Communications Africa 1 2014 by Alain Charles Publishing

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Issue 1 2014 Édition 1 2014

Afrique

Africa www.communicationsafrica.com

Mobile World Congress Innovative information and communications technologies

Disaster response How mobile and satellite technologies enable recovery

Cloud connectivity Advanced architecture for core and extended network operations

L’inclusion numérique Des programmes de développement pédagogique au Maroc et en Egypte

Safaricom head of innovation Veronica Ogeto-Tchoketch presents at MEA 2014 in Nairobi, with MEA session chairman Mark Kaigwa alongside Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

FEATURES: ● Internet ● Mobile ● Infrastructure REGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda ● Equipment - Équipement

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CONTENTS

Issue 1 2014 Édition 1 2014

Afrique

Africa www.communicationsafrica.com

Mobile World Congress Innovative information and communications technologies

Disaster response How mobile and satellite technologies enable recovery

Cloud connectivity Advanced architecture for core and extended network operations

L’inclusion numérique Des programmes de développement pédagogique au Maroc et en Egypte

Bulletin

Events

Agenda

Equipment

FEATURES: ● Internet ● Mobile REGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda

● Infrastructure ● Equipment - Équipement

A note from the Editor THIS ISSUE OFFERS appraisals of mobile architecture and satellite services to support response teams and agencies engaged in community relief during crises (pages 18 and 20). It offers, also, insights into cloudbased operations, with articles on multi-stack architecture and messaging services (pages 22 and 23). There are financial angles to mobile ecosystems, too, and we report here on remittances and on mobile banking in Ghana (pages 25 and 26). The future of broadcasting is addressed by an article on monitoring for quality and another on 4K technology (pages 28 and 29).

FEATURES Mobile

Establishing reliable communications for the aid and NGO relief agencies as they respond to catastrophic events

Satellite

How satellite-based tracking systems help aid workers undertake vital tasks in safety

Infrastructure

A multi-stack approach to the Cloud; and the use of advanced architecture to support sophisticated messaging services

Finance

Improving international remittances with network infrastructure; and how an established Ghanaian bank is breaking out of traditional practice and into mobile banking

Broadcasting

Monitoring quality for provision of digital content and services; and notes on the research and development of the next generation of broadcast infrastructure

Main Cover Image: NSN Insert: Simon Kaheru Contents page: Alcatel-Lucent

Une note du rédacteur CE NUMÉRO ATTEST aux innovateurs dans la connectivité africaine, et dans les affaires locales et internationales. Les développements dans ces pages garantissent les plate-formes efficaces pour les institutions publiques (p.21). Ces articles representant, aussi, l’inclusion numérique au Maroc et en Egypte (p.24).

ARTICLES Infrastructure

L'initiative e-Lybia, qui porte sur la transparence des institutions publiques, le cybergouvernement, le cybercommerce et la cyberéducation

Économie

Autour des programmes de développement pédagogique pour les communautés au Maroc et en Egypte

Managing Editor: Andrew Croft - andrew.croft@alaincharles.com

Audit Bureau of Circulations Business Magazines

Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Prashant AP, Hiriyti Bairu, Lizzie Carroll, David Clancy, Ranganath GS, Rhonita Patnaik, Genaro Santos, Zsa Tebbit, Nicky Valsamakis and Ben Watts Publisher: Nick Fordham Advertising Sales Director: Pallavi Pandey Magazine Sales Manager: Steve Thomas - Tel: +44 (0) 20 7834 7676, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7973 0076, Email: stephen.thomas@alaincharles.com Country China India Nigeria Russia South Africa Qatar UAE USA

Representative Ying Matthieson Tanmay Mishra Bola Olowo Sergei Salov Annabel Marx Saida Hamad Camilla Capece Michael Tomashefsky

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www.communicationsafrica.com

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Head Office: Alain Charles Publishing Ltd University House 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place London SW1W 0EX, United Kingdom Telephone: +44 20 7834 7676 Fax: +44 20 7973 0076

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Production: Nathanielle Kumar, Donatella Moranelli, Nick Salt and Sophia White Email: production@alaincharles.com Subscriptions: circulation@alaincharles.com Chairman: Derek Fordham Printed by: Wyndeham Grange Ltd Communications Africa/Afrique is a bi-monthly magazine ISSN: 0962 3841

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BULLETIN Ghanaians gain free insurance with their mobiles

Tanzanian businesses to gain access to mobile tech

AIRTEL GHANA HAS formed a partnership with MicroEnsure and Enterprise Life to launch a free insurance product for Airtel customers; Airtel Insurance offers life, accidental permanent disability and hospitalisation insurance with benefits increasing based on airtime usage.

OTT SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Visual Unity Global is expanding its vuMobile platform into Africa after signing a new partnership agreement with Tanzanian media conglomerate Clouds Media, to mobilise mobile businesses and empower partners and resellers by allowing subscribers to create mobile optimised websites in a fast and effective way, under the Clouds Media brand; Joseph Kusaga, managing director at Clouds Media, said, “This partnership with Tomas Petru, CEO of Visual Visual Unity will allow us to bring the most Unity Global, with Clouds relevant and latest technologies to Tanzania, so that we can better serve our clients.” Media MD Joseph Kusaga

Astra 2E satellite goes live SES’S ASTRA 2E satellite has entered into commercial service in the orbital arc of 28.2/28.5 degrees East, co-positioned with Astra 2A, Astra 2F and Astra 1N, enabling the delivery of next generation broadcast and broadband services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; built for SES by Astrium of France, based on the highly reliable Eurostar E3000 platform, the spacecraft carries 60 Ku-band transponders, including 12 incremental transponders for delivery of services outside Europe, as well as 4 Ka-band transponders.

Comprehensive connectivity for the mining industry Ka coverage is extended to enable Libyan broadband SATELLITE BROADBAND PROVIDER Bentley Walker is now fully operating its Newtec Ka-band service in Libya, as a complementary addition to the pre-existing iDirect, Hughes HN and Hughes HX hardware platforms; the new service, relying extensively on Newtec's Broadband solution including the Sat3Play hub and MDM2200 IP Satellite Modem, is providing reliable, high-speed broadband across the country that is marked by complex geography and poor infrastructure.

SKYVISION GLOBAL NETWORKS Ltd has launched end-to-end solutions specifically suited for the mining industry over a wide range of connectivity platforms including: satellite/hybrid networks, portable satellite phones and data terminals, WiFi distribution and wireless connectivity solutions; Ofer Farkash, SkyVision product manager, said, “Our portfolio includes solutions which range from telecommunication solutions suited specifically for small exploration expeditions up to the entire communication requirements of mining sites hosting thousands of miners and contractors involved in diverse operations.”

Cirpack’s Compact Softswitch works in Réunion MOBIUS, A FRENCH service provider located in La Réunion island, is deploying the latest generation of Cirpack Compact Softswitch to underpin its network; Juan Lopez, managing director of Cirpack, said, “Cirpack is now the favourite softswitch and SBC solutions provider for six out of the seven operators over La Réunion.”

Starhome’s roaming solution gets top survey rating THE STEERING OF a roaming solution developed and offered by network and clearing house services provider Starhome MACH has been ranked the best on the market in a recent independent survey by the Roaming Consulting Company Ltd. (ROCCO); respondents from 192 mobile operators in 111 countries took part in the survey.

Astellia reveals operator disconnect from customers RESEARCH COMMISSIONED BY mobile insight specialist mobilesquared and conducted by subscriber intelligence provider Astellia revealed that almost 60 per cent of respondents do not have access to the right data and associated tools to make a truly informed business decision, and that less than 25 per cent of mobile operator respondents have marketing divisions that work with their network operations team to make business decisions on a daily basis; Rajesh Sharma, VP global sales and customer operations at Astellia, commented, “With 45 per cent of operators lacking sufficient access to data on QoE for voice, 42 per cent for messaging and 45 per cent for online browsing (set to increase exponentially with 4G) this lack of data aptly highlights the disconnect between a customer’s actual experience, that perceived by their operators and the struggle they face in addressing the key priorities above.”

Consortium to construct Asia-Africa-Europe cable PCCW GLOBAL AND 16 service providers around the world have come together to construct a high capacity cable system, Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), which interconnects Hong Kong, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe with a target ready for service date in 2016; PCCW Global plans to land the cable at the Cape D'Aguilar Cable Station in Hong Kong, and then extend connectivity to its city data centre, making Hong Kong a key telecommunications hub in addition to Singapore and Marseille in France along the AAE-1 network.

Network and cable investment to drive SA growth HUGE INVESTMENTS ARE expected to take place in South Africa over the next five years with the recent arrival of LTE services, as well as the upcoming BRICS and ACE undersea cables, raising the tide for revenue streams from data services, according to a report from Pyramid Research; ‘South Africa: LTE Rollouts, Network Investments and Undersea Cables to Boost Competition and Revenue’ offers a precise profile of the country's telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the market, and provides a detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.

VeriFone and MS Solutions work together on North Africa A MASTER PARTNER agreement between VeriFone Systems and Tunisian payments company, MS Solutions, has broadened the distribution and support of VeriFone products - particularly the VX line of NFC-enabled payment terminals and PIN pads - in Tunisia as well as Libya; “MS Solutions is a strong partner that will broaden the distribution of VeriFone technologies and solutions in North Africa, ensuring that merchants in the region experience the full benefits of our VX payment technology portfolio,” said Ozgur Ozvardar, general manager, VeriFone.

Heirs Holdings invests in satellite technology firm

PCCW Global hosted a signing ceremony for the AAE-1 project construction and maintenance agreement in Hong Kong on 27 January 2014

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

PROPRIETARY INVESTMENT COMPANY Heirs Holdings investment in US start-up Planet Labs’ innovative satellite manufacturing technology; Planet Labs aims to transform the way imaging of the Earth is carried out, through the introduction of ultra-small satellites called ‘doves’, which circle the planet in low orbit and are significantly cheaper to produce and deploy than existing technology.

www.communicationsafrica.com

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BULLETIN L’accès à Facebook depuis tous les mobiles au Maroc INWI, OPÉRATEUR MAROCAIN de télécommunications récemment primé, est le premier à déployer la dernière version de son logiciel LinqUs Facebook-for-SIM, désormais doté de la fonctionnalité Facebook Messenger; ce service permet aux 12 millions de marocains clients de inwi d’accéder au premier réseau social au monde via un accès mobile simple et intuitif.

L’Internet très haut débit mobile en Afrique de l’Ouest ALCATEL-LUCENT AIDE YooMee Africa, le principal fournisseur de services Internet haut débit du Cameroun, à étendre ses activités en Afrique, en déployant des réseaux d’accès très haut débit mobile TDD LTE; YooMee - anciennement 4G Africa – fournit un accès Internet haut débit fiable et des services à valeurs ajoutée aux particuliers et aux entreprises d’Afrique subsaharienne.

lancé par l'intermédiaire de sa solide infrastructure dans le Cloud; les prestataires de service et les fournisseurs de logiciels peuvent désormais s'associer avec Cyrén pour commencer immédiatement à offrir à leurs utilisateurs une navigation sécurisée du Web avec n'importe quel appareil et en tous lieux.

Eutelsat et SES sont d'accord sur 28,5° Est EUTELSAT COMMUNICATIONS ET SES ont conclu une série d'accords parmi lesquels le règlement exhaustif de la procédure judiciaire concernant l’exploitation de la position orbitale 28,5° Est ainsi que la mise en place, à long terme, d’éléments de nature commerciale et de coordination de fréquences; Michel de Rosen, Président-directeur général d’Eutelsat, a déclaré : « Ces accords de long terme clarifient des conditions d’exploitation sans interférences, permettant à chaque entreprise d’assurer, en toute indépendance, l’essor de ses activités commerciales dans un contexte concurrentiel. ».

Le satellite Astra 2E est en service SES A ANNONCÉ que le satellite Astra 2E démarrera son service commercial sur l'arc orbital de 28,2/ 28,5 degrés Est, aux côtés des satellites Astra 2A, Astra 2F et Astra 1N; Basé sur la plate-forme Eurostar E3000 extrêmement fiable, le satellite est équipé de 60 répéteurs en bande Ku, dont 12 répéteurs supplémentaires pour la fourniture de services en dehors de l'Europe, ainsi que de 4 répéteurs en bande Ka. ASTRA 2E permet de proposer des services de télédiffusion et haut débit de nouvelle génération en Europe, au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique.

Une nouvelle solution 100G EKINOPS, FOURNISSEUR DE solutions de transmission sur fibres optiques de nouvelle génération, a lancé des modules transpondeur et muxpondeur 100G à technologie propriétaire cohérente, compatibles avec sa plateforme de transport optique Ekinops 360; les nouveaux modules 100G cohérent, qu’Ekinops a déjà livrés en volume, enrichissent le portefeuille de produits de la société composé de solutions de transport pour des réseaux métropolitains, régionaux et longue distance.

Des experts s'intéressent à l'utilisation du spectre D'ÉMINENTS PROFESSIONNELS DU secteur, des régulateurs, opérateurs, équipementiers et membres d'instituts de recherche se sont réunis récemment à Genève dans le cadre d'un Atelier de l'UIT sur les espaces blancs et les systèmes de radiocommunication cognitifs (CRS); les discussions au cours de cet atelier étaient centrées sur la réglementation et les bonnes pratiques internationales et nationales pour l'utilisation des espaces blancs par les systèmes de radiocommunication cognitifs.

Total et Sonatel permettent le paiement marchand DÉSORMAIS AU SÉNÉGAL, les clients de Total peuvent payer leur carburant et tous leurs achats en station via leur téléphone mobile avec Orange Money, sans manipulation de cash; Orange Money permet déjà aux clients d’Orange, à partir du mobile, de transférer de l’argent vers un autre mobile, de régler des factures, de se réabonner à des chaines TV, de souscrire à des polices d’assurance ou encore de retirer et de déposer de l’argent auprès d’un vaste réseau de distributeurs agréés.

Des ordinateurs « Made in Mali » DEUX SOCIÉTÉS DE droit malien l’Internet society Mali et Intelec 3 viennent de mettre au point un ordinateur « made in Mali » baptisé « limmorgal » (calculateur en langue peulh). La machine qui consacre une sérieuse avancée de notre pays dans la haute technologie, a été conçue par le Dr Mamadou Iam Diallo, président de Internet society Mali (ISOC-Mali).

Un service de sécurité Web basé dans le Cloud CYRÉN, AUPARAVANT APPELÉ Commtouch, a lancé la disponibilité commerciale de Cyrén WebSecurity, le premier service de la société

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

Michel de Rosen, Président-directeur général d’Eutelsat

Intelsat s'étend de collaboration avec Vodacom INTELSAT S.A., FOURNISSEUR des services de satellites au monde, a formé un partenariat avec Vodacom; Vodacom utilise de la capacité sur Intelsat 906 à 64° Est et Intelsat 25 à 328.5° afin de supporter le déploiement des services de réseau cellulaires en République Démocratique de Congo(RDC).

Franc succès pour un workshop régional GLOBAL VOICE GROUP (GVG) a confirmé la grande réussite du premier workshop régional sur les nouveaux outils de régulation des télécoms et la fiscalité électronique à l’intention des régulateurs des télécoms et des autorités fiscales de l’Afrique de l’Ouest; organisé conjointement par GVG et SGS-Société Générale de Surveillance, cet événement de haut niveau s’est tenu à Abidjan, en Côte d’Ivoire, les 26 et 27 novembre 2013.

Des solutions de SkyVision pour l'industrie minière SKYVISION GLOBAL NETWORKS Ltd a lancé des solutions de bout en bout spécifiquement adaptées à l'industrie minière; les solutions sont proposées sur une grande variété de plateformes de connectivité : réseaux hybrides/satellites, téléphones mobiles satellitaires et terminaux de données, diffusion WiFi et solutions de connectivité sans fil.

Un partenariat technologique autour de la sécuritée ILEX, ÉDITEUR DE logiciels spécialisé dans l’IAM (Identity & Access Management), collabore avec Ercom, société française spécialisée dans la sécurisation des communications; ce partenariat technologique a pour objectif de proposer au marché une offre intégrée alliant les fonctionnalités de Cryptosmart d’Ercomt, qui sécurise la mobilité des PC, et de Sign&go d’Ilex, qui permet d’interagir avec le SI de l’entreprise.

www.communicationsafrica.com

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I am a thinker and a doer

We are Liquid Telecom and, like you, we dream big. That’s why we’re building the fastest fibre network throughout Africa – connecting you and your business with the rest of the world.

Building Africa’s digital future www.liquidtelecom.com

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AGENDA

Events/Événements 2014 MARCH/MARS 11-13

CABSAT

Dubai, UAE

12-13

Banking & Mobile Money West Africa

Lagos, Nigeria

18-19

Cards & Payments Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

19-20

Oil & Gas Telecommunications

London, UK

31 Mar-11 Apr

World Telecommunication Development Conference

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

2-3

Social Media in the Utilities Sector

London, UK

www.smi-online.co.uk

2-3

Southern Africa ICT Summit

Maputo, Mozambique

www.aitecafrica.com

8-10

Next Generation Telecoms Summit Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

6-7

Cloud World Forum Africa

Johannesburg South Africa

13-14

Cards & Payments Middle East

Dubai, UAE

www.terrapinn.com

19-22

SatCom Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

www.terrapinn.com

x19-22

The Broadcast Show Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

www.terrapinn.com

20-21

East Africa Com

Nairobi, Kenya

20-22

DISTREE Middle East

Abu Dhabi, UAE

27-29

Critical Communications World

Bangkok, Thailand

28-30

eLearning Africa

Kampala, Uganda

www.cabsat.com www.aitecafrica.com www.terrapinn.com www.smi-online.co.uk www.itu.int

APRIL/AVRIL

www.ngtsummitafrica.comt

MAY/MAI

The demand for next generation payment platforms ACCORDING TO EVENTS organiser Terrapinn, African banks, telcos and retailers have urgently revealed the need for making payments faster and more opportune with customer demand for convenience as the driving factor. Their most important ‘must have’ for a secure cashless society has become increasingly demanding within their business sectors. They will be attending Cards & Payments Africa, on 18-19 March 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa - a stimulating exhibition and conference to source the latest innovative payment and banking technology solutions that advances the move toward a faster and more efficient development of Africa’s banking and emerging payments sectors.

www.terrapinn.com

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

AITEC conference to tackle financial management THERE IS INCREASED investor interest in Africa’s financial sector and, to capitalise on this, banks need to up their governance, security and technology strategies. Investors will be looking for strict compliance to Basle III - the global, voluntary regulatory standard on bank capital adequacy, stress testing and market liquidity risk. AITEC’s Banking & Mobile Money Conferences in Lagos, Accra and Nairobi will include intensive compliance, security and technology briefings by industry experts from a wide range of countries. www.aitecafrica.com

The best of business intelligence TOP TRENDS, LOCAL success stories, tailored tracks, two interactive workshops and more... This is what business intelligence (BI) practitioners attending ITWeb’s Business Intelligence Summit can expect. The theme at the ninth annual conference, held 25-27 March 2014, is: 'Agile BI. Analytics. Big data' - with local and international experts exploring and explaining how best to both implement and execute in these three areas. In addition to a jam-packed agenda, an expo runs adjacent to the 2014 summit, showcasing the latest in products and services from BI solutions providers. www.itweb.co.za

www.africa.cloudworldseries.com

www.eaafrica.comworldseries.com www.distreevents.com www.criticalcommunicationsworld.com www.elearning-africa.com

Enabling the digital oil and gas field SMI GROUP’S OIL & Gas Telecommunications conference, taking place 19-20 March 2014 in London, in the United Kingdom, addresses the challenges the oil and gas sector faces in some of the most dangerous, harsh, and remote environments on earth, requiring a range of means to communicate with and draw information from platforms and land-based sites of all kinds from across the world. This seventh annual conference focuses on all aspects of telecommunication requirements, from initial exploration through to extraction, transport and processes. www.smi-online.co.uk

Boosting broadband for sustainable development THE SIXTH WORLD Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) held by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 30 March to 10 April 2014, themed ‘Broadband for Sustainable Development’. The objective of WTDC-14 is to establish work programmes and guidelines for defining telecommunication development questions and priorities, and to provide direction and guidance for the work programme of the ITU’s Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) over the next four-year period.

www.communicationsafrica.com

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AGENDA

Safaricom to make M-Pesa mobile money APIs public for developers SAFARICOM HAS PROMISED to release APIs for developers to interact more with its highly popular M-Pesa mobile money service, in order to increase the number of applications using M-Pesa. An API (Application Programming Interface) specifies how some software components should interact with each other, and is a crucial component for software developers. “In December last year we released one that is being used for Lipa na M-Pesa developers. Because of that API we now have users making purchases within certain applications without having to end the sessions or close the applications they are using,” said Safaricom head of innovation, Veronica Ogeto-Tchoketch, at the Mobile East Africa Conference in Nairobi. “Very soon we will be releasing APIs that will ‘wow’ you all. Right now you can simply send us an email and we will send you back a pack with instructions of how to make use of the Lipa na M-Pesa API,” she said. The Mobile East Africa 2014 Conference kicked off with Safaricom showcasing a wide range of products and solutions the company has implemented in Kenya under it’s innovation programme. These included a Farming application, Maternal Health, Insurance, a free Internet access service in selected taxis, in-taxi Internet services, and a solar power kit solution aimed at transitioning users from kerosene energy. “We follow the theme ‘Transforming Lives’, and gear our products and services to this,” Ogeto-Tchoketch said. “For instance, we now have people checking if their matatu (commuter taxi) has Vuma Online before boarding because they don’t want to be stuck in traffic for two hours without access,” she added. Ogeto-Tchoketch said M-Pesa did not start out as a money-making project, but was a micro-finance project initiated with the World Bank for people in remote areas of Kenya to make payments without the hindrance of transport costs. “Then we began to notice that people were using MPesa to transfer money amongst themselves. We then began to study our customers to understand them further and on mining the data we noticed that the

Safaricom head of innovation Veronica Ogeto-Tchoketch presents at MEA as session chairman Mark Kaigwa follows keenly

big winner was not in microfinance payments, but in peer-to-peer transfer,” Ogeto-Tchoketch recounted. M-Pesa was launched nationally in 2007 and has now been expanded to include bill payments and retail purchases using mobile money, targeting retail segments including local barbers and tailors. “At Safaricom we have learnt something important: when you create something with the objective of transforming lives, it can snowball into something much, much bigger,” she added. In October 2013 M-Pesa deposits were valued at Kshs93bn (over US$1bn), with withdrawals of Kshs80bn and transfers of Kshs84bn. The Mobile East Africa 2014 Conference climaxes with a Workshop facilitated by internationally renowned Finnish mobile developer and enthusiast, Tomi Ahonen. The event organiser ran the fourth edition this year, bringing together hundreds of start-ups and tech entrepreneurs in the region and big business in mobile technologies with a focus on finding opportunities for increased collaboration. Key highlights during the conference were new uses of mobile banking solutions, and the increased application of mobile technologies in governance

and peer-to-peer messaging. Conference organiser Matthew Dawes expected the conference to result in more innovations coming out of East African firms and to grow knowledge in ICT entrepreneurship across the region. Among large firms at the conference were Kenya’s Safaricom, Airtel Africa, Smile Telecom Tanzania, IBM, Standard Chartered Bank and global media consultancy firm Advanced Interactive Media (AIM) Group. Local firms presenting at the conference included, from Kenya: Virtual City, a mobility solutions software company; mobile money innovations firm Zege Technologies; mobile solutions applications innovator Wezatele; mobile crowd-source solution app Ma3route; and start-up Mobidev Solutions. Firms attending from Uganda include software design firm Thoughtworks Uganda; online mobile money platform developers RedCore Interactive; and regional mobile money payments solutions firm Beyonic. Ghana was also represented by Saya Mobile, a messaging platform based on mobile that is frequently referred to as “Africa’s WhatsApp”.

Simon Kaheru

SkyVision serves voice and data to South Atlantic Petroleum GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER SkyVision Global Networks Ltd has successfully implemented a project with SAPETRO (South Atlantic Petroleum), one of Nigeria’s major oil and gas upstream companies with new operations in Benin, which includes the installation of a full suite of SkyVision connectivity solutions in Benin and the ongoing management of the project. A five-year contract recently signed between the two entities consists of an end-to-end voice and data managed solution, based on multiple technologies, integration and professional services, creating unique value to customer operations. The project includes mesh VSAT and wireless point to multipoint connections for SAPETRO’s offices and operational sites, mobile terrestrial units and vessels, coupled with the integration of SkyVision services, including Voice and Telephony over IP, two-way radios, mobile satellite phones, managed firewall and WiFi. An oil and gas upstream company with operations in Benin, SAPETRO’s expertise includes oil and gas exploration with extensive

www.communicationsafrica.com

“We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with SAPETRO and to providing them with reliable and efficient technologies and services, today, and well into the future.” - SkyVision COO, Golan Madar development and production assets in the region. The company is recognised for its activities in sub-Saharan Africa underlined by its strong platform in Nigeria, the Republic of Benin and offshore East Africa. This partnership marks an important milestone for SkyVision and furthers SkyVision’s commitment to the oil and gas industry in Africa, one of the company’s main focus areas.

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

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AGENDA @ MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS

Oberthur Technologies and mBank offer branchless banking OBERTHUR TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH specialises in digital security solutions for the mobility space, is working in partnership with mBank, an entity affiliated to the PlaNet Finance group to facilitate financial inclusion through mobile technology, to offer mobile branchless banking in emerging markets where banks and mobile operators need to adapt to deliver the right banking offer to the unbanked population. Today, the expectations of these customers go beyond peer-to-peer and bill payments allowed by most mobile money initiatives. They are looking at services such as loans, savings and insurance. While banks and mobile operators have a real opportunity to answer these expectations via the mobile phone, they need true expertise coming with innovative products and consulting to deliver these services with high scalability and low cost of operation. Bringing together the m:Wallet solution of the OT subsidiary, MoreMagic and mBank’s expertise in branchless banking services, the partnering companies have created an extended mobile branchless banking offer. The m:Wallet, that has already supported a large number of services such as merchant payment and money transfers for more than a decade, will now include a full range of micro-finance services such as loan, credit and insurance. On top of this enriched wallet, the

solution will also include core banking and backoffice capabilities for operating the branchless bank, risk management tools and business consulting skills. “The fully packaged offer we are providing with mBank will enable banks and mobile operators to reach an untapped customer segment and to ensure the profitability of their mobile money offers. Mobile microfinance services are expected to create a significant shift in the take off of mobile money with stronger adoption and usage, not only because they are matching the expectation of local populations for real banking services, but also because they will generate higher transaction volumes,” said Pankaj Gulati, CEO of MoreMagic, an OT company. “We aim at serving millions of clients currently not reached by traditional banking and microfinance institutions. With its worldwide footprint in the telecom and banking markets and with MoreMagic’s expertise in mobile money, OT is a partner of choice to launch a Mobile Branchless Banking solution. Together, by serving markets that lack a comprehensive banking infrastructure and have a high penetration of mobile telephony, we will further contribute towards financial inclusion” said Arnaud Ventura, co-founder PlaNet Finance Group and mBank Group.

WTL on fibre and SMS AS FIBRE CONTINUES to creep inland, many African operators are starting to use VoIP over leased fibre lines to provide long-distance voice connectivity. To date, carriers have been slow to adopt VoIP because interconnecting a VoIP link onto a terrestrial network has been so expensive. At MWC, World Telecom Labs is showcasing its 2nd generation VoIP switches, designed to provide a flexible, cost-effective alternative to traditional VoIP to TDM switches. WTL will also present SMS Easy Hub, which enables operators in Africa to increase revenues from text messages by setting up their own SMS hubs - as well as hear about WTL's involvement with Nigeria's Mobile Number Portability Programme.

