ensure that includes the role that such facilities can play in students throughout the country have equitable guidelines that will guide the either facilitating or restricting the right to access to educational content; implementation acquisition, transfer and privacy and freedom of expression, among other of the telemedicine project to ensure the use of fundamental rights,” MISA-Zimbabwe said. ICTs to facilitate the provision of clinical storage of data in Zimbabwe It added that one critical gap in that regard is healthcare using two-way communications the absence of an effective data protection and between physicians and the patients at remote Another relevant trend is facilities being data privacy framework. and rural healthcare centres; the Safe Cities created as pre-fabricated modules – smaller “In that regard, there is an urgent need for initiative – which uses camera technology to self-contained data centres to be used for complementary legislation, policies and manage and monitor traffic in the cities; and the network, cloud, wholesale and co-location, and guidelines that will guide the acquisition, deployment of base stations across the country suitable for local environments. transfer and storage of data in Zimbabwe. This to ensure ubiquitous connectivity. MISA Zimbabwe, one of 11 chapters of the is particularly crucial in promoting public trust Dr Muswere said that government has Media Institute of Southern Africa, which and confidence, and that the centre will not be identified ICTs as one of the pillars and promotes and defends media freedom and used for unlawful surveillance,” it said. cornerstones for economic development, adding freedom of expression across the Southern MISA Zimbabwe also urged government to that access to ICTs and effective participation in Africa Development Community (SADC) region, promote transparency and accountability on the the digital economy are critical in improving the said that the launch of the National Data Centre nature of data and information that will be in its quality of life for all the citizens of Zimbabwe. was a critical step towards the fulfilment of custody through the National Data Centre. ✆

Capacity is growing – but not fast enough AFRICA IS SEEING a considerable growth in its broadband user base, which is set to double over the next decade. Deblina Roy asks whether data centre growth can meet this demand. More than two-thirds of Africa’s data centre capacity is within South Africa, according to a report from the African Data Centres Association (ADCA) and Xalam Analytics. The report further states that 15 countries have a deficit between five megawatts and 10MW of data centre capacity, with 20 facing a capacity deficit higher than 10MW. Meanwhile demand is likely to grow.

That said, there has been a lot of activity Raxio Data Centre Building recently. For example, IXAfrica has broken under construction at ground on an 18MW data centre in Nairobi, Namanve Business Park

which is expected to be East Africa's largest Raxio Photo: 'hyperscale-ready' campus. In Ethiopia meanwhile, Wingu.Africa has broken ground on Technologies Park of Senegal (PTN), as part of (see above) has launched a data centre, but a hyperscale data centre in Ethio ICT Park, Addis the country’s Digital Senegal plan. In Ghana, South Africa remains the busiest country in Ababa. The company also plans a facility in African Infrastructure Investment Managers terms of data centre rollout. One of many recent Adama City. Additionally, Raxio Group has (AIIM) has acquired a majority stake in Ghana’s announcements concerns Teraco Data begun construction of a data centre at the ICT only Tier IV data centre with plans for Environments, which has raised $170 million to Park in Addis Ababa. expansion. finance the construction of its 38MW In the west, N+One plans to build three data Even the Democratic Republic of Congo is hyperscale facility in Johannesburg. centres in Dakar, in partnership with the getting involved: Raxio Group is set to construct There’s activity in number of other African Ministry of Digital Economy and a 1.5MW data centre in Kinshasa, which is due countries too. However, positive data centre Telecommunications, along with the General to be commissioned in June 2022. development at any meaningful scale may be Delegation for Rapid Entrepreneurship of Paratus Zambia will soon open a one difficult to achieve without more government Women and Youth (DER/FJ) and the Digital megawatt data centre in Lusaka and Zimbabwe involvement to enable it.

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DATA CENTRES Design optimisation

Quality data centre design can lower costs. Photo: Siemon Photo: Better design equals better performance There has been a lot of news recently about the advantages of using renewable power for data centres – but optimising data centre design can also have a positive impact – and not just on power usage, as Dinesh OP of IT infrastructure solutions company Siemon told Ron Murphy.

HERE IS A lot of debate currently about OP explained, “Simple design considerations effective and highest performing option for power usage in the data centre and like installing blanking panels in racks and current 8-fibre 40 and 100 Gigabit applications, how data centres can reduce their cabinets for example can prevent the mixing of and also provide an easy migration path to next T carbon footprint. hot and cold air, while patch cords with a generation 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s applications.” In fact there are many innovative technologies reduced outer diameter help maximise airflow Moreover, the overall rise in demand for available that can address the power issue. to improve cooling effectiveness and thermal computing power means that data centres must However, Dinesh OP, technical manager Africa efficiency. Also, specifying intelligent power be able to expand quickly and/or add additional at IT infrastructure solutions company Siemon, distribution units (PDUs) which monitor power capacity as required. A modular POD-based believes it is equally important to consider core usage of individual connected devices can data centre design approach can facilitate a data centre design principles. determine if devices operate within the intended speedy expansion process. As he said, “This is because optimised data range for energy use.” OP explained, “PODs consist of groups of centre design can have a positive impact on Of course it’s important to remember that the cabinets and are typically designed based on power consumption, while good design also ever-increasing number of connected devices is capacity, function or application. Once defined, addresses the most pressing challenges that driving the demand for more bandwidth, which they can serve as a template for incremental data centre owners and operators are facing in turn can push the capabilities of existing data build-outs of additional units. As demand today: the need for faster transmission speeds, centre infrastructure to the limits. With data increases, this design can be easily repeated as the need for fast data centre deployment and speeds now moving to 200 and 400 Gb/s in the the data centre grows. Faster infrastructure scalability, the need for infrastructure flexibility data centre backbone and to 25 and 40 Gb/s at deployment can also be achieved by selecting and manageability and the need for operational the data centre edge, selecting the right network pre-terminated trunking cables. These solutions efficiency.” He added, “When we talk about cabling solutions on day one will determine if a are factory-assembled and therefore up to 75 design principles, we refer to the implementation data centre can support higher performance per cent faster to install than traditional field- of high-performance physical layer components needs in the future. terminated solutions.” including the cabling and cabling architecture, OP suggested, “Solutions such as Siemon’s As for Africa, according to racks and cabinets and power distribution Base-8 system with 8-fibre MTP parallel optics telecommunications market research and throughout the facility.” connectivity provide the most efficient, cost- consulting firm TeleGeography, this continent In fact optimised data centre design can saw the fastest internet bandwidth growth in the result in reduced capital expenditure (capex) world between 2015 and 2019, at a compound and increased return on investment (ROI). For annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45 per cent. At the example, specifying high-performance cabling same time the mobile penetration rate

solutions on day one will support not only Siemon Photo: continues its upward trend, the internet of current but also future data speeds and could things (IoT) is increasingly utilised, and the future-proof a data centre facility for many years cloud has become the place for data storage. to come. When considering operational OP summed up, “All this is impacting data expenditure (opex) on the other hand, quality centres across the region and makes more data centre design can lower costs (for power, efficient design – one that enables faster speeds say) and improve operational efficiency through It’s important to get cabling and a faster deployment process, as well as right from the very start better power usage effectiveness (PUE). scalability and flexibility – much more urgent.” ✆

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Subsea cables TECHNOLOGY

The Namibian coastline, one of many areas that are soon to be Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo: landing points for subsea cables.

Innovation under the water: the cables are coming Technology advances are driving resilience, speed and data volume as the Africa undersea cable market continues to expand. Phil Desmond looks at some of the big names driving this expansion and interviews two of the companies involved in the Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) system.

REPORT LAST year from independent of over 350 networks, 130 IT service providers, cable system which links the south of Africa and non-profit research institute RTI 50 global content providers, and a number of Europe, spanning the west coast of Africa and International called the Economic key global cloud providers. terminating in the UK. This four fibre pair system AImpact of Subsea Internet Cables in This interconnectedness with data centres is with total length of approximately 16,000Km is, Sub-Saharan Africa suggested a range of also to be seen in the UAE whose new SmartHub we are told, complemented with 15 terminal positive impacts – from an over 8% increase Kalba facility is to be a landing for the new stations and involves a consortium of 18 leading in employment in areas that are connected Africa-1 subsea cable. The new facility is due to international telecom carriers. to fibre to a 19% increase in GDP per capita open by the first quarter of 2022. Then there’s EASSy. EASSy is a 10,000km for countries like the Democratic Republic The 10,000 km Africa-1 cable will provide submarine fibre-optic cable system deployed of Congo. eight fibre pairs to connect Africa and the Middle along the east and south coast of Africa to RTI completed a series of studies, in East eastward to Pakistan and westward to service the voice, data, video and internet partnership with Facebook (itself an investor in Europe, increasing the available transmission needs of the region. It links South Africa with a number of undersea cable systems), that capacity between Asia and Europe. Sudan via landing points in Mozambique, analysed the economic impact of subsea cables The technology in the cable itself is amazing Madagascar, the Comoros, Tanzania, Kenya, and the improvement in connectivity they too. The system will be equipped from day one Somalia and Djibouti. delivered to six countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. with ASN 1620 Softnode transmission The cable is said to incorporate the latest In collaboration with African equipment, featuring high-performance developments in submarine fibre optic telecommunications experts, the RTI team 200/300/400 Gb/s advanced coherent XWAV technology, making it economical to connect the documented how improvements in connectivity line cards. eastern and southern coast of Africa into the catalysed economic opportunity and growth in Of course, submarine cables have been high-speed global telecommunications network. Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, landing in or near Africa for some years. The The system is owned and operated by a group Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. WACS (West Africa Cable System) submarine of 16 African telecommunications operators and However, recent announcements underline cable, for example, was delivered in 2012. WACS service providers and a smaller group – just not just the economic benefits but how the is an ultra-high-capacity fibre optic submarine under 10% of the total – of international technology used is improving. Take for example operators and service providers. the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) subsea cable. In its time (it entered service in 2010) EASSy ACE covers about 17,000 km along the west “The 2Africa subsea fibre was, its providers suggest, the highest-capacity coast of Africa, stopping off in 19 countries. optic cable project will system serving sub-Saharan Africa, with more Then it’s backhauled by landing partner and deliver more than the total than 10Tbps, two fibre-pair configuration and South African operator MTN into Teraco’s data the first to deliver direct connectivity between centre facilities. combined capacity of all east Africa and Europe / North America. It was This is a major combination of two game- subsea data cables serving also the only system with built-in resilience end changing modern technologies. Users of ACE to end. EASSy interconnects with multiple now have direct access to Teraco’s ecosystem Africa today” international submarine cable networks for

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TECHNOLOGY Subsea cables

PEACE is coming… THE PAKISTAN & EAST AFRICA Connecting Europe (PEACE) system submarine cable system, provides

Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo: an open, flexible and carrier-neutral services for its customers. Two of the companies making PEACE happen, PCCW Global, a leading international telecommunications service provider, and Infinera, a global supplier of innovative open optical networking solutions told us about some of the technological advances involved. Communications Africa: How much has subsea cable technology advanced since PCCW Global entered this space? PCCW Global: PCCW Global designed and optimized PEACE System specifically for maximum capacity per fibre pair and our advanced transmission line design will enable us to continue to embrace new technologies from different vendors. The initial design capacity per fibre pair was 16Tbps and now increased to 25Tbps by deploying the Infinera ICE6 optical engine solution. It is expected to increase during the life time of PEACE System. Djibouti’s position in the Horn of Africa makes it a popular cable landing point. Communications Africa: How is technology driving greater resilience, speed and volume, along diverse, seamless onward connectivity to technologies, bringing much greater and more with lower latency in the subsea cable space? Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia. cost-effective capacity. The cable will PCCW Global: Optical submarine cable systems In a related project, investors in the EASSy incorporate optical switching technology to employ optical fibres as the transmission paths. system are building terrestrial fibre backhauls enable flexible management of bandwidth. Optical fibres have excellent features such as low to link the land-locked countries of the region to Cable burial depth has also been increased by loss and wide bandwidths. However, from the the cable. 50% compared to older systems, and cable viewpoint of increasing both transmission speed More recently, in 2019, Google first routing will avoid locations of known subsea and wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) announced its subsea cable project, Equiano, disturbance, all helping to ensure the highest density, it is important to design an optical fibre which, it says, will connect Africa with Europe, levels of availability. transmission line so that the optical signal running along the west coast of Africa between It’s worth mentioning that many of these waveform distortion is suppressed. Digital signal Portugal and South Africa. Earlier this year projects will be continuing to update their processing (DSP)-enabled coherent transponders Paratus and Telecom Namibia signed an technology as new approaches become viable. offer unprecedented flexibility in submarine line agreement to land Equiano in Namibia. However, the issues of cable breaks and ease terminal equipment operations, offering electronic Again there’s evidence here of the changing of repair will probably remain tricky; once a chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarization mode and improving technology such systems use. cable is buried in the depths of the sea, what dispersion (PMD) compensation, and putting many The cable incorporates new technology that the happens when it is damaged? different modulation formats, symbol rates, companies say enables approximately 20 times For example, Vietnam’s internet connection forward error correction (FEC) and thus line rates more network capacity than the last cable built via the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea within a single box. to serve this region and provides flexibility to cable has gained an unwelcome reputation for Communications Africa: I assume future add and reallocate capacity in different problems. AAG handles more than 60% of the advances will bring continued evolution and locations as needed. country’s international internet traffic, but it has improvement to subsea cable systems. How will Coming right up to date, it’s impossible to experienced frequent ruptures and repairs, future technology upgrades be integrated into overlook the 2Africa subsea fibre optic cable affecting services in Vietnam, where more than existing subsea cable networks? project. This project, once completed, will 64% of the population is online. Geoff Bennett, Director, Solutions & Technology, connect 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Closer to home, earlier this year WIOCC Infinera: Coherent transponders have evolved and Europe and deliver more than the total reported interruption to a significant number of through five distinct generations over the past 12 combined capacity of all subsea data cables client services between Djibouti and Marseille years (100G, 200G, 400G, 600G and today’s 800G). serving Africa today. on the SeaMeWe5 submarine cable, affecting Each generation delivers increasing fibre capacity The 2Africa cable will implement a new voice, data and internet services in multiple and individual wavelength data rate – and both technology – SDM1 from ASN – allowing countries across eastern and southern Africa. factors bring a direct improvements in CapEx and deployment of up to 16 fibre pairs instead of the Such issues won’t become irrelevant OpEx for the cable operator. eight fibre pairs supported by older overnight, but potential cable damage (as Each of these generations can be 2Africa indicates) is now being taken into implemented onto existing cables with no account at design stage and prepared for. disruption to services that are already running on “The issues of cable breaks Meanwhile, look out for faster, more powerful those cables. Infinera is committed to the and more reliable international connectivity as and ease of repair will continued development of high-performance undersea cables bring Africa and the rest of the coherent optical engines for long-haul terrestrial probably remain tricky” world even closer together. ✆ and submarine networks.

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Interviews THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

Continued from page 11

Again looking at fibre, Chris Wood CEO of WIOCC, a leading supplier of end-to-end managed, wholesale connectivity solutions, commented: “Over the past 10 years, Africa has Photo: ST Engineering iDirect. ST Photo: experienced a huge increase in demand for bandwidth. This is largely driven by the inexorable growth in business and consumer use of online services and applications, underpinned by greatly improved accessibility to – and affordability of – connectivity services and connected devices.” He continued, “The ability of the market to address this demand depends on the ongoing availability of cost-effective, truly scalable connectivity, which is why WIOCC – and others – continue to invest heavily in Africa’s subsea and terrestrial infrastructure to improve capacity, reach, accessibility and affordability.” Communications enabler BICS has had partners and a presence in Africa since the mid- 1990s. Clémentine Fournier, regional vice president sales, Africa, said “Over the past two decades, we’ve seen a mobile revolution! This has impacted not only the telecommunications market, but the economy as a whole, which has benefitted from mobile-driven digitisation. Pieter-Paul Mooijman, regional Thanks to continued investment in our network sales director Africa, ST Engineering iDirect: “We are and local presence, it’s a revolution that we’ve on the cusp of another helped – and are very proud – to support.” revolution, one that is possibly As for how that revolution has happened, the biggest in the history of “Firstly, access to mobile phones. Prices for satellite communications.” handsets have been falling, and now you can buy a device for as little as $20, helping internet connectivity for all economically pyramid’ and provides financial inclusion.” many more citizens and businesses access possible,” citing a number of instances, such as Speaking of money, a brief impression of mobile services.” “the OpenRan movement along with the entry African telecoms over the past 30 years by SVP With this extended access comes the second of new wireless vendors including companies & head of EMEA business James Kirby of CSG, a major force behind the revolution she such as Parallel Wireless, Vanu and Nuran”. leading provider of revenue management, mentioned: an explosion in data. “Operators Then there’s the satellite revolution. payments solutions and more, looked at how and governments, with the support of bodies “Companies such as Avanti, Intelsat, Eutelsat even rural work has been transformed. such as the World Bank and IMF, have invested and others who are solving the backhaul “Historically, a farmer or shepherd would trek for in telecom infrastructure to ensure better capacity bottleneck.” She also highlighted the hours, or even days, to get to a market to know network coverage and bandwidth, to support so-called FANG companies “including Facebook the selling price of his produce and then decide the demand for data. More recently, we’ve also (with participation in TIP and internet delivery whether it was worth selling – a mission with seen investment from OTT players like Facebook services), Google, Amazon and others”. hardly any success rate indication before getting and Amazon, who are investing in submarine In her own area of business, “Solar off-grid to the market,” he said. “Today with GSM and cables and data centres. As more people smart technologies are making 100% lights out, 2G, the same farmer can get price estimates have been able to consume more data, more solar-only power a viable option, thereby much closer to home from a nearby hilltop before services have gone digital.” reducing the cost of power by 50-80%.” setting off, which dramatically improves his or And that’s not all. “ I have to mention mobile For mobile solutions company Comviva, and its her opportunity to sell their produce at a desired money here. M-Pesa launched back in 2007 in head of Africa region Anil Krishnan, some of the price point.” Kenya, and the then-pioneer’s model has since most significant telecommunications For him then, “The impact of mobile and been replicated on a global scale. Africa developments in Africa over the past 30 years internet connectivity on the African economy is arguably continues to lead in this area.” include the mobile subscriber penetration rate, without a doubt significant. Global internet For Miriam Tuerk, CEO and co-founder, Clear which “has grown significantly larger than access has played a critical role in enabling Blue Technologies, whose company we landlines”. He also mentioned the consolidation access to education services across Africa and described in issue one of 2020 as one that of telecom operators, leading to “large and actively contributed to reducing the urban/rural delivers clean, managed, wireless power, recent medium-size groups running multi-country divide. By enabling the development of years have seen a commitment and push by operations, with very few countries having mainstream digital skills, African citizens in governments, NGOs and regulators to ensure that standalone operators”. more rural areas of the continent have become internet connectivity for all becomes a reality. He added, "The continent has set the tone for active and successful participants in the digital She explained, “Investments and mobile money adoption and growth primarily society. With many communications service developments by the industry are making because it addresses the ‘bottom of the providers being among the largest companies

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THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY Interviews

across the continent, not only have they created skilled jobs in network and IT domains, as well as business and managerial roles, but they have also enabled and encouraged investment and development in their local economies.” Gilat Telecom Photo: FonYou aims to transform MNOs into completely digitised organisations that achieve actionable, unprecedented levels of understanding for every single customer. Its chief commercial officer, Albrecht von der Recke, suggested, “While it is obvious the difference wireless and mobile communications has made across Africa – putting global communications and internet access into the hands of many previously beyond the reach of typical landline connectivity – it is perhaps also the change in business model that made the biggest impact.” He explained, “The arrival of pre-pay mobile contracts made smartphone usage more affordable and more accessible. According to the GSMA, measured against monthly GDP per capita, smartphone affordability in both usage and purchase price has almost halved since 2015.” He added, “So while the mobile technology itself has deservedly captured attention, it is the changing economic model that has underscored the technology and enabled it to make a significant difference. And mobile has Arik Zenouda, VP sales Francophone done much more than just deliver voice and Africa, Gilat Telecom: “Africa has data access – it is bringing hundreds of millions literally become more closely of people in Africa into a world of digital connected to the rest of the world.” payments – with some 500 million mobile money accounts in sub-Saharan Africa alone. integral part of Africa's communications fabric more efficient ground systems known as VSATs Mobile, and its assorted features, is doing more since 1965, enabling critical communications that provide much higher throughput, than any other technology or initiative to close infrastructure throughout the continent. dramatically lowering prices.” the digital divide.” Intelsat was also the first to enable pan- Of course satellite technology has developed Arik Zenouda, VP sales for Francophone regional broadband networks, to provide critical over the years to suit a plethora of applications Africa, Gilat Telecom, which offers satellite and connectivity to educational networks, to deliver – from enterprise, media and broadcast all the fibre-based connectivity solutions, highlighted a direct-to-home (DTH) platform and to bring way through to delivery of connectivity to mobile undersea connectivity. As he said, “Africa has cellular backhaul services to the continent. platforms on land, sea and air. literally become more closely connected to the He said, “Since the inception of Intelsat Today, he said, “we are on the cusp of rest of the world with the construction of a series service on the continent, we have watched the another revolution, one that is possibly the of submarine cables. In the process, Africans region change and grow. Over the past decade biggest in the history of satellite have become world leaders in ‘mobile web’ in particular, African connectivity has improved communications. New, multi-orbit constellations technology – accessing the internet through dramatically. with satellites numbering in their thousands will mobile devices.” So with connectivity on the rise, Africa has require new innovations and technologies on He added, “Mobile usage exceeds landline come a long way on its journey to closing the the ground but will change the game and enable usage, but perhaps a more interesting trend is connectivity gap and providing broadband satellite to become interwoven into the that, even among mobile users, data usage everywhere it’s needed. “However,” he added, connectivity landscape along with 5G and other exceeds voice traffic. While much of Africa is still “there’s still a significant amount of work to do. access technologies. There are exciting times developing 3G infrastructure, 4G traffic is The coverage gap in sub-Saharan Africa remains ahead and the ground segment will be the key growing at a faster rate. And 5G infrastructure is the highest globally, despite the fact that the to realising the potential of this new era.” on the way. Mobile devices are increasingly region is home to 67% of the world’s population.” A similar feeling was expressed by Kyle using Wi-Fi to offload mobile traffic—51% of it— Continuing with the satcoms theme, Pieter Whitehill, CEO at Avanti, a company that onto the fixed network.” Paul Mooijman, regional vice president, Africa, provides high-throughput Ka-band satellite And there’s more to come. “The coming 5G ST Engineering iDirect, discussed what he calls connectivity with extensive coverage across technology will offer 100 gigabits ‘seismic change’ in the satellite communications Europe, Middle East and Africa. As he said, connectivity, roughly 1,000 times as fast as market in 30 years. “Looking back, we were using “Over the past 30 years significant progress has 4G connectivity.” very large ground systems featuring large been made in connecting some of the hardest- Brian Jakins, RVP, Africa sales, of satellite antennas with low throughput capabilities and to-reach communities in sub-Saharan Africa, technology company Intelsat, pointed out that inefficient space and ground equipment that and we are proud to have played a part in that.” Intelsat was the first operator to introduce resulted in very high cost per Mb. Today, prices satellite services to Africa and has been an have dropped considerably thanks to smaller, Continued on page 30

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Remote learning VSATS

Teaching techniques that go above and beyond Falling prices, more efficient technology and an undoubted need are driving the use of satellites and VSATs to support education and learning in some of Africa’s remote areas. The sector is still developing but, as Vaughan O’Grady found out, it already involves some very big names.

