Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Super high speed broadband is possible in Africa, a new demonstration project has shown.
Ericsson and Unitel have partnered to produce a super fast network with a 450mbps speed in Angola.
The network demonstrates that commercially viable high speed mobile broadband is possible on the continent where these deployments are largely lacking.
Unitel is the dominant mobile operator in Angola, and the company is bullish about its position in rolling out data services.
"The 450mbps demo in Unitel's LTE commercial network ascertains our leading position in technological innovation not only in Angola, but globally," said Amilcar Safeca, deputy CEO of Unitel.
5G mobile networks
International organisation the GSMA found that at the end of 2013, there were only 150 million people in the Sub-Saharan region with access to the internet.
"This is equivalent to an overall mobile internet penetration rate of only 17% of the total population, compared to a global average figure of just over 30%. This figure will more than double by 2020, reaching 38%, with an additional 240 million people across SSA gaining mobile internet access by that date," the organisation said in its The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2014 report.
Despite the speed of the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) Carrier Aggregation network demonstration, it is also an indicator of how far behind Asian countries mobile broadband in Africa is.
Africa is set to fall further behind developed countries in terms of mobile broadband deployment. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)
In South Korea and Japan, Ericsson has demonstrated 5G mobile networks expected to go commercial by 2020. These networks can move data at a blistering 5gbps (gigabits per second).
However, the GSMA indicates that in the best case scenario, 4G deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa will grow 4% by 2020, far outpaced by other regions.
"This will leave 4G penetration in SSA trailing well behind other regions. This is due to a number of factors including limited spectrum and device availability, and crucially the challenge of affordability given low income levels in many countries across the region."
In South Africa, broadband is regarded by government policy as a crucial driver of economic growth. But in his recent chaotic State of the Nation address, President Jacob Zuma spent less than a minute expanding on the government's plan to accelerate mobile broadband.
Critical failure
"The year 2015 will mark the beginning of the first phase of broadband roll out. Government will connect offices in eight district municipalities," Zuma said, before adding mysteriously that Telkom will be the lead "agency".
However, in its 2015 Lekgotla, the African National Congress (ANC) called for faster action in SA on digital TV migration which has an international deadline of 2015.
"Lekgotla has directed the finalisation of the digital migration process to support broadband roll out. Government must move with the necessary speed to meet the deadline of 15 June 2015," said the ANC.
The Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services has ambitious targets of 50% broadband access at 5mbps by 2016, 90% by 2020, and 100% at 10mbps by 2030 on the basis of just 33.3% in 2013.
A critical failure in the development of broadband in SA has been the unwillingness, or inability, of the SABC to make significant moves toward digital terrestrial television.
Analogue broadcasters currently occupy the critical 800MHz band, earmarked by government policy as ideal for the delivery of 4G networks.
Economic growth
"In many countries, concrete commitments to the harmonised allocation and assignment of sub-1GHz spectrum are yet to be fulfilled. Co-ordinating and accelerating the analogue to digital switchover (DSO) and freeing the Digital Dividend spectrum bands (700MHz and 800MHz) for mobile broadband will be essential steps in bridging the digital divide and meeting the strong demand for data services across the region," said the GSMA.
Ericsson said that driving broadband access was a key component of accelerating economic growth.
"Mobile broadband is opening up a world of opportunities by facilitating industry transformation and bringing inclusion and empowerment to communities," said Fredrik Jejdling, head of Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa.
Watch as Anne Bouverot, director general of the GSMA explains why LTE take up is slow:
- Follow Duncan on Twitter