WTL will be in Hall 7 in the Belgium Pavillion

JDSU research reveals the hungriest data users For the fourth consecutive year, scientists at JDSU’s Location Intelligence Business Unit (formerly Arieso), revealed the latest trends observed in mobile data usage in a new report. Expanded to cover multiple developed and developing markets operating 3G and 4G networks, the 2013 study reveals how use of mobile data and consumer behaviour is becoming more extreme. “For the past three years we’ve seen explosive growth in mobile data usage, causing operators to have to wrestle with the challenges their success is creating,” said Dr. Michael Flanagan, CTO of Mobility for the Network and Service Enablement business segment of JDSU and author of the study. The ‘i’s still have it Apple users have been the ‘hungriest’ consumers of mobile data in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 data measured by the study (iPhone 4, iPhone 4s and iPhone 5 respectively). Last year, the report indicated a possible end to this dominance as Galaxy S III users closed the gap. But iPhone 5s usage is the most intense witnessed to date, keeping Apple users at the top of the chart. The study found that iPhone 5s users

10 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

demand seven times as much data as the benchmark iPhone 3G users in developed markets (20 per cent increase on iPhone 5) and 20 times as much data in developing markets (50 per cent increase on iPhone 5). Beyond the 5s, Apple products account for six of the top ten ‘hungriest handsets’, along with two Samsung products, one HTC and one Sony. When it came to uplink data, Samsung users are at the top of the chart. Galaxy S4 users produced and uploaded five times as much data as iPhone 3G users in developed markets and 11 times as much data in developing markets.

“Each new generation of iPhone has resulted in increases in data consumption of between 20-40 per cent - even today when data use is common. Though interestingly, users of the more economically-priced iPhone 5c consume data in the range between that of the iPhone 4s and 5 users,” said Flanagan. Developed versus developing – surprising similarities The study revealed that developed and developing markets alike had similar overall rankings of data hungry smartphones, with the iPhone 5s topping both charts, demonstrating

the global nature of the smartphone market. However, the report found that the number and variety of data cards and dongles was lower in developing markets, and tablet devices relatively rare. “Developing markets saw higher data consumption by flagship smartphone users, relative to the iPhone 3G standard. This appears to be driven by two factors. First, the older iPhone 3G has relatively lower data consumption per user in developing markets. Second, the absence of other high-volume data devices, such as data cards and tablets, means that users will consume more data via flagship smartphones.”

www.communicationsafrica.com

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Kathrein innovates in-building communications KATHREIN HAS ANNOUNCED an innovative solution to meet the growing demand for mobile data traffic in buildings and across campus-wide environments. The German-based antenna and electronics manufacturer has developed a new Micro C-RAN system called K-BOW, which it is prresenting at Mobile World Congress. The K-BOW system bridges the gap between established network architectures and those required to deliver future wireless service provision indoors and over mixed indoor/outdoor sites. K-BOW supports multi-operator, multi-band and multi-standard operation and uses the flexibility of a mobile communications capacity pool to dynamically meet changing demand for data. In this way, operators have the flexibility to adjust their in-building networks to meet customer requirements and react quickly to changes in user behaviour.

Remote adjustment to capacity demands As changes to coverage and capacity can be done remotely and do not involve physical changes to the installation, Kathrein's Micro C-RAN solution drastically reduces the cost and time for network operators. This contrasts to conventional static indoor cell architectures, which are very expensive to modify or upgrade. K-BOW aggregates data traffic with a centralised RAN platform and transmits multiple combinations of signals to individual radio units (RUs). The solution is remotely-controlled over a network monitoring system so that capacity in any area within the building can be easily increased or decreased. This allows for the creation of self-organising networks (SONs) in buildings, while LTE MIMO can also be directly introduced to offer end user data rates equivalent to those outside of buildings.

Optimising signal quality “With mobile communications continuing to change dramatically, K-BOW is setting the standard for mobile data transmission in buildings by simultaneously overcoming multiple technological challenges,” stated Dr. Michael Weber, CTO at Kathrein. “We provide network operators with the flexibility they need to respond rapidly to their customers’ demands. We are opening up exciting new possibilities for indoor network optimisation, providing users with the best possible signal quality at all times.”

More effective, with less energy K-BOW's energy saving potential is particularly innovative. Signals from individual frequency bands can be switched on and off, based on demand from every small cell. Network operators can, for example, switch to a 1,800 MHz base signal at night, ensuring coverage provision within the building while saving electricity costs from the other amplifiers. This feature can reduce energy expenses of the entire system by up to 50 per cent. “Most traditionally structured antenna systems have not been designed to save energy, despite this being a major cost factor in all companies,” explained Dr. Weber. “What's more, users are placing totally new demands on the system's flexibility, whether it is about response times to network changes, data rates or service level improvement.” K-BOW offers an innovative, future-proof solution for in-building mobile communications challenges. It will be made commercially available in 2015.

Bluwan COO speaks on helping to create the next access networks highly dense urban areas in the Middle East – areas that existing fibre deployments can’t reach.

IN ADDITION TO exhibiting at Mobile World Congress 2014, Bluwan is showcasing its latest LinkFusion release for HetNet Backhaul and Multi-Gigabit Access, walking potential customers through its small cells economic model and discussing the latest advances in technology to deliver high bandwidth solutions.

A key concern is the condition of today’s access networks.

Improving access networks Bluwan is revolutionising last-mile broadband access across Africa and the Middle East thanks to its unique technology approach. Its technology deployment with Somcable in Somaliland continues. Advanced discussions with a tier one African operator are also underway as the carrier looks to boost available network capacity to

Bluwan’s CCO, Shayan Sanyal

“Although there are terabits of capacity connecting the world together, in a sort of Global Central Nervous System that we call the Internet, the last mile is plagued by inland bottlenecks, akin to cholesterol clogging arteries,” said Bluwan’s CCO, Shayan Sanyal, who is scheduled to participate in a panel on 'Creating the Next Access Networks'. This should be a fascinating session, as it includes representation from not only Bluwan, but also industry giants such as Huawei, Bell Labs, and Intel.

LTE-Advanced optimised with Tellabs’ MWC portfolio RECENTLY ACQUIRED BY Marlin Equity Partners, and set to be merged with Coriant, another portfolio company, Tellabs is presenting an enhanced mobile backhaul solutions portfolio for LTE-advanced networks at Mobile World Congress, with new capabilities that support fast-growing data services, low-latency voice and a wide range of applications. Tellabs’ new edge router portfolio is further enabled for seamless future SDN migration to smart, flexible, end-to-end and multilayer SDN solutions for mobile networks. SDN promises dramatic OpEx and CapEx savings in mobile backhaul. • The Tellabs 8665 Smart Router is a new high-scale node, providing a seamless evolution for Tellabs Smart Routers managed by the Tellabs 8000 Intelligent Network Manager. Its IP routing and Ethernet switching capabilities support mobile operators as they build and scale LTE and LTE-Advanced networks. • The new Tellabs 8615 Smart Router is optimised for mobile and fixed-mobile converged networks, with 44 Gbps throughput in a compact 1RU unit. In the future, two Tellabs 8615 routers can be

www.communicationsafrica.com

stacked to provide 88 Gbps throughput. • The new Tellabs 8602 Smart Router is a compact, environmentally hardened, full-featured 6-port IP/MPLS router. It fits in demanding locations due to its compact, environmentally hardened, water- and dust-proof (IP 67) design. • Tellabs’ new Integrated GPS (GNSS) SFP Module extends Tellabs’ packet synchronisation capabilities (eg, IEEE1588v2, SynchE, ACR). It enables a flexible and cost-efficient Time-of-Day and Phase Synchronisation in mobile backhaul networks. • The new user interface for Tellabs Insight AnalyticsSM Services offers dashboards focused on operators’ top concerns in mobile backhaul networks. • Tellabs Packet Optical Solutions provide cost-effective scalable transport solutions that enable mobile and wholesale operators to both deliver cost-effective backhaul services as well as expand into adjacent markets such as revenue generating business services.

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Emixis élargit sa gamme SecurysatFleet et Gestion de Biens EMIXIS, FOURNISSEUR DE technologie pour la gestion de flotte, de main-d'oeuvre et de biens, propose sa solution de suivi de biens basée sur le système RFID. L’offre est fournie comme module complémentaire pour le produit SecurysatFleet et Gestion de Biens. Cette option supplémentaire est idéale pour les situations commerciales nécessitant des alternatives à moindre coût par rapport aux balises GPS habituelles, traditionnellement utilisées dans la gestion de flotte, ou dans des conditions où l'espace est très limité, ou encore lorsqu'aucune source d'alimentation n'est disponible. “Emixis a conçu cette solution de manière tout à fait unique. Ce qu'ils offrent est petit, abordable, autonome et vient avec une interface de services web prête à l'emploi, ouvrant ainsi des possiblités d'intégration avec d'autres technologies,” a déclaré Alexis Duvoisin de Geloc, le distributeur Suisse d'Emixis. En tant que solution, la Gestion de Biens basée sur le système RFID de Securysat est composée de 3 modules principaux : des balises, des lecteurs de balise et une plateforme web pour le développement d'applications web/mobile personnalisées. Les balises sont des balises RFID actives à faible côut (de la taille d'une petite boîte d'allumettes), avec pile interne à longue durée de vie fournissant un service ininterrompu jusqu'à 3 ans ! Elles sont entièrement résistantes à l'eau et à la poussière,

Cette technologie est particuliètrement appropriée dans des secteurs d'activité tels que le transport, la logistique, et la construction peuvent être placées sur n'importe quel bien qui doit être suivi (conteneurs, machines, sacs, outils, remorques...), et sont équipées de capteurs de mouvement ainsi que de capteurs thermiques. Les lecteurs de balise permettent la collecte de données à une distance allant jusqu'à 30 mètres, et sont connectés à une balise GPS via un port série RS232 serial port, qui peut ensuite fournir les informations à une plateforme d'application, celle-ci étant ouverte à des développeurs d'applications tierces via des services web. Cette technologie est particuliètrement appropriée dans des secteurs d'activité tels que le transport (suivi de remorque), la logistique (suivi de colis importants), la construction (numérisation automatisée des matériaux sur place) ou dans les projets de villes intelligentes.

www.emixis.com

Alcatel-Lucent et LITC vont déployer un système de câble sous-marin reliant Tripoli à Benghazi ALCATEL-LUCENT A SIGNÉ un contrat avec LITC (Libyan International Telecommunications Company), société libyenne de télécommunications, afin de construire un nouveau système de câble sous-marin long de 1 000 km, qui permettra de relier la capitale libyenne, Tripoli, à Benghazi et d’apporter la connectivité haut débit nécessaire pour soutenir les efforts de relance de l’économie libyenne. Ce système jouera un rôle clé dans la reconstruction de l’infrastructure de télécommunications en Libye ; il permettra d’améliorer les niveaux de connectivité et la fiabilité des communications requises pour le secteur commercial et public ainsi que pour les applications clients, à une période phare, où la demande globale en services haut débit ne cesse d’augmenter. Ce système, qui repose sur la technologie 100G d’Alcatel-Lucent et sur un câble avec fibre sous-marine optimisée pour la transmission cohérente, sera capable de supporter des capacités pouvant excéder 10 TBit/s par paire de fibre et devrait être finalisé mi 2015.

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Dr Mohmoud Aujali, président de LITC, a déclaré : « La connectivité haut débit est une opportunité de croissance majeure pour l’avenir et le développement d’une infrastructure de télécommunications robuste est un élément vital. Avec l’aide d’AlcatelLucent, notre nouveau système de câble sous-marin devrait largement contribuer aux projets globaux de développement et d’amélioration du niveau de vie des Libyens menés actuellement. » Et Philippe Dumont, directeur de l’activité Réseaux sous-marins d’Alcatel-Lucent, d’ajouter : « Nous sommes ravis d’accompagner LITC dans ce projet majeur de transformation des réseaux, en vue de soutenir les efforts du pays dans la reconstruction de son infrastructure de télécommunications. La solution innovante proposée par AlcatelLucent va permettre d’accroître la connexion avec la communauté numérique mondiale et aidera LITC à promouvoir des opportunités de croissance pour des activités économiques, culturelles et éducatives. »

La solution IDaaS de Gemalto, pour le Cloud GEMALTO PRÉSENTE CLOUDENTR, son nouveau service pour aider les entreprises à gérer les droits d’accès des utilisateurs tout en offrant une authentification unique (SSO, Single-Sign-On) sécurisée aux applications Web. CloudEntr permet aux utilisateurs d’utiliser facilement toutes les applications Web en ne s'authentifiant qu’une seule fois, avec un identifiant de connexion unique. Les entreprises peuvent également abandonner progressivement les mots de passe vulnérables, choisis par les utilisateurs, en faveur d'une protection supérieure. Celle-ci repose sur des mots de passe complexes qu’ils n’ont pas à mémoriser ou des fonctionnalités d'authentification à deux facteurs.

L’absence de corrélation entre les données utilisateurs et les prises de décisions des opérateurs ASTELLIA A DÉVOILÉ les conclusions de sa dernière enquête en date commanditée par mobilesquared, spécialiste de l’interaction mobile. Cette enquête, menée auprès d’un panel d'opérateurs mondiaux, a révélé que près de 60 % des personnes interrogées n'ont pas accès aux données appropriées, ni aux outils associés pour prendre des décisions business véritablement éclairées. De surcroît, moins de 25 % des opérateurs mobiles participant à l’enquête déclarent avoir un département marketing qui interagit avec leur équipe en charge de l’exploitation du réseau pour prendre des décisions quotidiennement. Rajesh SHARMA, vice-président des Ventes et Opérations Clients d’Astellia, commente : « La qualité d'expérience (QoE) est un moteur essentiel pour les opérateurs de téléphonie mobile (O2, Tata, AT&T, Verizon U.S., MTN, Zain, Telefonica, pour ne citer que quelques uns des répondants), et il est alarmant que tant d'opérateurs mondiaux ne se sentent pas dotés des données, des outils ou des processus internes suffisants pour prendre des décisions avisées basées sur la QoE de leurs abonnés. La satisfaction des clients prime. Concrètement, selon notre enquête, il s’agit de l’objectif le plus important des opérateurs. En pondérant les réponses sur une échelle de 5 points, la satisfaction du client atteint la plus forte moyenne nominale (3,78), suivie de près par la rétention des abonnés existants (3,74). L’acquisition de nouveaux abonnés et l'amélioration de la fidélité à la marque sont toutes deux créditées d’un score de 3,7. 45 % des opérateurs manquent d’un accès suffisant à l’expérience utilisateur pour la voix, 42 % pour la messagerie et 45 % pour l’internet mobile (l’adoption de la 4G entraînera une augmentation exponentielle de ces chiffres). Ce manque souligne justement la déconnexion entre la mesure de l'expérience client et les priorités stratégiques des opérateurs. »

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Intersec cited dynamic growth

for

SERVICES PLATFORMS PROVIDER Intersec has been ranked 107 out of 500 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 EMEA, which is based on the percentage of revenue growth over the past five years (2008 -2012) of the 500 fastest growing technology companies in EMEA. Intersec grew 1462 per cent during this period. Intersec CEO Yann Chevalier commented, “We are very honoured by this prestigious ranking and we feel privileged to be named on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500. This 107 ranked number not only acknowledges the dedication and commitment our company makes to achieve the highest standards of innovative software technology, but it also affirms the amazing collaborative effort of our most important asset: our people.” Intersec was also ranked 23rd in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, which recognises the 50 fastest growing French technology firms.