Satellites are now helping to bring education to students in Africa’s remote areas. Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo:

IVEN ITS REACH, satellite technology learning rates. asked, how can satellite communications can would seem an ideal way of The programme incorporates satellite be an effective delivery system for remote supporting the delivery of education broadband internet-based individualised learning in Africa? Gto remote areas. But is it? learning which is supported by in-field technical As Amir Cohen, VP of business development In fact, it already does. As an example, back support and by real-time monitoring based on and engineering, Gilat Telecom, put it, such in 2015, Avanti Communications, a provider of sophisticated machine-to-machine learning and approaches are more cost-effective than they satellite technology across Europe, the Middle artificial intelligence technologies. once were. He said, “Gilat satellite technology East and Africa, began leading a consortium that Nor is this the only example of such inventive has changed a lot in the past five years. These delivers improved numeracy and literacy approaches to combining satellite changes mean we can now deliver communication educational outcomes to marginalised communications and education. We asked three to the most remote rural places at a reasonable schoolchildren in Kenya through a UK Foreign, major players in satellite communications to tell cost. Many schools in rural Africa are not Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)- us about their work in this field. First of all, we connected to any telecoms infrastructure, so funded project called iMlango. satellite is the only solution to equip those After five years the project had been Satellite can provide internet regions and support e-learning and more.” implemented in 205 primary and 40 Caroline De Vos, co-founder and COO / secondary schools across four regions in Kenya, and broadcasting solutions public relations at satellite service provide reaching over 180,000 marginalised students. to deliver e-lectures and SatADSL pointed out that satellite It showed exceptional learning outcomes for communications can be very effective for these children, doubling their numeracy virtual classrooms delivering e-learning solutions and platforms in

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VSATS Remote learning

remote and hard-to-reach areas where chatrooms, allowing students to ask questions terrestrial connectivity infrastructure may be and receive support from teachers, and can also lacking. She said, “Satellite connectivity offers be used to make electronic textbooks and Photo: Gilat Photo: ubiquity thanks to its capability to provide online training applications and computer global coverage, cost-effectiveness, quick set- simulations available.” up times and immediate access with simple As for the role of VSATs, she said, “For these terminals, and reliability against terrestrial applications to be delivered successfully via infrastructure damage.” satellite, the VSAT terminal needs to be installed Scott Mumford, is chief executive officer with at a school or location where pupils are. This Liquid Telecom Satellite Services, part of would allow a company like SatADSL to technology group Liquid Intelligent multicast a live stream or a video of a teacher in Technologies, and a board member at the trade a studio to several schools simultaneously.” group the World Teleport Association. He said, And of course SatADSL can make that “The vast majority of schools in Africa are happen. “Through an innovative cloud platform outside of the main metropolitan areas; as such like neXat, which offers the VNOFlex feature, one there are few to no connectivity options customer organisation can manage several sites available to them. Both fibre and mobile dynamically, allocating more or less bandwidth network operators cannot justify the high cost as needed among the several schools without of infrastructure build into these locations.” needing to contract new capacity.” He continued, “This is where satellite LT’s Mumford described this as “an ever- comes in to its own! With ubiquitous coverage changing landscape from a satellite perspective, of the African continent, satellite can reach, in with unprecedented levels of investment into one guise or another, every school – no matter space-based communications. This, combined

how remote.” Amir Cohen of Gilat: We can provide capacity from with the technological advancements in the But that’s not all. As he said, “With the a VSAT of a few Mbps to VSAT of 100Mbps. ground segment capabilities, has really moved advent of HTS [high throughput satellite; an the offerings forward.” He continued, “If we are approach that offers a significant increase in solar panels and Wi-Fi – which can not only serve looking at VSAT and GEO satellites, we're now capacity] and the addition of fleets at altitudes the e-learning needs, but also telemedicine, offering 30Mbps - 50Mbps on traditional one- lower than the traditional GEO, the cost of both governmental applications and so on.” metre diameter terminal equipment with price the terminal equipment and the relative cost of De Vos added, “Satellite can provide internet points of under US$1,000 and monthly service the connectivity have fallen significantly “ and broadcasting solutions to deliver e-lectures costs of under US$500.” This is encouraging news – but what can be and virtual classrooms that can be viewed both He concluded, “When looking at MEO delivered, to where and via what technology? online and recorded. It can enable virtual (medium earth orbit) the terminal pricing is Cohen said, “Gilat Telecom has invested in still relatively high, but the bandwidth high-edge satellite systems technologies which capabilities are into the Gbps. Now, with the enlarge its coverage to the entire sub-Saharan With ubiquitious coverage of advent of LEO (low earth orbit) we're seeing region. We can provide capacity from a VSAT of the African continent, another new dimension. Terminal pricing for a few Mbps to VSAT of 100Mbps.” LEO access is still relatively high at this point, However, as well as a lack of telecom satellite can reach, in one at over US$1,000 a unit. That will drop infrastructure, many schools don’t have guise or another, every school significantly with volume, but we are seeing electricity. “So,” he said, “they need to be services of 100Mbps - 200Mbps – which is provided with a full package of satellite hardware, – no matter how remote great news for the continent!” ✆

Helping remote students to access education What’s on offer in the remote learning space? in-the-field experience and expertise. inside and VSAT antenna outside – for direct There’s a wide variety of satellite communication- Caroline De Vos explained, “In Western educational purpose, and a PC and multimedia based offerings meeting the needs of educators Africa, with affordable and easy-to-install micro- equipment – projector and screen – to screen and learners in remote areas. VSAT equipment, SatADSL established an the lessons. “ For example, according to Amir Cohen of Gilat e-learning solution between a studio, where She added “An installation such as this can Telecom, his company has full coverage over lessons are filmed by a teacher, and local also serve as a hotspot for the community, sub-Saharan Africa with different technologies classrooms, which the lessons were streamed providing internet access when the connection to support many needs. “As a service-oriented to. High-quality video, with real-time uplink, and is not used for e-learning purposes – for company, we are delivering not only the satellite real-time interactivity with a chat room for example after school or during the weekend.” communication, but an entire solution – from remote students to interact with a teacher was Liquid Intelligent Technologies also has a lot design level and shipping to deployment and delivered. The availability of the service is to offer. Scott Mumford explained, “We have civil work including solar panels, networking and running at more than 99.5%.” recently added a number of new high- software, and on-site training.” SatADSL set-up a VNO, allowing the throughput beams to our capabilities, providing SatADSL, meanwhile, has developed a high- operation of an e-learning videoconferencing our services into countries we previously value solution targeting e-learning applications application as well as providing internet access haven't been able to, and the reaction and take in rural areas. After serving many other sectors in both the studio and classrooms in the entire up has been really exciting to see. We are in very remote locations in Africa, SatADSL has territory. She explained, “Each school is looking at all of the technical options to delivered an effective solution to serve e- equipped with an affordable satellite continue to increase our capabilities and learning applications in rural areas thanks to telecommunication equipment – a modem product portfolio across the board.”

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AGENDA

Cellulant rolls out YahClick partners with GCES to provide satellite connectivity for 9mobile digital payments solution in Ghana YAHCLICK, ONE OF the leading satellite broadband services from global operator Yahsat, and its partner Hughes Network PAN AFRICAN PAYMENTS company Systems, have signed a strategic partnership with Global Cellulant has acquired PSP License in Communications Extension Services Limited (GCES) to Ghana as it rolls out a digital provide satellite connectivity for 9mobile, one of Nigeria’s payments solution for businesses. leading mobile network operators. Also, Cellulant is launching Tingg The collaboration is set to bring satellite connectivity to in Ghana to provide the best hundreds of cellular backhauling sites, delivering 9mobile customer experience for all persons with a reliable and robust means of rural connectivity across and businesses looking to digitize its entire Nigerian operation. their payments, collect and disburse The introduction of satellite services within rural and Adobe Stock Adobe to customers today. unserved areas will also positively impact the economy of

This announcement comes after the country as it strengthens Nigeria’s policy of financial Photo: the Central Bank of Ghana issued inclusion championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Money This partnership is expected to allow GCES to introduce Cellulant a payment services vendors operating Point of Sale (POS) services and other 9mobile to the latest telecommunication applications, provider (PSP) License. The PSP merchants in these areas will benefit from the availability of equipment and IT infrastructure. License allows Cellulant to aggregate broadband connectivity and increased financial transactions bridge the digital divide while enabling residents and merchant services, process financial resulting in greater profitability, therefore raising their businesses to realise their potential.” services, acquire merchants; deploy standard of living. Adamu Babadisa, chief technical officer of GCES, added, POS systems, and aggregate YahClick and GCES will work to support 9mobile in “This latest partnership will allow us at GCES to introduce payments for banks, institutions, and providing its high-quality telecommunication services to 9mobile to the latest telecommunication applications, the general public. The license is a individuals across Nigeria. With the addition of YahClick’s equipment and IT infrastructure we provide to help sustain requirement under the Payment reliable satellite connectivity solutions, this partnership will their mobile network operations. This partnership will not Services Act 2019 which mandates ensure that citizens throughout the country have access to only eliminate the barriers to mobile internet adoption within that all Financial Technology or secure, affordable connectivity options nationwide. remote regions in Nigeria but also improves the citizens’ digital payments companies be Farhan Khan, CEO, YahClick, commented, “Our agreement access to affordable devices, data plans and opportunities licensed by the Bank of Ghana . unites three companies in working shoulder to shoulder to which arise from staying connected.”

Tizeti launches NeXTGEN connectivity VYZYO and CAMPOST sign agreement to deploy solutions digital payment in Cameroon WEST AFRICA’S SOLAR-BASED VYZYO, A MOBILE financial services technology company, and internet and voice service provider CAMPOST, the national provider of postal and financial services in Tizeti has launched new Cameroon, have signed a commercial partnership agreement to connectivity offerings that aim to deploy and operate digital payment and mobile financial services widen the broadband envelope in throughout Cameroon. Nigeria with more robust internet VYZYO will initially deploy its VYZYOPay solution for CAMPOST. plans, expanding coverage, VYZYOPay is a state-of-the-art mobile financial services technology especially in Nigeria. platform that will enable CAMPOST to securely rollout and manage The products also reiterate the digital payments for government services, money transfers and company’s focus on delivering a international remittances as well as mobile financial services for micro- simpler and more convenient credit and micro-savings. technology offering with a smart VYZYO will also provide CAMPOST with strategic consultancy to customer care operation and increase the awareness, education and, most importantly, the Photo: Tizeti Photo: integrated customer relationship Kendall Ananyi at Tizeti NeXTGEN. adoption of these services, especially among the large underbanked management systems. and unbanked segments of the population in Cameroon. Speaking at the company’s annual conference, Tizeti’s CEO Kendall CAMPOST is also planning to enable digital payments and mobile Ananyi said, “The global pandemic expedited the need for technology to financial services for higher education, welfare disbursement and be more agile, faster, more intuitive, and easier to understand, irrespective micro-insurance. of the peculiarities of its users. Many people were unable to quickly adapt “Our partnership with VYZYO and the new digital payment and to the new normal of working, connecting to family and colleagues mobile financial services we are launching together will strengthen remotely, and accessing various educational, occupational, entertainment, our competitive positioning and create important new revenue streams and other services virtually. Many firms took an unnecessarily long time to for CAMPOST,” stated Pierre Kaldadak, CEO of CAMPOST. adjust to the constraints the pandemic brought, and this resulted in “More importantly and based on a strategic vision we share with declined productivity, ineffective transformation, and lost revenue.” VYZYO, our new digital services hold the potential to improve the “Technology is only useful when it is creating solutions to problems and lives of our customers in Cameroon and will deliver new access to we believe that as a leader in the digital space in West Africa, we have a essential services that were previously unavailable to many role to build the technology platforms that will allow our user base to be segments of our society.” agile and relevant in the coming years. We saw the transition from physical CAMPOST's new services are intended to be financially and socially everything to the work-from-home model overnight and knew that we had inclusive and will be available to the entire population of the country. to help people and businesses change the way they work and play.”

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SOFTWARE-DEFINED NETWORKS Evolution and application

Does SDN mean a whole new world for operators – or just a more efficient and flexible one? Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo:

The quiet revolution The concept of software-defined networks may once have seemed impossible in a hardware-defined and dominated world. Today SDNs are redefining network architectures in markets around the world. Simon Fletcher, CTO of wireless advisory firm Real Wireless* explains why.

FIRST BECAME seriously involved in to get away from operational and architectural Today SDNs are becoming mainstream. It’s software defined networks (SDNs) more inflexibility and vendor ‘lock in’. true that there have been some bumps along than 10 years ago. At the time I was Before the concept of SDN, networks were the way, not least because switch vendors and Iworking with product and standards hardware-defined and the hardware market was some of the big equipment suppliers felt they development teams influencing an ETSI** dominated by two or three very big players that could make more money in the short term by policy document looking at SDN and network sold vertically integrated appliances that, while maintaining the status quo. There is also the function virtualisation (NFV) as separate, but operationally robust, provided limited choice issue of squeezing the most out of (costly) highly interdependent trends. The plan was to and offered very little operational flexibility. legacy hardware. turn what was then a trial concept into a But the programmability of networks has commercial reality. From the start, SDN become increasingly important to service While often mentioned in the same breath, providers. As data usage over mobile networks SDN and NFV play different roles in redefining benefitted from concepts continues to surge, more granular resource network architectures. and standards approaches in management becomes a priority. The flexible, On the one hand, the main driver behind SDN efficient end-to-end management of data flows is to separate the network control plane the IT networking sector has become business-critical to operators – and (essentially the routing that determines how SDNs hold one of the keys to making it happen. data is sent from one place to another) from the To address this, the mobile industry SDNs mean that the management plane can transport layer. And this encapsulates the borrowed standards and interfaces like be separated from the data flow and that these conceptual underpinning for SDN – to move OpenFlow from the IT world to enable secure aspects of network functionality can be sourced from a vertical to a horizontal separation of the and efficient access to and manipulation of from different suppliers. This is partly about control and transport layers in mobile networks. network routers and switches. These devices reducing capex by making it possible, for example, NFV, on the other hand, is about abstracting could be either physical or virtual. for operators to source hitherto expensive network functions from the hardware on which The proof of concept was established switches and routing gear from white box it runs. Theoretically, you could have SDN through a small-scale Stanford trial that suppliers without compromising the integrity of without NFV – a software-defined network with demonstrated mobile network functionality over network operations. But it is also about improving static hardware. Wi-Fi using an SDN. This encouraged the network efficiency by having more control The reason this work was – and remains – support of pioneering operators like BT and important is that service providers always want Telefonica and led to the ETSI initiative. Continued on page 24

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E-commerce MOROCCO

A catalyst for change There’s been significant growth in e-commerce in Morocco in the past year according to a new report from market research company Euromonitor International. Vaughan O’Grady asked Jacob Adib, analyst at Euromonitor International, why this growth happened – and whether the trend will last. Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo:

A bazaar in Rabat, Morocco. The pandemic has changed buying habits.

ITH PHYSICAL STORES closed for And it’s not a small rise. “Morocco saw Customers were no longer able to buy cheap an extended period during dynamic growth in online sales in 2020. Growth products from such places; therefore, they have lockdown and consumers in 2021 will be slower but is still strong and switched to e-commerce platforms. This has Wfearing shortages of essential represents a major opportunity.” He added, eventually, led to the growth of e-commerce products, in 2020 Moroccans began to shop “Major e-commerce platforms such as Jumia start-ups (such as Animal Souk) in online in growing numbers. The E-Commerce have invested in regional infrastructure and large cities such as Casablanca and Rabat. in Morocco report from Euromonitor International developed partnerships.” Oddly enough, this activity extends to pets. discusses these changes and looks at what There’s been a windfall for government too. As Adib discovered, “The pet industry has the future may bring for this market. “The Moroccan tax authorities have benefited shown us that most pet stores have an online However, was e-commerce already on the from the rise of e-commerce due to the tax presence and started engaging with customers rise in Morocco before Covid-19? Jacob Adib, benefit. This has benefitted the Moroccan via social media.” analyst at Euromonitor International, said, “Not government in terms of revenue.” The leading pet care stores – AlloCroquettes as much – and growth was seen to be stable.” is one – have adapted the WhatsApp ordering It seems that the pandemic became the catalyst Most if not all service purposefully, to increase their for accelerated growth in e-commerce retail, customers’ interaction and reach them anytime notably because purchasers of fast-moving households use Facebook, and anywhere. consumer goods (FMCG) remained at home. Instagram and WhatsApp on Again lockdown encouraged this. “E- That said, only two thirds of households in commerce has recorded high growth as most electrified areas have access to the internet (24 a daily basis. physical pet stores were closed or have million Moroccans are connected). There is still restricted working hours.” But modern retailing a large handful of consumers who do not; the As for which retail categories dominate, e- stores such as Marjane and Carrefour have also remaining one third rely on traditional commerce, as we have seen, is growing, but revised their e-strategies. “Customers are now purchasing habits. However, as Adib explained, grocery retailing and pharmacies are the other able to order online most food products – “Historically, pre-pandemic e-commerce in main sectors that performed positively during including pet ones – and have their items North Africa has been weak and the use of e- the pandemic. All the others declined in delivered to their doorstep.” commerce platforms was low due to strong growth in 2020. Phones and computers are used to do this reliance on traditional stores, but a combination Of course, Covid-19 restrictions (such as the sort of business. Banks too have played a vital of the pandemic and growth of technology in the closure of informal markets during the lockdown) role in changing consumer behaviour. Adib region has been a catalyst for change. The have decreased competition coming from such said, “They are constantly encouraging pandemic has significantly increased this growth.” informal markets as Kria’a in Casablanca. payments by card to give some reward credit

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MOROCCO E-commerce

card points and/or gifts to cardholder.” Banque The digital circuit is little developed in Many of the companies in these industries are Populaire is an example. Morocco because of a wariness about revising their digital strategies. They are And, as we have seen in the case of the pet transactions online, “but,” said Adib, “Morocco increasing their presence in social media, care stores, social media has played a vital role was ready for the growth in demand due to the working on launching their websites and signing in raising customer awareness in Morocco. number of start-ups and online retail services partnerships with third-party delivery services “Most if not all households use Facebook, available which have seen a growth in users”. such as Glovo and Jumia.” Instagram and WhatsApp on a daily basis. They And it won’t stop there. “Over the next five are constantly informed about the products that While some households years, on average, e-commerce in the Middle are in the market through these platforms. East and North Africa is expected to grow by Grocery retailing e-commerce start-ups such as were either stockpiling or almost 30 percent across the different Khaddar f’dar are one of the emerging business buying in bulk, others turned industries, outpacing global averages.”✆ models during the pandemic. Different platforms are marketing fresh food and other grocery to e-commerce platforms Euromonitor International is the world’s products through social media platforms – leading provider for global business Facebook, Instagram and even WhatsApp.” So Covid-19 fears have undoubtedly intelligence, market analysis and consumer The events of 2020 have clearly meant a impacted consumer behaviour in Morocco. insights. From local to global and tactical to boost for Morocco’s online retail – but was it “While some households were either stockpiling strategic, our research solutions support ready? Apparently, as Adib explained, online or buying in bulk in attempt to reduce their decisions on how, where and when to grow retail has responded by operating through monthly stores ‘visits (fearing contamination), your business. Find the right report, database certain companies. “Companies specializing in others turned to e-commerce platforms to shop or custom solution to validate priorities, the service – such as Glovo, Telegaz, Ajidaba or for grocery and non-grocery products.” redirect assumptions and uncover new Sewbilia – have experienced significant growth But will this trend continue? Adib noted, “A opportunities. With offices around the world, in their turnover. This is also the case for several lot has gone into building and developing analysts in over 100 countries, the latest data start-ups that operate in different sectors of infrastructure for e-commerce platforms, so science techniques and market research on activity, and that have noted a significant we’re expecting ecommerce to benefit from every key trend and driver, we help you make increase in their turnover since the appearance these investments and continue to grow – albeit sense of global markets. of Covid in Morocco.” Textiles, small household with growth rates lower than in 2020. The Euromonitor International report E- appliances, shoes, decorations or telephones Apparel and consumer food services are Commerce in Morocco is priced at £650 and – low budget products, or products already expected to benefit particularly from these can be purchased at www.euromonitor.com/e- known – tend to dominate. investments in digital infrastructure. commerce-in-morocco/report

concepts and standards approaches in the IT Continued from page 22 networking sector and was shaped by through programmable orchestration software. objectives that were, in general, universally

