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MTN, Vodacom Launches 5G Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 – GSMA Report

December 2, 2020

The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA) 2020 report revealed that Vodacom and MTN launched their first major 5G networks in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020. The telecoms operators offered 5G mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA) services in several locations across South Africa – this appears to be a welcome development, as the South African government had already assigned temporary spectrum in the 3.5 GHz range in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Obviously, the proximate opportunity to be harnessed for the 5G in South Africa is to use FWA to bridge the gap in fixed broadband connectivity for homes and businesses. According to the report, there have been 5G trial runs in almost all the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda but the possibility of mass deployment of the 5G network is still not guaranteed, as there are significant levels of unused 4G capacity. Also, the 4G adoption rate is still relatively low, creating opportunities for the operators to increase their stakes in 4G.

As a boost to mop up the unused 4G capacity, the partnership between Safaricom and Google to finance the acquisition of 4G smartphones, provides the desired momentum as low-income consumers pay for 4G devices in convenient and flexible daily installments. According to the report, it is expected that over the next five years, the number of smartphone connections in Sub-Saharan Africa will almost double to reach 678 million by the end of 2025 — an adoption rate of 65%. It is expected that by 2025, there will be a little below 30 million mobile 5G connections in Sub-Saharan Africa, equivalent to almost 3% of total mobile connections.

The mobile market in the region will reach several important milestones over the next five years: half a billion mobile subscribers in 2021, 1 billion mobile connections in 2024, and 50% subscriber penetration by 2025. The achievement of these critical milestones would be predicated on the operators’ commitment in providing reliable infrastructural networks across the region. Between 2019 and 2025, the operators in the region would have expended/invested about the sum of $52billion in infrastructure rollouts.

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organizations in adjacent industry sectors.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Kenya Readies for 5G Network as Nokia Partner to Lay 5G Foundations

November 30, 2020

The deployment of 5G network in Kenya is nearing a crucial stage with the laying of the foundation for the technology through a partnership between global telecoms manufacturing company, Nokia and Airtel Kenya. Both have joined forces in a three-year deal to modernize Nairobi with high speed 4G and 5G-ready hardware.

The deployment which began in June, will cover hundreds of sites and include upgrading existing 2G, 3G and 4G radio access network (RAN) coverage in urban, semi-urban, highways, tourist spots and central business districts in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya. Nokia’s future-proofed network infrastructure will also offer Airtel Kenya the option to smoothly transition to 5G when necessary. The upgraded network will deliver enhanced connectivity to customers of Airtel Kenya and access to new, high-speed data services.

Speaking on this development, the CEO of Airtel Kenya, P. D. Sarma said that they are in the midst of rolling out their network “to enhance coverage along with modernization of our data network that will help us to deliver improved, high-speed data services to our customers. This will allow our customers seamless coverage enhancing their browsing experience further,” “We are excited to partner with Nokia on this project. Its technology portfolio improves our network quality considerably and also allows us to move to 5G services in the future.”

Rajiv Aggarwal, Head of CEWA Market Unit at Nokia, believes this is “an exciting deal in an exciting market. We are proud to supply Airtel Kenya with our comprehensive AirScale portfolio and support the operator with its efforts to deliver the best possible connectivity experiences to end-users in Kenya. In a maturing market, we look forward to helping Airtel execute its strategy in the short-term as well as set it on the path to 5G services.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Rain Upstages MTN, Launches the First Standalone 5G Network in Africa

July 23, 2020

Khaya Dlanga, Rain Chief Marketing Officer

In a big observers say is a direct message to Africa’s biggest telecoms company, MTN, a smaller rival, Rain has rolled-out Africa’s first commercial standalone 5G network – powered by Huawei. The South African data-only provider currently covers suburbs in Cape Town including Sea Point, Claremont, Goodwood, Bellville, Durbanville and the CBD. “Standalone 5G will further improve 5G network performance with increased uplink rate, lower latency, and improved reliability, ushering in high-end cloud VR and cloud gaming services, more diversified enterprise and home broadband services,” says Khaya Dlanga, Rain Chief Marketing Officer.

“Standalone 5G will demonstrate how 5G is powerful in realising South Africa’s 4IR future. Powered by Huawei’s global leading 5G solutions, our Standalone 5G will enable the industry’s digital transformation in the future, such as smart healthcare, smart ports, smart mining and smart manufacturing in South Africa.”

“We will work with the trustworthy strategic partner to further expand our 5G networks and bring the best service and experience to our customers,” adds Dlanga. This comes as MTN is test running its 5G network deployment across South Africa. This move according to analysts will not only usher in competition, it will also crash the prices which are presently high.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry