Even with LTE on the horizon, 2G will still be the norm for 2012

2011 was an exciting year for the arrival of new technologies in Africa. Good news, indeed, since the excitement’s trickle-down effect can encourage innovation and, in turn, improve quality of life. Still, the arrival of LTE means the mobile technology gap is widening as 2G continues to be the most commonly used mobile technology in Africa.

Despite the hope that six African markets could have LTE service by the end of 2012, most will not. In fact, as of mid-2011, 21 African nations lacked 3G coverage (mostly Central Africa and parts of West Africa). Many of these nations will have 3G service in urban areas before the year is out, but 3G is still not in sight for Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Somalia, to name a few.

Even nations with 3G service boast relatively few Internet users. A recent national survey in Nigeria found that more than 95% of Nigerians have no Internet access and no region could boast more than 17% of its population with access.

Smartphones still cost at least $50 and service charges put 3G out of reach for most, even if the service is technically available. LTE, therefore, will be out of reach for 99.9% of Africans (maybe 98% in South Africa). Although new technology carries certain benefits, it’s detrimental to become obsessed with the latest craze. Instead, most regions would benefits from focusing on enhancing 2G service – now considered the bread-and-butter of the telecommunications world. 2G requires less investment, devices and service plans are cheaper for consumers, and governments already allow for the spectrum. The most beneficial mobile services – health, payments, and text messaging – can run just fine on 2G bandwidth. Most importantly, 2G is far more useful than nothing at all.

January 3, 2012/by actualize

African operators kick off LTE trials

Magnus Mchunguzi, MD Ericsson SA

Ericsson is currently conducting Long Term Evolution (LTE) trials with a number of African mobile operators including Econet, Movicel and Unitel.

This is according Magnus Mchunguzi, Ericsson South Africa Managing Director.
“It is interesting that for the first time in Africa a lot of operators are asking for LTE, perhaps not on a large scale but as a trial offer. A lot of companies are trying to offer LTE on a network shared level,” says Mchunguzi.

“There is definitely a lot of movement in the LTE environment, he adds.”

Ease of deployment

Ericsson’s base stations have reduced the cost of deploying new broadband technology.

“One can get 2G, 3G, HSPA, and LTE on one base station. In the past if you wanted to offer new technology, you had to remove the hardware and install a new one. The cost of deploying new technology was very high. Today this will be driven purely by software updates. The platform remains the same and you simply update the software,” says Mchunguzi.

Ericcson is fully LTE ready according to Magnus: “Our new base stations, known as multi-standard radios, that are already offering 3G and HSPA have been deployed, we just need to update the software and they will be LTE ready.”

MTN pilot implementation

In early July 2011, MTN South Africa in partnership with Ericsson launched its LTE network in the Gauteng area of South Africa.
MTN SA’s Chief Technology Officer Kanagaratnam Lambotharan said the launch would give selected MTN customers a glimpse of the future.

“Being the first operator in Africa to launch an LTE pilot network of this scale is a reaffirmation of MTN’s vision to be the leading telecoms operator in emerging markets and emphasises our technology and innovation leadership in mobile communications.

On MTN’s investment in technology he says: “Full deployment of LTE in future will allow MTN to maximize its infrastructure investment to provide its subscribers with a quality experience that is richer, faster and with significantly more capacity than that provided currently.”

Bontle Moeng

July 27, 2011/by actualize