This transformation of network architecture Wireless : Real agreed. Open RAN is much more fragmented – initially proved its worth in the world of data not just from the point of view of objectives and centres and cloud providers. It then steadily Photo: standards, but also in terms of the political and became part of the mobile operators’ approach regional agendas informing, and in some cases to network design. inhibiting, progress and consensus. It’s probably true to say that, as technology From the Real Wireless perspective, we revolutions go, SDN has been reasonably believe that the SDN revolution has been a successful. At some level, kit has become more progressive evolution of network architecture generic and commoditised, but in practice because it provides more resource control to significant levels of vendor lock-in remain. network operators and more supply chain diversity, While the equipment will be standards- which is always something we champion. compliant, there is usually enough complexity The other side of the diversity coin is and there are sufficient proprietary features to complexity – and this is the area in which we prevent high levels of mix-and-matching support clients – helping to guide technology delivering optimal outcomes. And the plug-and- choices not just to address current needs, but play dream promised by the early SDN vision also to protect investments on the path to 5G remains more aspiration than reality. and beyond. ✆ This said, SDN has enabled network operators to accomplish the vertical separation *Real Wireless is the world’s leading of control, user and management planes which, independent wireless advisory firm. Its

from an architectural perspective, is becoming Simon Fletcher: “Today SDNs are network of experts includes engineers, increasingly important for the design and becoming mainstream.” physicists, economists, security advisors, operation of 5G networks. business strategists and deployment It’s tempting to equate the SDN trajectory commercial reality. And both are likely to prove specialists. www.real-wireless.com with the ongoing architectural revolution very much more difficult to implement in implied by the current open RAN initiatives. practice than seemed apparent at the **ETSI (European Telecommunications There are certainly legitimate parallels. Both beginning of the journey. But there are also Standards Institute) is an independent, not- have taken a similar amount of time to make some important differences. for-profit, standardization organization in the the journey from the drawing board to From the start, SDN benefitted from field of information and communications.

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Fixed wireless access 4G/5G

Is 5G FWA a way forward for Africa? Fixed wireless access (FWA) has been in the news a great deal of late. Phil Desmond asked three major names in the business of supplying FWA connectivity, along with the GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, to give us their view of the relationship between licensed technologies (like 4G and 5G) and FWA – and what FWA could mean for Africa.

Rolling out a 5G (or even 4G) FWA network costs less than rolling out fibre. Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo:

IXED WIRELESS ACCESS spectrum is essential to guarantee leader in 5G and IoT device-to- benefits of totally unlicensed (FWA) enables network the heavy long-term network cloud solutions, pointed out that technologies. Inseego can provide operators to deliver ultra- investment that is necessary for 5G. 4G and 5G connections are a 4G and 5G solutions for all of these F high-speed broadband to Also, licensed spectrum enables powerful gateway to local Wi-Fi scenarios.” suburban and rural areas, a wider coverage areas and better connectivity and other shared- In fact, Inseego offers a full useful alternative to fibre, and quality of service guarantees and spectrum solutions that deliver portfolio of 5G and 4G fixed one that can take advantage of has been central to the major high-speed wireless internet to wireless solutions, including the growth of 4G and 5G. But is it global success of mobile services. local communities and businesses. devices for outdoor and indoor use right for Africa? And can This includes the progress that’s He added, “The need for carrier- cases. These devices can be unlicensed spectrum already been made on shrinking anchored support and services, deployed quickly and cost- technologies do a better job of the digital divide.” with enterprise security and other effectively to provide fast, reliable, delivering FWA? A representative of Inseego, a features, typically outweighs the secure broadband connectivity. For the GSMA, which represents Justin Colyn, chief sales and the interests of mobile operators Since affordability is a key challenge, FWA is marketing officer of Comsol, a worldwide, licensed spectrum has provider of enterprise-grade a number of benefits in its own the best option for expanding fixed licensed wireless infrastructure, right. As the GSMA’s acting head of connectivity in the developing world and suggested that for most sub-Saharan Africa, Angela infrastructure providers, it will be a Wamola, told us, “Licensed bridging the digital divide. question of quality versus cost.

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4G/5G Fixed wireless access

That said, he agreed that licensed “Thus,” Salama said, “CSPs are FWA services are typically more seizing this opportunity to grow expensive than unlicensed their business now, by wirelessly services due to the cost of connecting homes and small

spectrum and whether or not ‘best Nokia Photo: businesses with fixed-grade of breed’ hardware is used to build services.” Fixed wireless allows the network, adding, “In many mobile operators to compete head- cases the cost of spectrum differs to-head with fixed broadband depending on whether it is deemed services; it also gives mobile to be ‘high demand’ spectrum in operators a new tool for connecting the low, medium or high bands subscribers. (mmWave).” Thus, together with the fast- However, he added, “The major time-to-market and plug-and-play benefit to consuming services capabilities, fixed wireless has through licensed providers is the become a technology of choice for fact that specific bands are affordable broadband services in exclusively assigned to operators the region and beyond. “In the for their independent use, so they region,” Salama said, “Nokia has a mitigate interference between growing list of public fixed wireless services,which is unlicensed references including Togocom, services’ biggest downfall. In Safaricom Kenya, Tizeti in Nigeria, addition, licensed services are Vodacom South Africa, Zain Saudi more scalable over time as and Arabia, and Ooredoo Kuwait.” when unlicensed operators start The GSMA’s Wamola summed interfering with one another.” Mohamed Salama: “Nokia has a growing list of public fixed wireless references.” up the importance of 4G and 5G He added, “You cannot really saying, “In the 4G and 5G era, FWA equate unlicensed FWA services to reserved for the operator. “With pandemic having disrupted the can provide fibre-like speeds with 4G and 5G FWA services because of broad 4G/5G spectrum in multiple way we worked, the requirement much lower infrastructure costs. the difference in speeds achieved bands, operators can manage their over time to have an always-on Outside fibre footprints in urban in production networks.” wireless capacity for distance and service for those working from areas, FWA is usually the only Comsol operates in South Africa capacity across urban, suburban home is just as important.” affordable solution to providing and runs one of the largest pre-5G and rural areas to serve mobile and He added “Fibre also won’t get broadband services. Even within FWA licensed open access point-to- FWA use cases.” to the rural areas – and it is vital the fibre footprint, FWA can provide multipoint wireless networks on So why are 4G or 5G FWA that licensed wireless services competition.” the continent. With Comsol owning important as future networks are reach the unconnected so that But could FWA be relevant to the the lion’s share of the 28GHz band rolled out? people are able to digitise their developing world and bridging the and a fair share of the 3.7GHz band Colyn of Comsol agreed that worlds and have access to services digital divide? And if so, how? in South Africa, Comsol says it is fibre is top of mind but pointed out required.” Colyn of Comsol pointed out poised to become a very important that its reach is limited due to costs Nokia’s Salama added that the earlier that licensed wireless FWA player in the 5G FWA market in the once the initial economies of scale demand for stable and high-speed is relevant to both the developed next 12-18 months. are reached within a defined area. broadband connections to the and developing worlds. He Nokia’s focus is on 3GPP He explained, “This is where 4G home has been very strong over continued, “It is common standard wireless technologies for and 5G FWA really come into their the last years – and it has become knowledge that for every 10% of fixed wireless access, which own. Rolling out a 4G or 5G FWA even stronger since the start of the broadband penetration that the includes 4G and 5G in licensed and network is circa 30% less than pandemic. The lockdowns have GDP increases by circa 0.16%. unlicensed bands, the availability fibre, which is material with ROIC reminded everyone that Having reliable access to the of which is regionally dependent. (return on invested capital) cycles broadband keeps economies and internet and digitisation creates Thus Mohamed Salama, head of much shorter than fibre.” societies operating smoothly. employment and supports fixed networks, MEA, Nokia, said, He added, “It is important to But fibre rollout takes time, entrepreneurship which is sorely “In general, unlicensed bands have note though, that fibre and 4G / 5G while 4G LTE upgrades are surging, needed in Africa.” the advantage of avoiding high FWA services are in fact some emerging countries He added, “The 4IR (Fourth costs of licensing but can be complimentary. Most businesses expecting to reach steep double- Industrial Revolution) is vital to spectrum-limited. There is also the need some form of resilience and digit annual growth rates over the Africa renewing itself and setting risk of contention with other redundancy with everything coming years. In other countries of the stage to become relevant in the operators using the same bands. moving into the cloud – and using the region – mainly South Africa – global economy. This can only “For this reason,” he suggested, a bonded service with both 5G NR (new radio) mass happen if the continent is echoing Comsol’s point about mediums is first prize. With the deployments are currently ongoing. digitised.” interference, “unlicensed bands “There are still more than 1.4 are best used in private wireless 5G FWA in particular has the ability to billion households in the world applications or in rural with no or with too slow broadband deployments where the chance of deliver broader, easier access and higher and we’re determined to help contention is limited.” speed and throughput than traditional wired operators reach them,” said Thus, the advantage of owning Salama of Nokia. “‘White spots’ the spectrum is that it’s completely broadband connectivity. exist across the world both in

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Fixed wireless access 4G/5G

developed but certainly also developing nations in the MEA region, where even schools and businesses are deprived of reliable Photo: Adobe Stock Adobe Photo: high-speed internet connection. This situation makes it very challenging to enable economic growth and provide access to good healthcare and education. Fixed wireless is of course ideal for hard-to-reach locations or areas with low population densities where radio might be the only way to reach people. Salama also offered a powerful example of the socio-economic benefits of broadband and FWA, in the form of Nokia’s work with UNICEF connecting schools in Kenya. “Here, Nokia teamed up with UNICEF and the government of Kenya in a multi-partner collaboration to bring internet connectivity and digital learning to disadvantaged Kenyan schools. Over a billion households have no – or too slow – broadband. Nokia’s FWA solution delivers a reliable and stable broadband also open the door to greater anywhere for life-changing the digital divide. It is already the connection to students’ laptops, internet access and economic experiences.” fastest-growing method of bringing smartphones, and other mobile opportunity in regions across Africa In fact the GSMA’s Wamola fixed broadband to the devices for the best broadband – from basic broadband to suggested that the developing unconnected due to the limited experience and learning.” advanced enterprise applications.” world will see the strongest use of availability of copper and fibre The Inseego representative It is precisely in places like the mass-market affordable FWA broadband.” argued that FWA solutions can developing world that a better services. “Fibre footprints in Not surprisingly for an operator benefit developing nations in communications infrastructure can developing countries are typically association, the GSMA feels that almost every area. “5G FWA in catapult industries forward, and, lower, meaning that wireless mobile operators have an particular has the ability to deliver he pointed out, FWA is particularly services are the primary unmatched ability to bridge the broader, easier access and higher cost-effective. “Providing access to mechanism for delivering digital divide. “But,” Wamola speed and throughput than a high-speed broadband broadband, and dense fibre roll- added, “all this potential is not traditional wired broadband experience allows internet service out is often prohibitively going to happen without connectivity, with lower providers to leapfrog other expensive,” she explained. governments and regulators deployment costs and better user broadband options with wireless “Since affordability is a key putting in place investment-friendly experiences,” he said. solutions that can be deployed challenge, FWA is the best option policies that help drive the needed He added, “Looking ahead, fixed more economically to deliver for expanding fixed connectivity in investments and accelerate the wireless 4G and 5G connections will reliable internet access almost the developing world and bridging rollout of networks.” ✆