Gemalto moves more into M2M with expanded product range GEMALTO, WHICH SPECIALISES in digital security, has added next generation Oracle Java ME Embedded version 8 solutions based on Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QTI) chipsets to its Cinterion portfolio of cellular modules and devices. With support for Java and for the SensorLogic cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) platform, the new products enable Gemalto to launch next generation embedded solutions and services that simplify Machine-toMachine (M2M) technology and speed up application development to expand the growing Internet of Things (IoT). The new products will target applications from medical devices, automobiles and smart meters to shipping containers, home appliances and alarm systems. The Cinterion M2M end-to-end portfolio of solutions and services provides secure, wireless connectivity within an intelligent Java framework to support the increasing number of innovative IoT applications. Gemalto’s new Java enabled products join an existing portfolio of QTI-based modules that span the full range of cellular technologies, from CDMA to LTE.

The Cinterion M2M end-to-end portfolio of solutions and services provides secure, wireless connectivity within an intelligent Java framework

Gemalto has added Oracle Java ME Embedded version 8 solutions to its Cinterion portfolio of cellular modules and devices

This flexibility enables device manufacturers to build solutions within a single design to target any industry segment and any network technology, ensuring long-lasting and future-proof applications. The Java software runs on the onboard application processors of the Qualcomm Gobi chipsets, which can eliminate the expense of additional processing and memory chips, and thereby reduce the overall cost, complexity and size of the solutions. Nakul Duggal, vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, said, "Together with Gemalto, we share a vision and common goal to provide the building blocks to enable the Internet of Everything."

HomeSend JV expands options for consumer money transfer MASTERCARD, ESERVGLOBAL AND BICS have formed HomeSend, a joint venture (JV) which will enable consumers to send money to and from mobile money accounts, payment cards, bank accounts or cash outlets – regardless of their location or that of the recipient. The HomeSend JV will leverage the current HomeSend platform, a remittance hub based on eServGlobal technology and developed as part of a strategic partnership between eServGlobal and BICS. The HomeSend platform was first to market in offering international mobile remittances. Today, HomeSend has live deployments in 50 countries and commercial

contracts with mobile network operators (MNOs) and money transfer operators (MTOs) that represent more than 1.2bn subscribers – the equivalent of one in seven of the world’s population – and 200,000 cash agents respectively. By connecting the worldwide community of telecom partners and MTOs to the more than 24,000 financial institutions on the MasterCard network, the HomeSend JV will provide consumers new options and flexibility for sending or receiving funds and enable cross border remittance payments worldwide. For people in developing markets, the receipt of

funds from friends and family is an important lifeline. Based on World Bank estimates, remittances to developing countries will reach around US$515bn by 2015. “HomeSend will provide an important platform to deliver improved remittance services, and bring person-to-person transfer capabilities to more financially underserved consumers around the globe,” stated Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard. “MasterCard, eServGlobal and BICS each brings its own unique contribution to the newly formed entity. Collectively, we have an opportunity to improve people’s lives.”

Alcatel-Lucent and LITC to deploy cable system connecting Tripoli and Benghazi ALCATEL-LUCENT HAS SIGNED a turnkey contract with the Libyan International Telecommunication Company (LITC) to build a new 1,000-km undersea cable system linking the country’s capital, Tripoli, to Benghazi, and providing the broadband connectivity needed in support of ongoing efforts to revive the Libyan economy. The system will play a critical role in the reconstruction Libya’s telecom infrastructure improving the levels of connectivity and communication reliability needed for business, public sector and consumer applications, particularly at a time when global demand for broadband services continues to grow. Based on Alcatel-Lucent‘s 100G technology and a cable optimised with coherent submarine fiber, the system will ultimately carry capacity in excess of 10Tbit/s per fibre pair and is expected to be ready for completion mid-2015 Dr Mohmoud Aujali, chairman of LITC, said, “Broadband connectivity is a major growth opportunity for the foreseeable future and the development of a robust telecommunication infrastructure is vital. With the help of Alcatel-Lucent, our new

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The system, which will be completed in 2015, will ultimately carry capacity in excess of 10Tbit/s per fibre pair submarine cable system promises a significant contribution the overall developments that are being undertaken to improve standard of living for Libyans.” Philippe Dumont, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks, said, “We are pleased to support LITC in delivering this major network transformation in support of the country’s efforts in reconstructing its telecom infrastructure. Strengthening connection with the global digital community, Alcatel-Lucent’s innovative solution will help LITC promote growth opportunities for economic, cultural and educational activities.”

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AGENDA @ AFRICACOM

The cost efficiency to cope with commercial traffic HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE most recently held edition of AfricaCom 2013 included insights into the requirement for increased investment in networks, to cope with data explosion. Event participants identified strategies for increasing the quality of the network to the highest standard without excessive spend. Delegates focused on how to reduce capex and opex in a data hungry environment. There was, also, an Entrepreneurs Incubator Hub at the event, which identified the requirements for entrepreneurial support and education as a basis for fostering enterprise as well as new financing. Mobile money was a key topic for debate. AfricaCom focused on what exactly mobile money is and should be, offering a tentative conclusion that mobile money should be quick and easy, turning each individual into an agent, into an ATM. The debate also covered interoperability and customer service, as well as regulatory concerns and issues affecting crossborder transactions. There were, also, discussions around digital music in Africa, including a panel session featuring AfriCori, Spice Africa, Etisalat, X5 Music Group and Warner Music, at which panellists debated the level of piracy in the industry, and the revenue split between the key parties in the ecosystem. Closely allied to digital entertainment are apps, of course. At AfricaCom, a dedicated event called

AfricaCom offered insights into network investment, data traffic, quality of service, and capital and operating expenditure AfricApps focused on the impact of mobile advertising and marketing, assessing how this is changing the consumer experience. Other commercial opportunities are to be found in OTT and VOD opportunities, and AfricaCast brought fantastic insights into the VOD and OTT opportunities that are growing in the African sub-continent. Central to this has been the rise of two new OTT platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa: Buni TV, and iROKOtv. The two CEOs of these global innovators presented their findings at the show. And, also, with Cloud attracting more attention at AfricaCom meetings this year, the dedicated Cloud @ AfricaCom stream gained interest from telcos looking to increase their revenues through Cloud services. With the top five African ‘Cloud telcos’ presenting their ‘how to’ strategies, this was the right place to get thorough insights on this emerging and dynamically growing segment.

WTL wins with VoIP THE TEAM AT World Telecom Labs was delighted to pick up an award at the AfricaCom awards event, which celebrates and acknowledges the telecom industry’s achievements in Africa last year. WTL’s second generation VoIP solution was recognised in the Best Cost Efficiency Solution for Africa category because of the significant OPEX and CAPEX savings it brings to operators through increasing capacity, freeing up capacity in congested networks and enabling operators to costeffectively add new capacity. WTL’s second generation switches are now being used by 20 operators in 14 countries across Africa. WTL had been shortlisted with Liquid Telecom, Conduct Telecommunications, Astellia and Econet Wireless, PeerApp, and TKM Maestro Limited.

Profitability is the key to 4G WITH ITS CAPACITY for innovation, Africa’s mobile network sector is well positioned to drive the explosion in service offerings on the back of 4G LTE implementations. This is the view of Sherry Zameer, Africa and Middle East head of telecommunication solutions for Gemalto, world leader in digital security. “Africa is largely unrestricted by legacy platforms and onerous regulations, and so has the capacity to leapfrog standard 3G migrations, to embrace LTE and all the benefits of better quality service and content possibilities that the next generation platform provides,” Zameer continued. While LTE penetration stands at less than 0.003 per cent of the market in Africa, Rwanda, for example, is poised to implement LTE from the get-go.

Spectrum is an Issue “Successful LTE implementations in Africa will depend on how well the issue of spectrum is addressed and how well wireless services (radio) work with LTE to deliver the quality of service required,” Zameer added. “Africa has a track record of innovation and being first to market in many instances (eg, M-Pesa and dynamic tariffing) and I expect that the implementation of 4G LTE will be no different,” he said. While the continent is poised to take telecoms growth to a whole new level, questions among attendees at the conference remain as to how generate profits on new service options, once LTE is deployed “This will prove to be pivotal,” Zameer said.

Profitable stakeholder engagement With LTE comes greater opportunity for customer engagement via mobile marketing platforms as well as business-to-business transactions via machine to machine (M2M). The latter involves the development sophisticated ecosystems and reliance on a number of

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“There are new opportunities for mobile network operators to act as service providers for a diverse range of applications" - Sherry Zameer, Gemalto stakeholders other than the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) itself. “For MNOs the question really is how to leverage these new content opportunities and different take-to-market-models, as they fall outside of the traditional delivery of voice and data services,” Zameer said.

Data and payments on growth path Data is still a key driver in the sector with estimates of prepaid bundles being around US$6 for voice and US$20 for data. This means that there is still appetite for data-driven applications. Because most Africans do not have access to banking services or bank cards, Zameer believes mobile payments will continue to be a key driver for transactional services, and with that mobile security. Both will drive growth in the sector,” he added. Gemalto has won a number of innovation awards for its LTE-related platforms. Its LinqUs Advanced OTA platform enables networks to smoothly transition to LTE during an evolutionary period of mixed network technologies. The company has also been the leading global technology behind many high-profile commercial LTE deployments, including Verizon and MetroPCS, the first two operators in North America to migrate to LTE. “With billions of connected devices forecast to be deployed in the near future, the wireless ecosystem is changing. This creates new opportunities for mobile network operators to act as service providers for a diverse range of applications such as NFC, Machine-to-Machine (M2M), or streaming multimedia content,” Zameer said.

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AGENDA @ AFRICACOM

Eutelsat’s expanding satellite portfolio WITH DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE build-out high on Africa’s agenda, advanced satellite technologies and services were showcased at AfricaCom by Eutelsat, which presented the features of recently launched and upcoming satellites designed to serve the African continent as well as new solutions to support markets for digital broadcasting, VSAT networks, mobile backhauling, IP trunking and broadband access. With 31 satellites concentrated in the geostationary arc from 15° West to 172° East, Eutelsat offers an exceptional footprint of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and continues to pursue investments that will accompany the growth of digital services. Its portfolio of satellite resources spans C, Ku and Ka-bands, equipping Eutelsat to respond to multiple markets and afford a high level of commercial flexibility.

BICS builds on its African carrier commitment EXHIBITING AT AFRICACOM, the team at wholesale roaming carrier BICS spoke of the ongoing expansion of the company’s African footprint, and its recent successes. Last year BICS opened three regional centres in Africa, and enabled the first LTE roaming session between Africa and Europe. BICS regional VP for Africa Clementine Fournier discussed the opening of its three new regional centres - in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana - with Communications Africa/Afrique. She spoke, also, about the experience the company gained in facilitating Africa’s first LTE roaming session between Belgium and Angola. She added that BICS has developed plans to expand its footprint in the coming years, to continue to develop international roaming services within Africa, and to continue the development of LTE and support the evolution of telecoms on the continent. Protecting the business One interesting point that Fournier made was that International telecoms enterprises can be very effective at keeping costs down - and that they tend to limit the scale of their commitment to external suppliers as much as possible - though they do seek to maximise engagement with firms specialised in areas where they lack expertise. Larger operators are, the more likely they are to outsource to remain agile. Ms Fournier’s experience indicates that roaming is an area for which there is a strong interest in outsourcing for corporate agility. She said that some

CBNL’s CEO on microwave market trends CAMBRIDGE BROADBAND NETWORKS (CBNL) CEO Lionel Chmilewsky offered insights into recent developments and market trends in point-tomultipoint (PMP) microwave technology and software defined networking (SDN). They spoke of the logistical challenges of building carrier grade macro and small cell backhaul networks in Africa, and of the recent developments in PMP microwave technologies in Africa. Lionel Chmilewsky, CEO of They also offered notes Cambridge Broadband Networks on how to manage the growing demand for spectrum and new LTE networks, and on how African carriers are using innovative backhaul technologies to create network efficiency and profitable new services. CBNL specialises in PMP microwave backhaul and access solutions and works with many African operators to provide carrier grade network capacity and spectral efficiency. The firm uses advanced PMP microwave technologies to deploy smarter, more efficient and resourceful networks for operators. It has a large market share in Africa and its technologies are widely deployed across the continent. Its customers include Vodacom, Airtel, Safaricom and MTN. In Africa, CBNL's VectaStar platform is deployed across 15 countries.

www.communicationsafrica.com

smaller operators can earn as much as 40 per cent of their revenues from international termination. However, she also added that, in today’s highly competitive market, larger operators are able to exploit on-net roaming tariffs, to the disadvantage of their smaller counterparts. It is an increasingly dynamic marketplace - and this is largely because operators are relatively unregulated, as compared with their counterparts on other continents. However, that may change, as governments and their regulators appreciate the revenue possibilities from taxation on telecoms operations - for example, on international termination. Looking forward Nonetheless, Fournier believes that Africa will remain as one of the fastest-growing telecom markets in the world, characterised by a strong uptake of voice, messaging and mobile payment services and an increasing use of data services - in the main, thanks to increased smartphone ownership and use. And she expects BICS to be a strong player. This Belgian wholesale carrier has been providing services to the African market for more than 15 years. Those African operators it has worked with have been able to rely on an extensive and fully-owned network, and a number of wholesale solutions designed to meet the continent’s communication needs.

