Hope Rises for African Operators to Fast track Mobile Internet Deployment
- By Abimbola Tooki
- Published March 31st, 2011
- ITWorld
- Unrated
Although mobile internet connectivity across Africa is far less developed than in the Western world, Shaneel Ramanand, vice president, Sub-Saharan Africa region, Cambridge Broadband Networks, has said that there are signs of optimism within urbanised areas of the continent.
The uptake of internet connected mobile devices has increased and according to On Device Research, 50 per cent of all internet users on the continent (10.9 per cent of the population) access internet content via a mobile device. Due to the expense and lack of fixed line infrastructure, for many African’s mobile devices offer the most affordable way to access the internet, quite often for the very first time. However, with African’s having far less access to mobile broadband networks when compared to Europe for example, the march towards having ubiquitous internet access in African’s urban areas still has far to go.
Looking forward, Ramanand said the next obstacle for African operators is extending their coverage and increasing capacity to offer faster internet access to mobile users in urban areas. To do this, he said operators need to upgrade their 2.5G networks to 3G-evolved technologies such as HSPA and LTE.
According to him, there are several options to choose from when it comes to backhauling these networks, some being more cost and time efficient than others. “Fibre is one option, however extending fibre connectivity would be a time-consuming, disruptive and expensive process, requiring hundreds of kilometres of trenches to be dug in order for cables to be laid,” he said. “There are also security issues to consider when investing in fibre, as numerous incidents of theft have been reported. It is far easier to secure alternative solutions such as a microwave network than it is hundreds of kilometres of fibre.”
Microwave, and in particular point-to-multipoint microwave (PMP), Ramanand said, is a more viable alternative backhaul solution for several reasons beyond that of security. PMP simplifies the process of upgrading these networks as it requires a single access point and a single frequency to cover multiple cell sites. “This means it is able to provide internet connectivity to a number of villages through a single hub. One of the biggest concerns for African operators is cost, however a PMP solution provides a 50 per cent saving in terms of both CAPEX and OPEX when compared to traditional point-to-point (PTP) microwave,” he said adding that this is due to its reduction in installation time, the number of radios deployed and the platforms inherent efficiency.
The uptake of internet connected mobile devices has increased and according to On Device Research, 50 per cent of all internet users on the continent (10.9 per cent of the population) access internet content via a mobile device. Due to the expense and lack of fixed line infrastructure, for many African’s mobile devices offer the most affordable way to access the internet, quite often for the very first time. However, with African’s having far less access to mobile broadband networks when compared to Europe for example, the march towards having ubiquitous internet access in African’s urban areas still has far to go.
Looking forward, Ramanand said the next obstacle for African operators is extending their coverage and increasing capacity to offer faster internet access to mobile users in urban areas. To do this, he said operators need to upgrade their 2.5G networks to 3G-evolved technologies such as HSPA and LTE.
According to him, there are several options to choose from when it comes to backhauling these networks, some being more cost and time efficient than others. “Fibre is one option, however extending fibre connectivity would be a time-consuming, disruptive and expensive process, requiring hundreds of kilometres of trenches to be dug in order for cables to be laid,” he said. “There are also security issues to consider when investing in fibre, as numerous incidents of theft have been reported. It is far easier to secure alternative solutions such as a microwave network than it is hundreds of kilometres of fibre.”
Microwave, and in particular point-to-multipoint microwave (PMP), Ramanand said, is a more viable alternative backhaul solution for several reasons beyond that of security. PMP simplifies the process of upgrading these networks as it requires a single access point and a single frequency to cover multiple cell sites. “This means it is able to provide internet connectivity to a number of villages through a single hub. One of the biggest concerns for African operators is cost, however a PMP solution provides a 50 per cent saving in terms of both CAPEX and OPEX when compared to traditional point-to-point (PTP) microwave,” he said adding that this is due to its reduction in installation time, the number of radios deployed and the platforms inherent efficiency.