The best possible performance

NOKIA CONSUMERS CAN, of course, currently connect also use outdoor or window mount devices to avoid to market and enable subscriber self-install, the to mobile broadband at home using smart phone having to penetrate walls, which greatly improves fixed wireless solution includes cloud-based tethering and data dongles (Mi-Fi). But these are radio efficiency and, hence, power efficiency. High- software solutions. designed for mobile convenience, not home gain FWA outdoor receivers can have up to a 30 dB First, the Altiplano FastMile controller empowers broadband and they tend to waste radio resources, reduction in radio attenuation when compared to an the operator’s point of sales locations with network and hence have lower energy efficiency, while indoor mobile phone, resulting in five times better data on what services can be offered to customers providing limited revenue opportunities for operators. energy efficiency.” based on their location and rules can be set to limit Nokia, said Salama, has worked very hard to get But Nokia hasn’t forgotten indoor coverage. the number of FWA subs on any given cell site. the best possible performance from FWA. “We use “Nokia’s fixed wireless CPEs implement WiFi EasyMesh- Then, a mobile app ensures that subscribers self- high-gain antennas, 5G massive MIMO and outdoor certified middleware, combining local and cloud-based install fixed wireless CPEs properly the first time or receivers to improve throughput and radio Wi-Fi optimisation that creates the best Wi-Fi enables more efficient professional installs through efficiency,” he said. “High-gain antennas target performance for subscribers inside the premise,” said guided installation from unboxing to verification of signals as a much more effective beam directed Salama. “For 5G fixed wireless, 5G speeds are service activation. towards the cell site, which also limits interference. extended throughout the home or enterprise with the Such design consideration helps CSPs and Within the radio access network, the massive MIMO latest Wi-Fi 6 technology.” governments to accelerate broadband connectivity arrays of 5G help radio efficiency in a similar way. We To reduce deployment costs, guarantee fast time programmes.

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SOUTH AFRICA Digital switchover

The government is trying to enhance awareness of the switchover.

Making the switch Stock Adobe Photo: The switchover from analogue to digital television in South Africa is finally taking place. But, asks Phil Desmond, who will benefit?

S MANY READERS will know, the ITU (ICASA) – appears keen to get the process channels that digital permits might not be announced that the African deadline moving so that the ‘digital dividend’ in the something to get too excited about. “Most of for the switchover from analogue to 700MHz and 800MHz bands can be reassigned the televisions now sold are digital. Also, a lot Adigital terrestrial television (DTT), to telecommunications operators to provide of people, even in the poorer population, was set for 17 June 2015. The ITU said that this mobile and wireless broadband services. The already use satellite services on some sort of change would herald the development of ‘all- regulator wants to license spectrum in these and digital platforms.” digital’ terrestrial broadcast services for sound other bands as soon as possible. Obviously in some countries there is very and television for 119 countries belonging to ITU little content on the national television channels Region-1 (Europe, Africa, the Middle East and and a very limited number of those channels in Central Asia) and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The government is trying to any case. By contrast the portfolio of services However, for much of Africa this didn’t enhance awareness of the like direct broadcast satellite service DStv, and happen, or is still ongoing, often because of switchover through a GOtv a paid TV terrestrial service, both owned financial constraints or organisational issues. by MultiChoice, are likely to be more appealing South Africa in particular has seen many campaign asking people to and, says Mbngue, “monthly fees start at prices delays and missed deadlines. As we write, buy digital television and set like 10 dollars or even less a month”. however, the process is underway with a And free-to-air digital channels already exist – finishing date of 2022. top boxes. like e.tv, South Africa’s biggest independent and As for who will benefit, Thecla Mbongue, free-to-air television channel, established in senior analyst with Omdia, a leading global Of course there could be further delays. 1998. “So,” says Mbongue, “there is an audience research group, explained, “It's going to free However, Mbongue suggests that even if the already watching something digital in any case.” up spectrum, so its beneficial for both the auction takes place before it’s all over “the But there’s still mobile communications to broadcasting and the telecom segments. In the spectrum might be used in places where the get excited about – not least because more broadcasting environment the players are switchover has happened” and, in theory, spectrum could – possibly – address the vexed going to move to digital platforms whereby the rest of the country could catch up not issue of high data prices. they will be able to provide content of better long afterwards. Meanwhile, after vague ministerial quality and also have access to platforms that Let’s not forget there’s a broadcasting benefit comments about reviewing the implementation will allow them to offer more in terms of too. The government is trying to enhance process and inefficiencies and bottlenecks the number of channels.” awareness of the switchover through a campaign switchover process has finally begun. She continued, “Telecom segments are going asking people to buy digital television and set top The analogue signal was switched off in to inherit spectrum from the broadcasting boxes – if they don’t already have them. Poorer Boesmanskop and surrounding towns in the players that will allow them to enhance their households will get a subsidy for a set top box . Xhariep district municipality in March. services in terms of broadband – spectrum that Sentech, a state-owned company, and the Gauteng will round off the process in is more compatible to some wireless broadband leading provider of electronic communications January 2022. technologies that they plan to use, or are network services to the country’s broadcasting Thus a much delayed digital switchover will already in use, for 4G – and maybe 5G.” and communications industry is helping to actually finish next year. Will the government Certainly the regulator – the Independent facilitate the set top box rollout. finally get this right? “I think it has to,” said Communications Authority of South Africa Mbongue warns, however, that the extra Mbongue. “But you never know.” ✆

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Telecommunications INTERVIEW ‘You win I win’, a motto that

fuels Innovation and Customer BlackNGreen Photo: Delight: BlackNGreen In the competitive world of telecom services, the biggest challenges telecom operators face today are revenue growth, usage, user retention and customer delight. Atul Madan, CEO of BlackNGreen Mobile Solutions, explains this, while highlighting the company’s strategic vision.

When was BlackNGreen founded and what are Solutions has become a truly multinational its main industries? company with business in 90+ countries and BlackNGreen Mobile Solutions is a next-gen 110+ telecom operators spread across Africa, telecom value added and digital services Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, South East company, founded by entrepreneurs Rahul Asia and South Asia. Gupta and Karthik Shankar in 2011. Ever since Atul Madan is the CEO of BlackNGreen Mobile BnG has been providing services in space like What are the main challenges faced by Solutions. M-VAS, Digital Services, Enterprise Solutions, telecom operators, and how are your products Real Money Gaming, and Cloud-enabled OBD helping to address them? BlackNGreen helps next-gen solution to telecom Operators, Enterprises, In the competitive world of telecom services, and governments around the globe. We the biggest challenges telecom operators face operators in staying ahead of endeavor to provide affordable and customer- today are revenue growth, usage, user the technology curve and aligned solutions. retention and customer delight. Increasing competition with OTT and internet platforms, business cycles Tell us more about BlackNGreen. What region cloud-enabled services, protecting does it cater to? investments in the ever-changing technology experience to mobile consumers. BlackNGreen Mobile Solutions is one of the sector and shorter product lifespan are some To summarise, our focus is on gaming, leading innovators in telecom VAS, Gaming, challenges that telecom operators worldwide digital services, next-generation voice VAS and digital services, and Enterprise segments, with are trying to address. BlackNGreen Mobile enterprise communication with cloud considerable focus on emerging technologies, Solutions is a customer-focused services enablement and artificial intelligence as domains and business practices across the provider that leverages years of global technology drivers. world. As an innovation-focused VAS product experience to bring real value to the telecom and telecom solutions provider, the company operators and their customers while keeping What strategies have helped to improve the aims to stimulate growth for telecom in mind the challenges being faced by the brand identity? operators globally. telecom operators. Customer delight, innovation, and staying After establishing a global presence, the BlackNGreen helps operators in staying ahead on the technology curve have helped us company is now making a breakthrough in the ahead of the technology curve and business grow rapidly over the last decade. Our multi- geography and technology spread by leveraging cycles, by working on solutions which are cultural team helps us innovate and create innovative and patented solutions and aligned to the technology and services of solutions relevant across geographies. We do processes. From Voice to Rich Media to gaming tomorrow like 5G, Cloud, Gaming and digital not hesitate from walking the extra mile to to Enterprise solutions, the technology spread of services. We further help in adding new deliver agile, user-centric, affordable, and BlackNGreen Mobile Solutions knows no bounds. revenues for operators by introducing new innovative solutions to telecom operators. As a BlackNGreen is amongst the fastest-growing services in segments such as entertainment, future-forward company, our motto explains it mobile technology companies in the world. spirituality, productivity, education, and health all - “You win I win.” Thanks to the highly passionate team that – services that generate true consumer delight. brings innovative, customer-focused ideas to What importance do you attach to service and life. At BlackNGreen we focus on Customer Are there any current or recent projects/ support? Delight and that has helped us build long-term contracts/news updates you are working on, “You win, I win” is not just our motto – it’s our relationships with our customers, where our which you would like to highlight? culture, one that defines our ethos. We don’t customers see us more as partners in delivering BlackNGreen Mobile Solutions believes in work towards providing customer support, we true value to mobile subscribers. We are a truly turning opportunities into a successful work towards providing customer delight. We multicultural organisation with people from 25+ business model by redefining the product believe that a happy customer is the only way different nationalities bringing their rich definitions and introducing customer-focused to create a sustainable organisation. Our understanding of different parts of the world to solutions. The company is currently working customer delight philosophy starts right from help innovate and create solutions that are with top gaming companies and leading the time we engage with our customers to relevant and needed by mobile subscribers. mobile gaming studios to develop and introduce a solution, to deliver them, and then With an extended focus on the development integrate multiplayer gaming platforms with working together with customers to grow and provision of path-breaking products and integrated use of innovative payment revenue with a close eye on subscriber services for over a decade, BlackNGreen Mobile instruments to enable a superior gaming satisfaction. ✆

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THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY Interviews