Comverse supports CSP success in the digital era FOLLOWING STEEP SUBSCRIBER growth in recent years, Africa is now experiencing a data boom, with consumer and enterprise users increasingly devouring digital content and services. At AfricaCom Comverse highlighted innovative solutions and services enabling communication service providers (CSPs) to enhance the customer experience, evolve successfully to IP/4G, and sustain profitable growth in the rapidly evolving digital economy. “With Africa going digital and mobile broadband usage soaring, the telecommunication revenue and growth opportunities in this region are unparallelled,” said Denis Bernaert, Comverse senior vice president and managing director of EMEA. “Comverse helps CSPs evolve to IP/4G seamlessly, enabling them to preserve traditional revenues while moving to monetise lucrative digital lifestyle services and expanding into new business models.” “With more than 75 deployed solutions generating significant value for African CSPs of all sizes across the continent, and with decades of IT and network expertise, Comverse is a longstanding trusted partner for African CSPs meeting the challenges and opportunities of today’s digital world,” said Bernaert. “Our broad portfolio of innovative solutions and services demonstrates effectiveness, reliability and value worldwide every day.” Comverse contributed to two key sessions at AfricaCom, which were focused on enhancing the customer experience and evolving successfully to IP/4G. The presentation on ‘Practical Steps to Achieve an Engaging Customer Experience’, delivered by Yariv Geller, VP, corporate marketing at Comverse, offered ideas on attaining a more personalised customer experience for the digital lifestyle through converged BSS. The keynote titled ‘Optimize the 4G/IP/Digital Customer Experience for African Markets’ delivered by Shai Perach, head of marketing for digital and value-added services at Comverse, outlined new data monetisation and social media opportunities.

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MOBILE

Disaster Response

Communications for disaster response Establishing networks and services for first responders when local infrastructure is likely damaged or destroyed

INCE 2002 MORE than 1,700 natural disasters have impacted Africa and killed more than 50,000 people. Some 150 of those events took place during 2011 and claimed 3,500 lives. And it’s in these natural disaster scenarios, which have included floods, cyclones, severe storms and earthquakes, that establishing communications for first responders on the scene, at a time when local network infrastructure is likely damaged or destroyed, is crucial to saving lives in the immediate aftermath of such events. But establishing reliable communications is also essential for the aid and NGO relief agencies that arrive on the scene to establish long-term presences, in the days, weeks and months which follow.

Setting the scene The figures above provided by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' (IFRC) World Disasters Report 2012. Whilst shocking, these figures are just the tip of the post-disaster iceberg, for as the report states, disasters also leave behind many more affected and displaced. The IFRC estimates the numbers affected by disasters in 2011 across Africa was — and is — a staggering 19mn people.

Having handsets alone is pointless unless there’s a network to carry the emergency voice and data trafﬁc required. Networks need to be resilient, responsive and adaptable in these times of catastrophe The need for comms Mobile communications infrastructure across Africa has evolved in leaps and bounds in recent years and even in many rural areas, remote and isolated from national grid power, local mobile communications networks for both domestic and enterprise communities have been established thanks to backhaul via satellite, as well as other technological advances that have made remote rural comms viable for the operators. And with the problems associated with the roll-out of copper and fibre, such as theft, mobile communication is now the predominant form of communication across Africa. As a result, in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, calling for help would typically be the first reaction of most of them. Family and friends will be attempting calls to each other; they’ll also try the local emergency services, if there are any, and if they are used to doing so, they may also try and access news information services on their mobiles. If someone is trapped and trying to make a call for help, such service may be an imminent matter of life or death. Either way, the first responders will need to have some kind of emergency network infrastructure on which to rely and over which they can communicate with fellow first responders to co-ordinate immediate relief efforts. But having handsets alone is pointless unless there’s a network to carry the emergency voice and data traffic required. So the networks must be well-prepared in the event of a natural disaster to come back on 18 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

The IFRC estimates the numbers affected by disasters in 2011 across Africa was - and is - a staggering 19mn people

line as fast as possible. They need back-up power supplies for cell sites, and oodles of spare capacity to handle the sudden spike in calls as everyone with a phone tries to make a call, not least of whom will be the first responders. Networks need to be resilient, responsive and adaptable in these times of catastrophe. As a result, leading operators typically put exhaustive emergency communications/disaster response plans in place, including guidelines and instructions for effective ‘peer-to-peer’ industry co-operation that will see operators calling on vendors at short notice for the ‘immediate, priority’ supply of replacement mobile communications infrastructure and equipment that may have to be taken off another customer’s order fulfilment book and flown to a disaster location or region without delay.

Planning If operators get their networks functioning, aid organisations and emergency responders will be able to communicate amongst themselves and co-ordinate more effective relief and rescue activities as the network comes back online with increased capacity that is no longer restricted to just the emergency and AID teams. But as already stressed, it takes planning and preparation to ensure this happens. And that’s where the mobile industry and other organisations have joined forces in a number of initiatives to make sure this happens. The GSM Association’s (GSMA) Disaster Response Programme, for example, involves mobile operators and NGO aid organisations around the world who together plan disaster response preparedness in different regions of the globe. The GSMA’s Disaster Response (DR) Programme is just one of several programmes, which fall under the umbrella of its ‘Mobile for Development’ initiative, which supports the deployment of commercial mobile services in emerging and developing regions of the world where many communities remain either underserved by telecommunications or unconnected, completely. Its DR programme helps ensure plans and peer-to-peer expectations are in place through encouraging the early cooperation between government agencies, mobile network operators and NGO aid organisations. www.communicationsafrica.com

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MOBILE

Disaster Response

An operator’s answer In scenarios where the main mobile network cannot be fixed or does not exist operators and infrastructure providers have come up with a number of solutions for rapid deployment that will establish and provide mobile communications for essential and priority users within a matter of minutes. One such solution is the Vodafone Foundation’s Vodafone Instant Network (VIN). In co-operation with long-term NGO partners including: Telecom Sans Frontiers (TSF), the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), the foundation’s VIN has been deployed in several DR missions around the world, including Africa. The VIN is an ultra-portable GSM network weighing less than 100kg, which fits into three cases and is transportable on commercial flights. As a result, it is ideal for NGO personnel to transport direct to a crisis zone where it can be easily deployed and network communications established within 40 minutes. In a major humanitarian drought relief effort in Kaikor, Northern Kenya in 2012 the VIN was deployed by the Kenya Red Cross in co-operation between Safaricom, Huawei and TSF. It provided 20 dedicated lines for Red Cross and NGO personnel who had to co-ordinate the provision of food and medical supplies within an affected community of 15,000 people, and five additional lines were allocated to local people so they could make contact using voice, SMS and data services with the outside world. During the deployment, which lasted 47 days, the VIN carried a total of 264,104 calls.

The GSMA’s Disaster Response (DR) Programme supports the deployment of commercial mobile services in emerging and developing regions of the world Solutions from the vendor community An emergency network that fits into a backpack is the EmergencyNET from Prisma Engineering of Italy. The company says that the system will enable first responders to restore cellular coverage in a matter of a few minutes to provide service for standard phones or smartphones where there is a total disruption of mobile services. The solution is able to manage voice, SMS and data connections and is intended to provide a ‘plug-and-play’ portable back-up to the main mobile network, offering coverage for both aid and emergency workers as well as the wider community without priority. It enables rescuers to communicate with any mobile device by voice and SMS. Prisma Engineering says the temporary emergency network, can intercept calls from victims to provide automatic info on emergency management of a specific rescue and will send SMS alerts/updates such as “send an SMS

Mobile communications infrastructure across Africa has evolved in leaps and bounds in recent years

with your name, current location, number of people involved to 133, will call-you back to manage your rescue”. EmergencyNET operates using battery packs - a single pack provides eight hours of operation - and has a standard output power up to +37dBm providing a coverage range of a few kilometres, although coverage can be adapted (in-factory) according to different deployment requirements. Users can access the network using SIM cards from any operator. Another vendor offering a rapidly deployable GSM network is Irish firm Mondicom, which offers a portable Quick Deployment Cellular (QDC) system based on technology from Rivada Networks of the US, to provide voice SMS and data to support users with standard unlocked cellular handsets. The systems are designed to deliver secure, seamless cellular communications coverage for use in remote or hazardous environments including those following a natural disaster, and be used by aid organisations or first responders for disaster relief and other humanitarian situations. Each system can operate independently with a range of up to eight kilometres, but several systems can also be configured to operate as an integrated network. Multiple stand-alone systems can be interconnected by standard IP networking technology to create a global, private and highly secure GSM network. A centralised system can be set up as a gateway to allow aggregated access to a fixed-line network for inbound and outbound secure and clear calls. The system is available for use in 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz and 1,900 MHz bands (3G is available in 2,100 MHz), and supports both GPRS and EDGE data connectivity with data rates up to 220 kbps. Annother Irish firm, SiRRAN Communications, offers a range of rapidly deployable private cellular networks suited to disaster response applications. Its SiRRAN NET Series allows the creation of a range of self-contained, privately managed mobile networks based on GSM, 3G or LTE, which, the company claims, can be deployed by a single user in under 10 minutes. Both portable and secure the GSMnet has a range of 6.3km and can support more than 1,000 users. ✆

Tim Guest

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SATELLITE

Disaster Response

Securing lives to save more lives How Globalstar’s satellite technologies support initiatives aimed at ensuring safety via satellite for humanitarian aid workers

URING THE MANY unfortunate natural and manmade humanitarian crises faced in Africa, first responders such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) offer a vital lifeline to stricken communities. The dangerous nature of many of today’s humanitarian aid efforts makes it essential for first responders - many of whom are volunteers - to consider their own safety, and that of their equipment, prior to entering the crisis zone. Specifically, a number of crucial communications-based security measures need to be in place to make the NGOs’ tasks easier to accomplish in what are extremely challenging conditions. Consider the start of the Libyan crisis. The first NGO intervention happened very close to the Tunisian-Libyan border, where refugee camps were being set up. Several associations were there at the outset, wanting to help the refugees, the wounded and the homeless but the situation was extremely volatile. There were concerns about sending first responders and equipment into Libya without effective communications back-up. The fixed and cellular networks could not be relied upon, making a mobile satellite-based communications infrastructure the only viable option. We were able to help by providing a number of low-cost tracking solutions based on Globalstar’s mobile satellite communications technologies - the SPOT The SPOT GPS messenger GPS messenger and the SmartOne geolocation Simplex asset tracking device. These solutions, configured to work with VMD’s VMDtrac web-based tracking platform, were used by one of the first NGOs to enter Libya, to monitor the position of volunteers, vehicles, equipment and specialist medical kit as they provided humanitarian aid. We provided Globalstar’s SPOT GPS Messenger to track, in real time, the first responders working on-site as they helped with the organisation of refugees and with aid distribution (blankets, food, medical supplies, etc). Prior to embarking on the mission, a number of pre-agreed alerts were configured for the SPOT tracker via VMDtrac. In this particular case, the NGO chose to include the following alerts: ‘SOS’ (to be used in the case of a kidnapping); ‘Help’ (for any medical emergency); ‘OK’ (to send a message each time the user starts/finishes a task); and a ‘need water and/or meal’ custom message.

The intuitive VMDtrac web interface includes an alerts dashboard. When an alert is sent from a volunteer in the field, the alert is flashed up onto the central dashboard immediately, showing the SPOT tracker’s exact location and making it easy for the director back at base to share the SOS alert with the local emergency services, where appropriate – for example in the case of a kidnapping. If the dashboard is not being monitored for any reason, the alert is sent immediately as an email to designated email addresses, and as a text message to designated mobile phone numbers. We also provided the same NGO with the Globalstar SmartOne geolocation solution so that they could monitor cost-effectively, in real-time, their valuable mobile assets such as vehicles, containers and medical equipment. SmartOne, in conjunction with our VMDtrac platform, provided the NGO with a flexible, low-cost way to track and trace the position of their assets, be alerted to any unauthorised movement, and extract reports and statistics that could be used to resolve problems such as missing kit. Geofencing alerts were also configured so that the team back at base would receive information in real-time every time a vehicle or valuable piece of equipment left the camp, or a suspicious movement was registered. A second aid association, which organised a medical caravan destined for Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi, also chose to use the VMD/Globalstar personal tracking system during its mission. The SPOT tracker reassured the medical team that they could get in touch in an emergency using the SOS, and also allowed the team back at base to monitor in real-time their location - via their GPS coordinates - and act immediately in the event of an emergency. This NGO mandated that the aid workers must use the tracking service each time they left the camp or the caravan. This meant that the team supervisor received updates every ten minutes on the geographical position of all aid workers who were out of the camp or away from a designated ‘safe’ area and could raise the alarm in the case of an incident. Without the invaluable safety net provided by low-cost mobile satellite-based tracking systems, aid workers would struggle to undertake many of their tasks safely. What we do is help to provide peace of mind for field workers and their supervisors as they in turn seek to help the vulnerable and the displaced during humanitarian crises. ✆

Without the invaluable safety net provided by low-cost mobile satellite-based tracking systems, aid workers would struggle to undertake many of their tasks safely

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www.communicationsafrica.com

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INFRASTRUCTURE

TIC

Autour d’appui pour atteindre un niveau avancé

NE DÉLÉGATION LIBYENNE s'est mise en rapport avec l'UIT récemment en vue de se doter d'une infrastructure des TIC digne des pays les plus performants au monde dans ce secteur. Le chef de la délégation libyenne, M. Mohamad Benrasali, Ministre adjoint des communications et de l'informatique, a sollicité l'appui de l'UIT pour élaborer un plan directeur visant à moderniser l'infrastructure des TIC de la Libye, afin que celle-ci puisse "non seulement se hisser au niveau des pays les plus avancés dans ce domaine, mais aussi jouer un rôle d'avant-garde sur le plan mondial". Selon M. Benrasali, "le secteur des TIC de la Libye présente un certain nombre de perspectives et de défis, lesquels pourraient se traduire par des avancées majeures en termes de croissance économique, de création d'emploi et de transformation des services publics, notamment". M. Benrasali a déclaré que le plan directeur

www.communicationsafrica.com

"Je me réjouis du retour de la Libye sur la scène internationale, et au vu de l'enthousiasme de ses nouveaux dirigeants, dont la connaissance approfondie des TIC ne laisse pas d'impressionner, je ne doute pas que ce pays ne devienne rapidement un acteur de premier plan du secteur mondial des TIC, et ne réduise la fracture numérique au niveau national" - Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, Secrétaire général de l'UIT viserait notamment à établir un cadre réglementaire qui favorise les investissements visant à développer le secteur des TIC et à reconstruire les infrastructures, et a affirmé que le renforcement des capacités ferait partie intégrante de ce plan. En outre, le chef de la délégation a indiqué que le Gouvernement libyen voyait dans le cybergouvernement un outil efficace pour fournir des services publics, et a évoqué

l'initiative "e-Libya", qui vise à redynamiser l'administration publique. "Cette initiative s'appuie sur les applications intelligentes et comporte un certain nombre d'objectifs stratégiques visant à instaurer une économie de la connaissance grâce aux TIC", a-t-il déclaré. L'initiative e-Lybia porte sur la transparence des institutions publiques, le cybergouvernement, le cybercommerce et la cyberéducation. ✆

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Cloud

Finding older networks in the cloud How to use the tools to build a telecommunications company’s cloud profile with a multi-stack approach

NSN has been reinforcing its multi-stack approach to cloud architecture for telecommunications

OKIA SOLUTIONS AND Networks (NSN) has been reinforcing its multistack approach to cloud architecture for telecommunications companies, to give operators fuller flexibility in their choice of cloud platforms. In recent trials and proof of concept projects with Tier 1 operators, the company demonstrated the reliability of its core virtualisation solution and its capability to adapt information technology and cloud platforms to meet the demands of a telco cloud operation.