Continued from page 18 point, saying, “The most significant economy plus FDI [foreign direct investment] development in telecommunications in the growth in the region focused on the ICT sector. This, he pointed out, has traditionally been African market has been the acceleration of All sectors in the economy are now embracing a challenge for even the largest mobile African-based players. Since KaiOS started to automation and adopting digital technology for network operators (MNOs) due to limited work in Africa with MTN back in 2019, we’ve growth and efficiency.” terrestrial networks. “But,” he said, “by seen growing exposure and partnerships with And, looking at Kenya in particular, he cited working in close partnership, we have been regional players – both on devices and its cutting-edge innovation in ICT. “M-Pesa, able to help operators expand their networks telecommunications.” digifarm, e-health etc are among renowned and to reach rural locations.” Backing this up, he said, “The mobile life-transforming ideas.” The company achieves this by providing ecosystem is also expanding in speed and Broadcasting and telecoms have, in some VSAT connections that deliver high-speed and scale, with more and more local developers ways, converged over the past 30 years. SES is reliable 2G/3G and 4G connectivity in rural and entering the market.” Among the company’s a provider of satellite and ground communications remote sites, in doing so bringing own partnerships are cooperation with talent solutions and Clint Brown, vice president, sales telecommunications to those that have never marketplace Gebaya to support the education and market development for SES Video in Africa, before been connected to the rest of the world of talented African software engineers, and said, “When we entered the market in the early in this way. with Roducate, a mobile learning app, to 2000s, we were focusing on delivering satellite Whitehill added, “Such progress is critical as provide comprehensive curriculum-based TV. The focus has since shifted to also delivering technology has the ability to empower people education to students in Nigeria. high-quality HD content where demanded by the and strengthen communities, from individuals Mboule suggested, “The pace of this markets. With the popularity of smartphones to family and friends, and to help small transformation is accelerating and is shaping and tablets in recent years, the way viewers businesses be more competitive.” the new digital landscape in Africa. With our consume content has changed, and He continued, “It can also improve access to operating system that powers affordable broadcasters have had to adapt their business quality education, providing children with the phones at a fraction of smartphone cost, yet models to cater to their evolving needs.” knowledge, tools and opportunity to learn, grow loaded with all the essential smartphone-like Carole Kamaitha, vice-president, sales, and build a better future for their families and capabilities, we’re closer to the mission to get Africa, SES Networks, added, “Since 1991, the communities. This has a knock-on impact on the everyone connected. This is what we at KaiOS connectivity landscape in Africa has changed country’s employment rate which can help are striving for, alongside our partners.” dramatically. The continent has seen multiple further boost economic growth.” Returning to undersea cable, Steve Briggs, fibre-optic cables laid and many satellites A much newer entrant is Gist Mobile, which chief sales and marketing officer at SEACOM, launched, including the O3b constellation, offers a simple calling and messaging app. As said, “SEACOM entered the African market in resulting in a rich supply of connectivity. Aramide Adebanjo, co-founder, said, “Gist 2009, with the first subsea internet cable Governments and businesses have leveraged Mobile entered the sector in 2020, just at the connecting the east and southern coast of start of the pandemic. Since then the global Africa to Europe. Since then, SEACOM’s five pandemic has rewritten many business models.” African markets (Kenya, Uganda, As for what the company has observed in the Tanzania, Mozambique and South telecommunications sector , he said it includes Africa) have enjoyed tremendous digital “an increase in remote ways of working which innovation and growth, largely thanks to meant telcos and companies that have tools, affordable and reliable internet apps and infrastructure components that enable connectivity.”

remote working have seen a hundredfold As for general developments Technologies KaiOS Photo: increases in their customer base”. There’s also relevant to Africa, Briggs’ colleague e-commerce, digital transformation and online Tonny Tugee, managing director at marketing, which have increased significantly, SEACOM East and North East Africa, “especially with the use of social media and cited internet data democratisation – platforms. A lot more social influencers and “easy access to all internet users content creators are used to promote brand driving penetration levels (Kenya to a marketing.” high of over 80%)”. He also mentioned And, as we know, the rise in smartphones and improved quality and experience of mobile devices is providing more ubiquitous internet access and scalability. “A Gigabit access to the internet.” But he also cited the rise economy is now a reality,” he in crypto trading and digital wallets “through the said. enablement of platforms that encourage and He also mentioned, enable access for regular consumers”. economic growth He added, “Mobile operators, fixed wireless “through growth providers, Wi-Fi companies and cloud and of the hosting providers have both been challenged knowledge and energised by these changes. There is more pressure to improve access to services, provide more capacity and improve quality of services Michel Mboule, BD manager – and products.” Western Africa of KaiOS We’ve talked a lot about connectivity. How Technologies: “The pace of this about phones? Michel Mboule, BD manager – transformation is accelerating Western Africa of KaiOS Technologies, the smart and is shaping the new digital landscape in Africa.” feature phone company, made an interesting

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Interviews THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY

this connectivity to connect people and communities and transform industries while propelling economic growth and business innovation that we are seeing in Africa today.”

Satya Mekala, MD of World Telecom Labs, a Energy Zonful Photo: leading name in wireless access, summarised the most significant developments in a few words: connectivity and mobile money. He explained, “Africa showed the world how mobile money could work and bring more financial security to the unbanked. But, of course, the industry has a long way to go to bring broadband, and digital services, to everyone across this vast continent. However, in terms of rural connectivity, we have finally seen a change of heart and real plans from the MNOs to connect the unconnected population of rural Africa.” For Shanks Kulam, co-founder of x-Mobility, which is providing new telco revenues for brands and MNOs, it’s also simple: it’s the

mobile internet. “It has levelled the playing field William Ponela, CEO, Zonful for the whole of Africa and, thanks to services Energy: "It [the smartphone] such as digital MVNOs, it has also made it easier has enabled so much more for calling and messaging as well.” to be done and has William Ponela, CEO of solar energy company revolutionised industries such as agriculture." Zonful Energy, goes back to the smartphone. “It has enabled so much more to be done and has revolutionised industries such as agriculture, to rapidly adopt remote working and adapt to markets across the region.” sanitation and energy. It is now possible for the their change in circumstances in ways that would And of course there’s the massive growth of energy sector to easily communicate with have been impossible even 10 years ago.” mobile money over the past decade “and now customers in rural areas,” he explained. But, she added, “No less notably, it has starkly operators are venturing into other financial And don’t forget security. Kaspersky is a revealed that cybersecurity, and establishing services products”. cybersecurity and anti-virus provider and cyber-immunity, is a concern for every tier of The GSMA State of the Industry Report on Bethwel Opil, enterprise sales manager at society. From government to the private sector, Mobile Money revealed a dramatic acceleration Kaspersky in Africa, said, “Looking back, the large enterprises to small and medium in mobile transactions during the Covid-19 internet was initially designed to accommodate businesses, individuals to communities, each pandemic as lockdown restrictions limited a relatively small number of users. And the and all are affected by today’s cyberthreat access to cash and financial institutions. proliferation of the internet – which it’s fair to landscape, which continues to shift and evolve.” Wamola said, “The report found that the number say began in the early 1990s with more We round up this review, fittingly perhaps, of registered accounts grew by 13% globally in widespread public access and use across more given the role of mobile in Africa, with the GSMA, 2020 to more than 1.2 billion – double the markets worldwide – was the linchpin for the which represents the interests of mobile forecast. The fastest growth was in markets digital age as we know it today.” operators worldwide. Angela Wamola, acting where governments provided significant She added that the capability of the internet head of sub-Saharan Africa, GSMA, said, “The pandemic relief to their citizens.” was briefly overshadowed in the late 1990s with digital landscape in sub-Saharan Africa and But that’s not all “The media and the dot com bubble (or dot com boom) – and beyond is evolving rapidly, driven by tech entertainment (M&E) space in sub-Saharan then Y2K/Millennium bug hype. Of course more innovation, changing consumer behaviour, Africa is also showing signs of digital disruption, than half of internet users today probably have digital transformation and operators’ continued prompted by rising mobile internet and no idea about dial-up, or even know of a time of investments in enhanced connectivity solutions. smartphone adoption, a youthful population and the internet before 3G, at least. Today trends There has been an increase in the number of the increasing availability of local entertainment revolve around cloud, 5G, Internet of Things, AI, people subscribing to mobile services.” content. Over the last two years, a number of on-demand streaming and so on. She continued, “At the end of 2019, 477 mobile operators have launched M&E services However, she said, “In fact, the technology million people in sub-Saharan Africa subscribed or partnered with third-party content providers to has advanced so rapidly that the global to mobile services, accounting for 45% of the deliver online streaming content.” pandemic that began this decade has also population. And smartphone adoption It’s fair to say that a simple question about demonstrated just how much every facet of our continues to rise rapidly in the region, reaching significant developments in the African 21st century society is dependent on digital 50% of total connections in 2020, as cheaper telecommunications market since 1991 has interconnectedness to work, communicate, devices have become available. Smartphone elicited some fascinating – and very varied – connect, shop, and basically function in our financing models are also gaining traction.” responses. Our thanks to all who contributed. modern world.” She added “The 5G era has begun in sub- Here’s to the next thirty years! ✆ She agreed too that the digitisation of Saharan Africa but 3G will remain the dominant society, and the evolution of the internet over technology for the foreseeable future. Our next issue will contain the second part of the past 30 years in Africa has been a saving Commercial mobile 5G services have been this anniversary feature, in which we will ask grace for many businesses in the wake of the launched in South Africa and Kenya recently, companies to assess their own achievements pandemic. “Internet connectivity enabled them and trials have been conducted in several other in the African market since 1991.

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SOLUTIONS

Comviva partners with Etisalat Misr to offer enhanced CRBT services COMVIVA HAS ANNOUNCED a as mobile app, OTT store-fronts, success with Etisalat Misr.” strategic partnership with Etisalat YouTube and Chatbot, and “Our new partnership with

Misr to offer media-rich caller ring integration with smart devices like Comviva Comviva in this service will bring a : back tone (CRBT) services. With Alexa. livelier call experience to our this new service, Etisalat The platform is an end-to-end customers’ at Etisalat Misr.

subscribers can personalise the offering, including product Image Credit Adopting new and exciting ring back tones for different callers. planning, partner management, technologies and offering them to The new CRBT services allow storefront management, revenue our customers has always been a subscribers to replace the ring management, and business core focus at Etisalat Misr, and that tone that callers normally hear analytics. CRBT software houses is why we are introducing this new with a personal choice of music or innovative features and interfaces service where the callers can audio and video content, making aimed at enhancing revenue Ramy Moselhy is the head of MENA change their ring back tone based the calling experience more across the customer life cycle. region, Comviva. on user mood and context, or use enjoyable for callers. ‘’We are looking forward to a president and head of MENA region the diverse features to gift or copy Comviva’s media-rich CRBT fruitful partnership with Comviva on at Comviva, said, “We are a ring back tone. CRBT is yet platform will allow Etisalat to drive one of our leading VAS services. The committed to bringing innovative another service that would elevate the next phase of growth, with a Comviva platform will allow us to digital services that enrich the lives our calling experience to a whole deeper customer engagement. digitalise the CRBT experience and of people across markets globally. new level,” explained Amr Fathy, IT Since music consumption has enrich and enhance the user We are excited to partner with vice president, Etisalat Misr. evolved to include short videos and journey. Given that our community Etisalat in their long-term vision and With Comviva's CRBT footprint user-generated content, Comviva’s is evolving constantly, the options strategy focused on digitalisation. spanning across two dozen CRBT solution brings in elements available on our new platform will These new and exciting deployments across the globe, the for integrating music streaming, surely be able to satisfy all customer infotainment services will enable company has seen the volume of with user’s self-recorded status, needs through the countless new experiences for their rapidly caller tunes increase on its platform and video ringback tones. It is a personalisation and customisation growing customer base. CRBT has exponentially. Globally, the CRBT future-ready solution supporting options,’’ said Ahmed Yahia, chief enjoyed enormous success with platform is powering 224 million VoLTE/ViLTE-ready software, commercial officer at Etisalat operators across the globe and we mobile users, constituting a 45% innovative digital interfaces such Ramy Moselhy, senior vice- are confident of replicating our share of the worldwide market.

Infinera to launch a suite of coherent Media Brokerage Africa to launch a host of new optical pluggables pan-African channels

INFINERA IS PLANNING to launch a suite of coherent optical pluggables, designed MEDIA BROKERAGE AFRICA, a pan-African broadcast media brokerage, to address point-to-point and point-to-multipoint transport applications which specialises in channel distribution, and operates across all seamlessly, from the network edge to the core. broadcasting platforms including, free-to-air (FTA), pay-TV, digital Leveraging innovative XR optics technology, Infinera’s new suite of vertically switchover (DSO), mobile and over-the-top (OTT), aims to bring quality integrated ICE-XR pluggables will offer network operators the performance, scale, international content to African audiences. and efficiency essential for delivering differentiated 5G, enhanced broadband, The company has announced numerous pan-African exclusive and next-generation cloud and business services. distribution partnership deals, including IMMediate Platform’s official entry ICE-XR pluggables will support a range of transport rates, including 100G, 400G, into Africa’s online marketing industry, helping marketers create the best and 800G, and utilise industry-standard form factors such as QSFP-28, QSFP-DD, and content possible, with Swig Media. LLC is offering a bouquet of original, CFP2 to enable ease of deployment in a wide variety of router and transport devices. special-interest channels to Africa, such as the Global Fashion Channel, “We have been engaged with 100-plus network operators globally and the featuring fashion, beauty, art, luxury lifestyle and music and special events feedback that we have received has surpassed anything I have seen in my 35- from around the world, and other exclusive partnership deals, such as The plus years of experience in successfully bringing game-changing technologies to Dancehall Channel, that will introduce the Dancehall culture to the African market,” said Dave Welch, founder and chief innovation officer at Infinera. continent, and ENLIVE tv, which will offer Christian entertainment for African “Leveraging the innovative capabilities of XR optics, ICE-XR will enable Infinera viewers. There is also StoryZoo, a platform that combines animation, music to create a completely new market with functionality that is uniquely positioned and education to create a learning adventure for young children. to address the point-to-multipoint traffic demands at the rapidly growing network “In line with the evolving media landscape and a demand for a multi- edge and provide TCO savings of as much as 70%. With Infinera deep vertical channel solution as opposed to silo offerings, I am thrilled to set up, integration, ICE-XR will enable us to address the rapidly growing market for point- develop, and drive this new company. It is no longer just about selling to-point pluggable coherent applications with a differentiated and cost-reduced media platforms, but more about addressing the marketing objective of solution,” added Welch. our clients,” said Colman Murray, founder and managing director of Media ICE-XR can be seamlessly software configured between point-to-point and Brokerage Africa. “I am excited to further enhance Media Brokerage point-to-multipoint operations. When used in point-to-point applications, ICE- Africa’s exceptional portfolio of brands and revenue streams across the XR can enable network operators to benefit from seamless generational continent. This is an exciting opportunity, and I am looking forward to upgrades, enhanced performance in capacity and reach, and the ability to taking this business to unprecedented heights,” he added. utilise pay-as-you-grow service activation. In multipoint applications, ICE-XR Some of the existing clients include South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC; can enable network operators to reduce the total number of transceivers in TV production company, Brainwave Productions; and Ethiopian TV & their networks by 50% or more and simplify their network architectures by Entertainment OTT platform, Habeshaview, which operates IPTV services eliminating electrical aggregation points and driving down capital expense offering rich content that includes live TV, documentaries, drama, children’s and operational complexity. programmes, lifestyle shows and others.

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AUB and APO Group partner to deliver quality Africa-related content to African and global TV and radios

THE AFRICAN UNION of Broadcasting (AUB), the broadcasters, APO Group is continuing its commitment the biggest sporting events around the continent – professional body representing national and private to changing the narrative about Africa, by telling including all-African Rugby World Cup and Olympic televisions and radios from 52 African states, and APO positive stories that can reach new audiences and Games Rugby Sevens qualifiers – and this agreement Group, the leading pan-African communications challenge global perceptions of the continent. means national broadcasters all over Africa and consultancy and press release distribution service, APO Group’s multinational customers and partners beyond will have free access to several elite African have announced a partnership that will provide free operating in Africa regularly produce compelling sporting events for the first time. access to quality African content for major televisions content that shines a light on the dynamism of African APO Group video and audio content will be and radios all over the world. economies, and the growth potential these emerging uploaded directly to the AUB platform within three All B-roll footage and soundbites produced or markets have to offer. hours of the end of each event. B-roll footage and distributed by APO Group and related to sports, This agreement represents an unprecedented soundbites will be accompanied by a dope sheet politics and business news from the African continent opportunity to deliver the best of African economic translated into English, French, Arabic and Portuguese, will be made available to AUB members free of charge news and sport to new audiences and show the rest providing truly pan-African content that can be aired and with unrestricted news use through the AUB of the world what Africa has to offer. by national broadcasters quickly and easily. Platform ‘AUB Vision’. Sport also has a major role to play in influencing “APO Group produces and distributes some of the The African Union of Broadcasting is the largest the way Africa is perceived on the global stage, and best video and audio content in Africa,” said Gregoire professional body that brings together national and APO Group is perfectly placed to bring the very best Ndjaka, CEO of African Union of Broadcasting. “Our private radio and television organizations from action to AUB’s members and sister associations members and affiliate partners will now be able to African states. It is responsible for developing all around the world. access prime video and audio highlighting the aspects of the broadcasting industry in Africa. APO Group is the exclusive Pan-African biggest economic and sporting stories on the APO Group content will not just be available to AUB communications consultancy for the NBA, and the continent. This type of content is extremely valuable, members in Africa, but also members of their sister Basketball Africa League. APO Group is also the Main and the seamless way it is delivered will make it easy associations around the world, including the European Official Sponsor of World Rugby’s African association, for broadcasters all over the world to incorporate it Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Arab States Rugby Africa, and an official sponsor of Team Qhubeka in their news output.” Broadcasting Union (ASBU), and the Asia-Pacific Assos, the only professional African cycling team on the “The sheer scale of AUB’s reach into the African Broadcasting Union (ABU). UCI World Tour, and the annual Lux Afrique Polo Day. broadcast community is incredible,” said Nicolas By delivering content directly to major international APO Group frequently carries video content from Pompigne-Mognard, founder and chairman of APO Group.

e4 launches computer centre at Diepdale Orange Bissau launches programme to Secondary School modernise mobile access network

PARTNERING WITH MELISIZWE Computer Lab Project, South Africa-based Fintech ORANGE BISSAU RECENTLY inaugurated the first antenna in the specialist e4 has provided resources for a full renovation including aesthetic village of Bijimita (Quinhamel sector) under the high patronage of upgrades, functional items and technology supplies including a smartboard, air the president of the Republic of Guinea Bissau Mr General Umaro conditioners and 33 computers for use by students and educators. Sissoco Embaló, and the presence of the chairman of the board of Adri Führi, group chief financial officer, e4, said, “People and technology directors of Orange Bissau, ministers, ambassadors, notables, and are at the core of our business. We must look both inside and outside the dignitaries of Guinea Bissau. organisation to support our strategic growth. Enabling both the development This inauguration marked the complete modernisation of the of school and community technology skills enables us and other organisations existing 3G+/4G network of Orange Bissau, which will offer the entire in our industry to remain relevant as part of the fourth industrial revolution." population an incomparable experience of the telecommunications The computer centre will allow Diepdale Secondary School pupils to learn network: calls, internet browsing and Orange money along with the computer applications technology (CAT) as part of their curriculum and master extension of Orange Bissau's 2G/3G rural coverage to more than 1,000 basic computer literacy skills. In addition to the assistance provided by e4, the villages, with the deployment of 150 new antennas perfectly suited to computer centre is funded and will be maintained by other major sponsors, the environment. corporates and the country’s Media, Information and Communications Around 150 new antennas will be deployed throughout Guinea Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (MICT SETA) which will Bissau, thus opening up more than 1,000 villages in all regions of the provide training for students and teachers. country. The project brought together e4 and the Melisizwe School Computer Project, Orange Bissau remains committed to continuing its efforts to give a non-profit dedicated to developing computer labs for schools in need and Bissau-Guineans national coverage and a modernised network, while providing IT skills training in various youth programmes. contributing to the country's digital transformation. Orange is present in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East and has around 130 million customers as on 31 March 2021. With 5.8 billion in turnover in 2020, Orange MEA is the Group’s main growth region. Additionally, Orange is launching season 2 of “Y’Africa,” a contraction of “Africa Ya lelo” or “Africa today” in Lingala, is a TV series which puts emerging artists in the spotlight. Each episode presents a portrait of three artists who tell their story through their work, while acting as a guide to the cities where they live. The programme aims to offer African culture, in all its forms, an opportunity to shine and to strengthen the local presence of the The centre will work on improving young peoples’ computing skills. Orange brand in Africa.

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Vodafone and Cradlepoint’s IoT business solution Ericsson private 5G to boost connectivity IOT IS ALREADY proving itself as a multi-industry innovation, offering businesses ERICSSON'S NEWEST, NEXT-GENERATION private network, Ericsson Private and corporations the chance to collect and leverage data to streamline future 5G, is a cellular 4G and 5G network tailored to drive Industry 4.0 and the operations, improve customer service and provide unprecedented visibility of digital transformation of a variety of industrial sectors. their supply chains, assets and operations. The network is designed to optimise and simplify operations, However, due to the wide reach of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, there supplying users with a cloud-based network management, with zero- are a number of IT issues facing businesses, with the responsibility of hundreds downtime upgrades, guaranteed high performance and quick installation or thousands of connected devices and applications naturally providing a set periods. These features are guaranteed with a series of Service-Level of hurdles IT departments must jump. Agreements (SLAs). Cradlepoint has partnered with Vodafone, the worldwide Chief beneficiaries of the new network are expected to include telecommunications company, to craft a new premiere enterprise solution for manufacturing, mining and process industries, offshore and power organisations looking to implement IoT technologies without the problems that utilities, and port and airport facilities. arise from such a wide-reaching technology. Flexibility is a key feature of the product, with the ability to support a The collaboration eliminates the need for several different vendors, offering selection of deployment sizes depending on user requirements. businesses an all-in-one solution that can be deployed across 22 countries. Businesses can manage their networks on-site and integrate with IT/OT This makes the developments between proof of concept to production quicker systems via an open API. and easier. Thomas Noren, head of dedicated networks and business area The turnkey, cloud-managed solution will offer a fast and secure WWAN technologies at Ericsson, explained, “With Ericsson Private 5G, we take connectivity to businesses, giving those that use IoT solutions the ability to the best of Ericsson’s current portfolio and top it up with the best of our connect devices to their networks and prioritise network traffic while new technology. With Ericsson Private 5G, we give operators a better way controlling sensitive data. A single contract can offer a contract, logistics and to serve business customers and leverage their assets - in short, to grow support model, streamlining the IoT management. beyond mobile broadband.” Cradlepoint and Vodafone's solution will fast-track the time to market for Leo Gergs, senior analyst, ABI Research, added, “With this new offering, business-critical services and application across a number of verticals, Ericsson will be able to address key trends in the enterprise cellular market. including manufacturing operations, retail omnichannel operations, freight The value proposition will appeal to operators and service providers as the monitoring and transportation logistics, telemedicine, remote asset security, solution hides technology complexity and therefore reduces the barrier of smart ATMs, AI and machine learning. entry to deployment for many different flavours of enterprise networks.”

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