Quicker, cheaper and more rewarding Cloud computing technology is expected to help organisations achieve higher operational efficiency, greater flexibility, faster time-toservice and lower CAPEX and OPEX. NSN will continue to build on its experience and leadership position in telco cloud by leveraging common off-the-shelf hardware and any industry-dominant cloud stacks. The company’s approach to telco cloud, which is based on its Liquid Core architecture, will enable mobile networks to support several cloud stacks simultaneously, achieving maximum flexibility while protecting investments. “NSN supports multiple stack solutions such as OpenStack and VMware,” said Thorsten Robrecht, vice-president of MBB portfolio management at NSN. “As well as enabling operators to increase the flexibility

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“Cloud computing technology is expected to help organisations achieve higher operational efﬁciency and agility of core network infrastructure, we are committed to creating a telco cloud ecosystem that supports the co-existence of traditional networks and cloud environments and gives operators the option of choosing the most competitive hardware and cloud platform for their specific needs. “Our recent proof of concept projects demonstrated in practice how we enable telco cloud by running our core network software on top of virtualised network infrastructure. In the process, we are moving from the virtualisation of single network elements to full cloud orchestration, including cloud application management.”

Collaboration on cloud provision NSN also offers the cloud-ready NetAct 8 solution, which helps simplify network operations, reduce operational expenses and deliver very high availability. NetAct 8 includes the NSN Cloud Application Manager, which provides off-the-shelf management, orchestration and elasticity for

virtual network functions. NSN’s multi-stack cloud approach demonstrates the company’s commitment to further developing carrier-grade telco cloud solutions. NSN is working closely on cloud technology with operators - and also with cloud stack vendors such as VMware Inc, open source cloud platforms such as OpenStack and the ETSI Network Functions Virtualisation Industry Specification (NFV) Group. VMware’s virtualisation and cloud technology is widely deployed in enterprises and operator data centres. NSN is working with VMware to address requirements for virtual network functions and further improve cloud technology for carrier-grade telco clouds. OpenStack is open source software for building clouds that enable businesses to roll out new products, add new features, and improve internal systems while preventing technology lock-in. NSN collaborates with the OpenStack Foundation to address the requirements of network function virtualisation and the NSN telco cloud solution. Furthermore, NSN shares operator objectives for network function virtualisation software functions, and the elimination of proprietary hardware components. This work covers data and control plane functions, multi-tenancy, and automation as well as capabilities to enhance network flexibility and scalability with carrier grade security and resiliency. ✆

www.communicationsafrica.com

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Cloud

E-mail in a new enterprise space Making messages, and taking messages, using advanced network architecture and services

N TODAY’S HECTIC business world, dominated by the Internet of things, more companies have become reliant upon email, which, in turn, has fuelled the demand for more powerful mail servers. Ukuvuma Solutions, a South African provider of ICT solutions and support to the engineering, mining and construction market, believes the cloud represents the most effective solution to server maintenance and optimised performance. Gary Lamprecht, technical consultant at Ukuvuma Solutions, says these powerful mail servers have been located on a company’s premises and susceptible to the risk of hardware failure and/or theft. “There is the possibility of downtime in both the previous cases or in the case that the Internet connection at the office drops, you might also experience some downtime. You also have to maintain these servers and keep their software updated to have the functionality and stability that is required,” says Lamprecht. The cloud is a credible, viable solution addressing the risk of having on-premises servers. “What is the cloud? In short the cloud is multiple computers, which could be in different geographic locations to store your data on, and access your data via the Internet. This means that you can access your data from virtually anywhere where you have Internet available. This provides you with a convenient way to safely store your data, and have the peace of mind that your data will not be lost in the case that anything happens to your servers,” he continues.

The cloud is a credible, viable solution addressing the risk of having onpremises servers password into Outlook when this platform is being set up, and, with the auto-discover records on the user’s Internet domain, Outlook will configure server settings, etc. “This is how simple and easy it is to connect to a hosted exchange server. You can also connect to your Outlook from anywhere, even if you do not have your computer with you, you can connect to the Outlook Web App (OWA) from any Internet browser, and you will be connected to your mails. As your mail server is an exchange server, any changes that you make on your Outlook client will be synchronised back to the exchange server, and your mail sorting, etc, will look exactly the same on your OWA as it looked on your computer at the Office or at home,” Lamprecht says.

Architecture enabling enterprise Exchange servers are in constant sync with the Outlook client, and anything that is done in

the Outlook client, while offline, will be synced to the exchange server as soon as the user goes online again. The user is connected to the hosted exchange servers in exactly the same way that he or she is connected to an on-premises exchange server - with one small difference: there is no need for exchange experts to constantly monitor the exchange server and keep it up to date, as this is all done by the providers of the hosted exchange servers. These servers are updated with the latest software shortly after the updates or new software is released. They are also backed up in different geographic locations, which mean that if a data centre goes down, a user’s mail will still be accessible from a different data centre. “There is also no need to fear that your data can be accessed by anyone else, as there are multiple privacy compliance frameworks that protects your data from being accessed that has to be adhered to by the providers of your hosted exchange server,” says Lamprecht. Ukuvuma Solutions is therefore upbeat about the development of core server architecture and application to enable more businesses to take advantage of the benefits of having mail hosted in the cloud. ✆

Catching the mail on the net There are a lot of solutions to host your mail in the cloud. However, Ukuvuma Solutions raises the questions: Do they suit your needs? Is it compatible for the fast-paced environment in which we live today? Do you have the facilities to find mail or keep mail, in case of legal situations? All of the above-mentioned questions are relevant today and can be easily answered with mail being hosted in the cloud. Lamprecht adds that exchange servers are hosted in the cloud today, and it is simply a matter of entering an email address and

www.communicationsafrica.com

Ukuvuma Solutions aims to help more businesses take advantage of the benefits of having mail hosted in the cloud

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ÉCONOMIE

L’inclusion numérique

L’inclusion numérique et le développement durable Alcatel-Lucent accompagne les associations Injaz dans des programmes de développement pédagogique pour les communautés au Maroc et en Egypte

U MAROC ET en Egypte, AlcatelLucent accompagne les associations Injaz. Ce partenariat a pour objectif de soutenir les programmes de développement pédagogiques au Maroc et en Egypte. Les associations Injaz ont pour but de préparer les élèves des écoles, lycées et universités a entrer sur le marché du travail en étant qualifiés et compétents a travers la mise en place de programmes qui aspire a développer le sens des responsabilités, a susciter chez ces jeunes l’esprit d’initiative et d’entreprendre, stimuler leur créativité, leur faire découvrir l’environnement de l’Entreprise et de la vie économique mais aussi contribuer à la consolidation des liens entre l'enseignement et le monde de l'entreprise. Ces associations encouragent la participation du secteur privé et l’engagement des cadres d’entreprises bénévoles dans des programmes éducatifs. Avec le support des associations Injaz Al Maghrib au Maroc et en Egypte , les employés d’Alcatel-Lucent participent en tant que bénévoles d’entreprise citoyenne et responsable a différents programmes de développement éducatif : En Egypte avec le programme « Adopt a School » (Adopter une Ecole) et au Maroc avec le programme « Enterepreneurship Masterclass program » (Programme Entreprenariat Masterclass- les deux associations sont membres du Junior Achievement Worldwide leader mondial en matière d'éducation à l'entrepreneuriat. Injaz est une association reconnue d'utilité publique qui mobilise le secteur privé auprès de la 24 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

jeunesse pour contribuer à l'émergence d'une nouvelle génération d'entrepreneurs. Les bénévoles, mentors d’Alcatel-Lucent, partagent leur experiences et leur competences avec les jeunes en leur offrant une formation pratique sur les moyens pour réussir dans le secteur privé.

De la méthode pédagogique Les différents programmes des associations Injaz amènent les élèves à créer une junior entreprise, à maitriser les bases de la finance ou à se préparer aux challenges de la vie active. Des cadres d’entreprise bénévoles interviennent dans les établissements publics pour dispenser selon la méthode pédagogique fondée sur l’apprentissage par l’action « learning by doing ». Au terme des sessions de cours des associations Injaz, les élèves achèvent leurs cursus d’enseignement avec assurance et confiance dans leurs capacités, avec une vision pour planifier leur carrière et les compétences nécessaires pour réussir dans le monde du travail. Ils ont aussi un réseau de mentors venant de divers horizons professionnels sur lesquels ils peuvent compter. Les programmes d’Injaz offrent aussi à ceux qui ont réussi dans le secteur privé la chance et la possibilité de donner un coup de main aux générations futures. Bishalakhi Ghosh, Directrice de la Fondation Alcatel-Lucent a déclaré: «L'engagement de la Fondation à ces projets s'inscrit dans le cadre des initiatives d'Alcatel-Lucent à travers le monde pour favoriser l’inclusion numérique et le développement durable. L’un des objectifs

principaux de l'activité de la Fondation est le soutien des programmes d'éducation et d’enseignement pour les jeunes. Cette mission est d’autant plus renforcée par l’engagement des salariés d'Alcatel-Lucent pour le volontariat, par leur volonté à investir leur temps, a partager leur expérience personnelle et compétences professionnelles pour aider les communautés dans lesquelles ils vivent et travaillent. Au cours de ces programmes, les élèves étudiants développeront l'attitude, le comportement, la confiance et les compétences nécessaires afin de construire un avenir durable et solide et contribuer à la société avec succès ». Mhammed Abbad Andaloussi, Président Directeur Général d’Injaz Al Maghrib: « Nous sommes ravis de compter Alcatel-Lucent parmi nos partenaires. Nous avons été impressionnés par la qualité d’intervention de ses employés bénévoles à coacher les 480 élèves du collège Laayoune avec un grand enthousiasme et à les initier au monde de l'entreprise. Nous sommes convaincus que ces volontaires seront prêts à renouveler l’expérience et l’engagement avec nous dans d’autres projets futurs ». Il a ajouté: « Un grand merci à Alcatel-Lucent pour son engagement envers les jeunes ». Mireille Nashaat, responsable des programmes d’Injaz Egypte : « Chaque minute offerte par les bénévoles est un grand pas en avant pour valoriser et inspirer la prochaine génération de jeunes Égyptiens qui représentent le catalyseur du changement et dans un avenir proche le moteur de l’avenir économique de l'Egypte ». ✆ www.communicationsafrica.com

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FINANCE

Remittances

Minutes and money on African mobile devices The value of international mobile top-up in the battle for the continent’s burgeoning market for remittances services

NTERNATIONAL MOBILE TOP-UP (IMTU) is fast becoming the next big thing in both the telecommunications and remittance services markets. Berg Insight estimated that international top-ups doubled in size between 2011 and 2012. Expectation is that 2013 will have seen growth that at least repeats that rate. More and more of the millions of people living and working abroad are using IMTU to top-up the mobile phones of loved ones back “home”. The forces driving the recent rapid growth in international mobile airtime transfers are likely to strengthen in the foreseeable future. Workforces and populations are increasingly mobile. Wireless communications are becoming cheaper and more widespread. The basic need of humans to stay in touch will always be with us as will the need of a medium of exchange that is cheap, easy and secure. IMTU is the field on which telecommunications and money remittance are doing battle. This has become a conflict fought on many fronts.

Platforms and services On one front, there is a battle of the platforms. Telecommunications, Financial Services and third party are involved in regular skirmishes to determine the best overall basis to deliver the required capabilities in the best way to end customers. Others see a hub-based approach; allowing other platforms to ‘plug into’ each other via the hub will be the way to win. Raging on the second front is the battle for customer ownership. Is the customer sending a remittance in kind over a mobile phone network a mobile customer or a financial services customer? Is it the mobile brand or the financial services brand that is key? What does the customer trust most? Who can deliver most to the customer, understands the customer most? Each side will vehemently argue their relative merits but such battles are largely meaningless. The winner will the company that can deliver trusted, reliable and convenient good value services, regardless of what industry label, if any, the winner sticks on themselves. And the final front is made up of the battle for the market in terms of demand and supply.

www.communicationsafrica.com

Capturing revenue from new forms of finance On the demand flank, many people want to be sure that that the money they send home is spent on the ‘right’ things, rather than wasted or used to fund ‘bad’ habits. IMTU has a lower risk of theft or misappropriation compared to the more traditional cash remittances. In the case of IMTU, people sending the remittance in kind can also be sure that those back home have enough credit to stay in touch. Those back home also have fewer worries about the cost of those long that highly valued calls to those now living many miles away. Mobile minutes are also increasingly becoming pseudo currency in many African states. Airtime credits are being transferred between phones, traded for cash or used in bartering negotiations. The ease of sending mobile top-up abroad has fuelled the growth of ‘money in minutes’ as workers abroad use IMTU as a very low cost alternative to more traditional international remittance services. A recent report in The Economist magazine highlighted that in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana and Uganda mobile minutes are commonly accepted in shops as currency. The value of minutes, unlike traditional money (even of the mobile variety), is not directly linked to government fiscal or monetary policies and practices. Minutes are bought immediately and anonymously, without often lengthy and awkward process of setting up an account of some sort at a more traditional financial institution. Most African networks also allow minutes to be transferred for free. All of these factors make minutes an attractive alternative to cash.

The supply flank of the market has also boosted growth. Telcos are increasingly recognising that IMTU represents a growth opportunity in several ways. First, they can capture revenue from citizens now living abroad, expanding their revenue streams way beyond their normal geographic borders. Secondly, IMTU represents a way of capturing a slice of the huge remittance market without the need to navigate through an ocean of regulatory, process and license requirements. Similarly, remittance firms are increasingly developing platforms that are more flexible so they can offer more add on services, such as IMTU, to their client base. By offering more services, money transfer companies can increase their revenue and generate greater customer loyalty. There are also other parties, such as retailers and distributors, which can play a key part in this developing value chain by making services available to their customers, uncovering more revenue from more loyal customers. If there is to be an eventual winner in the remittance in kind wars, the victors will need more than network, product or platform functionality. Merely being able to offer the service is a necessary but not sufficient condition for success. Of course, you have to be able to deliver the functionality to deliver mobile top-up across borders reliably, securely and quickly. But without distribution, insight and marketing support, that functionality is like water on the sand. ✆

Christophe Justens, VP - global services at IDT

Transforming lives through mobile financial transactions MAHINDRA COMVIVA RECENTLY won top honours at the third Frost and Sullivan Growth Leadership awards ceremony. Mahindra Comviva’s mobiquity platform was named as the mobile financial solution of 2013. The award is a validation of Mahindra Comviva’s commitment to transform lives through mobile financial transactions for the banked and unbanked. Globally, Mahindra Comviva’s platform has successfully processed more than 10bn transactions, impacting seven per cent of the world’s population. Srinivas Nidugondi, senior VP and head of mobile financial solutions at Mahindra Comviva, said, “Our mobiquity platform is a result of our constant effort to innovate and create a safe, secured, convenient environment to provide instant non-cash transactions at any time and from anywhere.” The Frost & Sullivan awards recognise companies that have pushed the boundaries of excellence, rising above the competition and demonstrating outstanding performance. The awards are based entirely on the merit of the product, service, or technology being evaluated.

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

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FINANCE

Banking

Making money smarter, and even more profitable Digital banking through smartphones is increasingly delivering cohesive customer relationships in West Africa

TANDARD CHARTERED'S BREEZE mobile application delivers an exciting dimension of digitisation to its customers. The revolutionary move by the bank is transforming the digital space in the Ghana’s financial services industry. Hitherto, the sophistication and increased expectation of the average Ghanaian banking customer has influenced banks to adopt a new way of thinking; a thinking that is defined by how to drive a cohesive relationship with the customer.

Standard Chartered’s internal research revealed that customers now wish for simpler and faster banking; be it at the branch, on phones or via mobile networks. The Breeze mobile banking app was borne out of a desire to make banking simpler by creating an intuitive, plain-speaking smartphone interface. Breeze allows customers, among other functions, quick and easy access to their accounts, the ability to transfer funds, pay bills and top up of mobile phone credits.

The Breeze mobile banking app was borne out of a desire to make banking simpler by creating an intuitive, plain-speaking smartphone interface

The Breeze mobile banking app allows customers quick and easy access to their mobile banking accounts

26 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

A brand new promise Speaking about Breeze recently, Standard Chartered Bank's executive director for consumer banking, Andrew Okai said, “The launch of Breeze is part of our bank’s global focus on digitisation. With smartphone penetration at 18 per cent in Ghana and currently set to double within the next three years or less, we at Standard Chartered have taken the lead. In line with our brand promise of Here for good, to extend our customers digital lifestyle into banking. Digitisation in the banking sector will not only transform banking services but the Ghanaian economy as a whole through the opening of job opportunities in related sectors including the telecommunication, payment services and electronic manufacturing.”

A brand new promise Standard Chartered has been in Ghana since 1896. Today, it employs around a thousand staff. It offers a wide range of personal and SME banking products and services in Ghana, through its branch network, Priority Centres and Lounges and SME Centres. Its consumer banking business offers solutions including employee banking, SME banking, general retail banking and premium banking services. It is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. It ranks among the top 15 companies in the Club100 rankings by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). The bank’s focus and commitment to developing deep relationships with clients and customers has driven its consistent growth in recent years. With 24 branches, 13 Priority Centres and lounges, two SME Centres - supported by 52 ATMs across Ghana, Standard Chartered offers exciting product propositions for customers and clients as well as career opportunities for close to 1,000 staff in the West African country. It is committed to building a sustainable business over the long-term in Ghana and is trusted worldwide for upholding high standards of corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection and employee diversity. ✆

www.communicationsafrica.com

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INNOVATIONS

Devices and Services

Smart projects from UKTI@MWC There will be significant British participation at this year's Mobile World Congress, as before. This year, equipment and services produced in the United Kingdom are presented by UK Trade & Investment at MWC under the Smart UK Project banner. Many of those described here, which have worked with UKTI, will be seen in Barcelona in February 2014. 23 Snaps SOCIAL NETWORKING DOESN’T have to be an open forum for sharing everything with everyone. Megan Fitzgerald at 23 Snaps (www.23snaps.com) speaks of solving three main problems for families using images online and in social media: privacy, connection, and automation. Its app is free, userfriendly and quick to upload - and it makes sharing images a completely safe and secure process.

ETAOI Systems THE QWERTY KEYBOARD is revamped and revolutionised for the mobile market by ETAOI Systems (etaoisystems.com), with its 5-Tiles keyboard, which is particularly well-suited to smart watches. The company claims users of its keyboard have achieved impressive average speeds of 35-45 words per minute, and maximum speeds of 109 wpm. At the 2014 Mobile World Congress ETAOI wants to increase its user base and make connections with manufacturers and developers who might be interested in the commercial potential of 5-Tiles as a keyboard for smartphones, and as an interface for wearable computers.

AlphaFox Systems

Blue Maestro HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL issues are addressed by accessories from Blue Maestro (www.bluemaestro.com), which is launching unique devices such as Tempo, a smart temperature sensor. It has developed, also, iPacify for the baby gear market - "the world's smartest dummy". iPacify is at prototype stage, but it is a promising development, allowing parents to log when children takes medication, alongside a record of changes temperature (with the Tempo smart thermometer), and to use this information to monitor health during illness and recovery.

Lowdown INFORMATION SECURITY IS a key concern at Lowdown (www.lowdownapp.co), and the company specialises in secure information integration with personal scheduling information and services. Its service, lowdownapp, keeps busy professionals informed, prepared, and up-to-date.

Movirtu CARSTEN BRINKSHULTE AT Movirtu (www.movirtu.com) speaks of software for mobile operators, and Movirtu's development of a virtual SIM platform to enable users to extend the range of their devices. Movirtu's CloudPhone extends virtual mobile numbers to tablets and laptops for mobile calling. A white-labelled solution, Movirtu CloudPhone allows mobile operators to extend the reach of mobile services to non-SIM devices, bringing operators’ mobile numbers to the internet. Operators can raise revenue by providing Virtual SIMs to existing subscribers (and other operators’ subscribers), from upgraded plans, and from terminating calls. Operators can also boost roaming revenues via CloudPhone, while at the same time users can benefit from reduced roaming costs online.

www.communicationsafrica.com

Geosho

ALPHAFOX SYSTEMS (www.alphafoxsystems.com) develops and provides innovative anti-counterfeiting technology, where the tag cannot be replicated and the reader does not rely on a remote database or human intervention to verify authenticity. Security and personal identification is managed by Crystal Chip, a patented technology developed and marketed by AlphaFox Systems, using a unique identifier to protect individuals conducting transactions online.

SATcase INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES TO ensure efficient remote communications with satellite services, the case developed by SATcase (www.satcase.com) can transform a standard smartphone into a satellite phone, ensuring that its user can communicate no matter where in the world they are. The device contains a 406 beacon that can help SAR teams locate people quickly and accurately and is also capable of reaching frequencies that can be utilised by SAR teams searching by land, air or sea.

Peachinc A MOBILE TEXTING company, Peachinc (www.peachinc.com) allows firms to send promotional texts, including QR codes. Its biggest market is in Saudi Arabia, where it works within the soccer industry. Mobile SMS/text tickets cannot be duplicated or counterfeited and are 100 per cent secure. Peachinc provides its customers with the ability to sell tickets 24 hours a day, seven days a week - either online via a custom designed website which is branded for the customer company or through a local call centre.

GEOSHO (GEOSHO.COM) PROVIDES people with practical tools that exploit the benefits of location-based information, digital mapping and smartphones, helping them to learn more about where they are selling products, which properties are being visited, and how to place and publish stories, history, even poetry in relation to their location. It can deliver innovative location-based payment authentication methods and intuitive systems that can guide people's journeys across urban and rural spaces using public transport. Its intelligent location based systems can learn from the activities of their users. Geosho MD Paul Sandham speaks on transport and connectivity, on the simplification of public transport information systems. Geosho's system learns transport maps and behaviours.

SOMA Analytics EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMMES, using mobile device, seem set to increase employee emotional resilience. The world's first mobile resilience programme, developed by SOMA Analytics, combats stress, particularly in workplace environments - to increase mental resilience and reduce the risk of depression, anxiety and other factors with negative impact on productivity. The company's mental resilience programme builds on two essential pillars: turning the smartphone into a measurement device; and personalised Interventions based on data collected devices.

SOMA Analytics enables measurement of employees' stress levels - including sleep patterns

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

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BROADCAST

Digital

Monitoring and migrating for quality in the new digital era African broadcasters are busy working on projects related to the digital TV switchover, due to be implemented by January 2015, as the prospect of monitoring more data looms

HE ITU’S 2015 deadline for migration from analog to digital terrestrial television (DTT) is just around the corner, and most broadcasters globally are hard at work planning or implementing their projects. The switchover has major implications for broadcaster’s Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring function; not least due to the increase in the number of services being broadcast. Broadcasters should be factoring this into their plans and budgets. Although the digital migration is a governmental-initiated policy aimed at freeing up spectrum, it brings significant benefits for broadcasters, allowing them to offer the consumer: • improved picture and sound quality. • a wider choice of audio and video channels. • greater choice as to how to experience channels (stereo vs Dolby, multiple language tracks, sub titles etc). • enhanced electronic programme guide (EPG). • teletext services with enhanced images. • a wide range of interactive services such as e-banking, education, etc (where a return path exists).

Monitoring more than before This means that in the post switchover environment, there will be a lot more services to be monitored than at present. Many of the services such as the enhanced EPG or extra subtitles cannot be effectively monitored by human eyes trained on a traditional composite video mosaic. In fact any monitoring system that is dependent on having one set top box (STB) per channel and a process that composites STB output into a mosaic, is not fitfor purpose in the digital TV era. This is because the STB’s output is only a single set of services such as audio channels, sub-titles, etc - so a lot of data is being lost before it even gets to the monitoring hardware. Furthermore, analog and digital transmissions react differently to interference and so bring different monitoring challenges. Weak analog signals cause noise and degrade the quality of the image though it may still be watchable. DTT on the other hand, suffers from the so-called ‘cliff effect’ where electromagnetic interference or a degraded transmission can cause the picture to be either 28 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

The ‘cliff effect’, where electromagnetic interference or a degraded transmission can cause the picture to be either perfect or non-existent

perfect or non-existent. The implication is that a monitoring system based on visual cues is not sufficient to understand what is going on with a digital TV signal.

Enhancing experiences

has been pre-selected in an STB). It can go much deeper into the broadcast streams to detect quality problems. Furthermore it provides the alert and status outputs in an IP format that can be easily distributed to wherever it is needed (whether at engineer or management levels, via video wall, console, website or even mobile device). In addition, broadcasters can enhance the value they get from their investment in this eco-system by adding new functions such as loudness or advert monitoring. Because it is a softwarebased approach, it can also scale as the business grows. The DTT migration promises to enhance the viewing experience for TV audiences all around the world, while providing greater choice. Broadcasters are putting significant time and resources into ensuring that they deliver on this promise. But as with any service, the only way to ensure they are achieving consistently high quality levels is to monitor their output. In order to achieve that, they need to have a QoS monitoring approach that is appropriate for the digital TV era. ✆

This approach has significant advantages in that it allows the full digital video broadcast (DVB) table to be monitored (not just what

Eamonn Ryan, chief marketing officer, Hambisana

Broadcasters should be looking seriously at the approach pioneered by Hambisana when it developed its ‘Digilant’ suite of DVB monitoring products. That is: • use a best-of-breed DVB-to-IP encapsulator to convert the broadcast stream into IP (rather than using set-top-boxes). • use sophisticated software algorithms to monitor the IP streams for out-of-bounds conditions (based on the TR101-290 standards). • use a desktop computer/console rather than a video wall as the primary means of viewing and examining alerts. The traditional video confidence monitoring mosaic can still be provided, though using a different software-based approach. While still useful, it isn’t strictly necessary.

www.communicationsafrica.com

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BROADCAST

Planning for the 4K transition The research, design, development and provision of the next generation of broadcast infrastructure

HEN WE LOOK back to the dawn of consumer video, we always had to choose between different formats and brands. How many people today remember the VHS versus Betamax home video market war? Professional broadcasters face the same challenges. The standard definition (SD) to high definition (HD) transition is still in progress. Delivery formats change, distribution of content is more versatile than ever: terrestrial, cable, satellite, IPTV and OTT and so on. In recent years we have witnessed the introduction of stereoscopic television. It didn’t get the expected market share and its popularity sharply dropped after the first impression of cool novelty. The lack of meaningful content and the constraints of the viewing environment made it something to try but not to experience on a daily basis. The trend now is towards 4K/UltraHD television. Is it just the next buzz word or is it here to stay? 4K/UltraHD is roughly four times the 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution of HD and delivers much better picture quality. It brings new challenges to the broadcast workflow: four times the storage capacity, four times the processing power, four times the delivery bandwidth, four times the rendering time.

Progressively better broadcasts The best thing about 4K/UHD is not just the resolution but the parameters defined in the new ITU.R–Rec. 2020: larger colour space and progressive-only frame rate. This delivers the much needed update of the current Rec. 709 (first approved in the early 1990s). Dealing with progressive-only frames finally cuts the holdover from the analog broadcast use of interlaced video. Rec.2020 specifies - Picture temporal characteristics: Frame frequency (Hz) 120, 60, 60/1.001, 50, 30, 30/1.001, 25, 24, 24/1.001. Scan mode: Progressive. ITU.R – Rec. 2020 identifies D65 as the white point of its colour space, located at [0.3127, 0.3290], the same as in Rec. 709. The differences are the available gamut and the fact that Rec. 709 is limited to 8-bit depth, whereas Rec. 2020 supports 10- and 12-bit depth. This apparently equates to a 75.8 per cent coverage of the CIE 1931 colour space compared to Rec. 709 s 35.9 per cent coverage. www.communicationsafrica.com

Ready for the next stages? All of this indicates that the 4K/UHD is a step in the right direction and is here to stay. The question is: How soon we need to be ready to support 4K/UHD in our workflow? The answer is different for the various stages of production, post-production, playout and delivery. In the production case, adopting the technology immediately makes the most sense. It is a cardinal rule always to make acquisition of content at the highest possible resolution, frame rate, etc. Various manufacturers offer 4K/UHD equipment which is now widely used in modern digital cameras. Down-converted 4K is used for monitoring during shooting due to the lack of proper 4K monitoring equipment. Post-production is a little different. Storage, CPU and rendering time requirements are four times higher; HD proxies are normally used during editing. Original material is always available to conform the final edit when 4K/UHD output is necessary. The higher resolution of the source material is very helpful when compositing or if other forms of content manipulation are needed. Playout is one of the most challenging stages due to the variety of requirements and the amounts of metadata needed to co-exist with the media assets. Starting from the ingest part, this is a completely different task from the camera content acquisition. Typically we ingest from satellite feeds or files and it is essential to

preserve all metadata embedded and accompanying the content. Ancillary data such as AFD, closed captioning, time code is also very important because changing of formats, aspect ratio and up/down conversions need to be performed during playout. Audio language descriptors and loudness/true-peak information are equally important in order to assign the audio languages to the outputs properly and to obey the mandatory loudness requirements. The most important characteristic of a playout system is that it should be built on a format agnostic engine. It must also be easy to add new input or output plugins to handle the desired format while the core logic remains the same. This allows for unchanged workflow from a user prospective. Such an engine can also scale character generation and graphics to the needed resolution, allowing the mixing of all available content in a single playlist. Re-purposing of content is one of the most common requirements in television broadcasting and is made possible by rescaling/frame-rateconverting HD content which can be used together with native 4K/UHD content. Real-time processing is essential. Monitoring is also very important. The 4K monitoring solutions offered on the market don’t always cover the whole workflow which needs to include distribution of the signal to multi-viewers for example. A flexible playout engine can deliver different formats in parallel Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

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BROADCAST

and accommodate the current infrastructure for monitoring while delivering the 4K signal. Delivering the content to the end user is another challenge and one which is currently the biggest obstacle 4k/UHD broadcast meets. The bandwidth requirements are hard to overcome in the technical and economic sense so new compression codecs like the HEVCh.265 are expected to evolve and contribute to the adoption of 4K.

Ready now for the future Big worldwide TV broadcast events like the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio have been planned for broadcasting in 4K. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are planned to be broadcast in 8K. In conclusion, the most important part of planning any upgrade is to future-proof the infrastructure. During the transition period, mixed format content and metadata will need to

be used and co-exist in the same environment. Format handling and signal flow are one aspect but equally important are the workflow changes from the user prospective. Adding extra steps always lead to issues with productivity and the necessity for additional training which may be significant obstacles to overcome. ✆

Plamen Georgiev, chief product officer, PlayBox Technology

CABSAT connects with NAB to boost broadcasting A PROFESSIONAL CONTENT management event serving the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), CABSAT has formed an alliance with the USA’s National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB Show), in order to collaborate on the latest trends, technologies and innovations in the global broadcasting and media market. The CABSAT-NAB Show conference programme has been prepared to complement a range of additional new features, technology demonstrations, knowledge exchange platforms and themed exhibiting zones – such as the Content Delivery Hub, a sector focused on over the top (OTT) technologies delivering ‘anywhere, anytime’

digital and video content - at CABSAT’s milestone 20th anniversary show, running 11-13 March at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). CABSAT 2014 will bring together visitors from 110 countries and more than 900 exhibitors and will feature aspects of the broader media and satellite spheres including: acquisition and production; pro/broadcast audio, management systems, post-production, content and communication, distribution and delivery, satellite and communications and connected devices.

www.cabsat.com

ABS-2 flies from Kourou THE ABS-2 SPACECRAFT commissioned by Asia Broadcast Satellite was successfully launched into space recently on an Ariane ECA launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Space port in Kourou, French Guiana. ABS-2 was manufactured by Space Systems/Loral (SSL). It is a highly sophisticated multimission satellite, featuring up to 89 active C, Ku and Ka-band transponders across 10 different beams. ABS-2 brings unparalleled coverage and expansion capacity at ABS’ prime location of 75

30 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

ABS operates a fleet of five satellites, including ABS-2 - and the operator has ordered two new satellites, slated for launch in the next two years.

degrees East, extending affordable and reliable communications and broadcast services to the emerging markets of the world. Tom Choi, CEO of ABS, said, “Our customers are looking forward to the new capacity on ABS-2 at 75E, a new state of the art satellite serving the Eastern hemisphere. The ABS-2 satellite will significantly contribute towards our expansion plans and is part of our growth strategy to increase the ABS satellite fleet and and becoming a global satellite operator in the coming years.”

www.communicationsafrica.com

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PROFILE

Belintersat

Get your place in the space!

elarus is situated in the heart of Europe and on the crossroads to Russia and Asia, which makes our country the centre of economic life on the Eurasian continent. Telecommunications is one of the most attractive areas for investment and innovation, in which our country has succeeded lately. The Belintersat project is the pride of our small but very forward-looking and ambitious country, because it is a republican project with international potential. Aligned to different governmental innovations and supporting programmes in this particular sphere, a contract for a satellite project was signed in August 2012. The construction of the Belintersat-1 satellite commenced in July 2013. The main goals underpinning the satellite programme are: • Deployment and operation of the satellite network, complementing existing communication networks in the Belarus. • Implementation of advanced communication technologies for the communication needs of governmental and private Belarusian companies. • Satellite-based sub-projects including DTH Broadcasting and VSAT services for customers in all our covering areas. A new national broadcasting and communication satellite system will be based on the Belintersat1 satellite. This communication and broadcasting satellite will be placed at the orbital position of 51.5 degrees East on a geostationary orbit and will use a Belarusian planned orbital-frequency resource, together with a Chinese unplanned orbital-frequency resource in this position, in

accordance with the required frequency for the satellite polarisation plan. Our organisation is the owner, provider and the satellite operator for the Republic of Belarus. We will provide satellite resource for leasing and selling to other companies and operators. The satellite can perform a wide range of telecommunications services, including satellite television broadcasting and satellite access to the Internet. The launch is scheduled for the end of 2015, at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre (PRC). The service life of the satellite is scheduled to be 15 years. General specifications of the new satellite are: Orbital position: 51.5° E Orbital tolerance: ±0.05° Payload: C-band, 20@36 MHz, CL/CR; Ku-band, 18@36 MHz, 4@54 MHz, H/V Platform: DFH-4 Power: 10150 W Lifetime: 15 years Expected launch date: end of 2015 Together with the space segment of the satellite, a ground satellite system segment will also be built, situated in Minsk region of the Republic of Belarus. The launched satellite will have five beams, covering Asia, Africa, East and Europe, with the total amount of available transponders at up to 44 items. In this matter, we can offer the following transponders for lease on every beam. • band African beam Available transponders: Up to 16 x 36 MHz Circular polarization Uplink: 5,725 – 6,725 MHz, Downlink: 3,400 – 4,200 MHz. • band Eastern beam Available transponders: Up to 12 x 36 Hz

www.communicationsafrica.com

Circular polarisation Uplink: 5,725 - 6,725 Hz Downlink: 3,400 – 4,200 MHz • Ku-band African beam Available transponders: 12 x 36 MHz Linear polarisation Uplink: 14.00 – 14.50 GHz Downlink: 10.95 – 11.20 GHz • Ku-band European beam Available transponders: 4 x 54 MHz, 2 x 36 MHz, 4* x 36 MHz Linear polarisation Uplink: 12.75 – 13.25 GHz, Downlink: 10.7 – 10.95 GHz. We are open to negotiation and collaboration on any offer. We can consider offers to sell the resource not only in parts, but as a whole. The majority of transponders are being provided to serve the African continent – up to 16 items in both C and Ku-bands. Hence, we have prioritised collaboration with the African telecommunications market. Transponder prices have been determined following differentiated analyses of satellite markets. For example, the price for one transponder in Africa before the launch of the satellite would be approximately US$1,230, whilst the European or Asian prices vary from US$1,400 to US$1,700. However, the closer the launch date is, the higher prices will be. That’s why 2014 and 2015 are the prime negotiating years for our company, to make contracts on favourable conditions for our future long-term clients. We also have developed a system of incentives for clients, so we can claim with confidence that our prices are highly competitive and one of the best among satellite operators. To summarise, Belintersat-1 is the first geostationary satellite, which will provide satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and Internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations globally.

Contact information: BELINTERSAT project 220014, Belarus, Minsk, Nezavisimosti av. 86b, 5th floor Tel.: +375 17 2635020 Fax: +375 17 2663424 Mail: kna@belintersat.com Web: www.belintersat.com Follow Belintersat on: LinkedIn, google+, SlideShare Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

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GL’s end-to-end wireless network LAB solutions - for 2G, 3G,and 4G GL COMMUNICATIONS INC offers complete end-to-end communications network lab solutions to cover 2G, 3G, and 4G operations. Speaking to reporters, Jagdish Vadalia, senior manager for product development at GL, said, “GL supports a wide range of wireless network simulators, which provide reliable integrated solutions to vendors and service providers for testing, simulation, monitoring and troubleshooting 2G, 3G and 4G mobile networks. These networks can be invaluable for protocol characterisation and testing, performance measurement, and training.” GL's MAPS™ 2G, 3G, and 4G Lab Suite, along with radio access elements, are used to provide an advanced full-fledged network environment that enables testing of applications, devices and services prior to deployment on a real-time network. The test suite can be used to simulate all or specific elements within wireless networks infrastructure using simple ready-to-use test bed setups. The test systems allow for simultaneous execution of various test cases across networks. It also allows for performance and conformance testing compliant with 3GPP standards. GL’s MAPS™ (Message Automation and Protocol Simulation) platform helps in the implementation of end-to-end wireless core network lab solutions. With the integration of third party tools for radio access network, and widely available mobile phones, the entire wireless network can be operated in real-time. MAPS™ can be used in many configurations depending on the device or network under test. Scenarios include: • Single interface test setup, where a single interface can be tested using MAPS™. • Multi interface test setup, where DUTs over different interfaces can be tested simultaneously using a single MAPS™. • Wrap around test setup, in which vendors can test their DUT by replacing all the nodes interacting with the device with appropriate MAPS™ products. According to Vadalia, MAPS™ is dongle based licensed software supporting a variety of protocols under a common architecture. Complementing the simulation capability in MAPS™, is GL’s PacketScan™, an all-in-one call signalling and traffic monitoring tool, which can be used to capture and analyse signalling

and data in a live network across any IP interface. GL’s MAPS™ 2G Lab System can be used to simulate multiple instances of nodes in network such as MSC, BSS, SGSN, and GGSN to perform functional and load/stress testing. MAPS™ 3G Lab System can be used to simulate a complete 3G UMTS network, allowing various network elements testing including RNC, MSC, SGSN, GGSN, Home NodeB, Home NodeB Gateway, and NodeB. The possible simulation includes both User Plane and Control Plane; circuit-switched voice and packetswitched data traffic simulation, resembling real user activity (like webbrowsing). MAPS™ 4G Lab System for LTE can be used to simulate both E-UTRAN and EPC (Evolved Packet Core) allowing complete testing of the LTE network. MAPS™ 2G, 3G, 4G Lab Systems features include: • Perform end-to-end testing supporting Mobile-to-Mobile simulation, HTTP Web Access simulation, and Mobile-to-PSTN simulation (GSM GPRS Network Lab). • Perform end-to-end testing to simulate Mobile-to-Mobile Call Scenario and HTTP Web Access simulation (UMTS Network Lab). • Perform end-to-end testing supporting HTTP Web Access simulation (LTE Network Lab). • Virtual real-time network simulation. • Using network elements with user's DUT to perform single interface, multiinterface, or wrap-around testing. • Easily handle complex scenarios, such as handovers. • Generated and validate packet data traffic using GTP Mobile Traffic modules within MAPS™ GPRS products (ETH101, ETH102, ETH103). • Circuit switched traffic can be generated and recorded using RTP application. • Supports Circuit Switched Fallback scenario (LTE Network Lab).

For more information, contact: Shelley Sharma at info@gl.com

Equipped to deal with South Africa's digital culture SOUTH AFRICA IS a nation in 'digital chaos' with only sheer luck preventing us from losing precious personal photos, videos and files - according to digital storage company WD, which recently released results of a study that found that South Africans store personal files on no fewer than 14 electronic or storage devices, with 60 per cent never backing up a single item of data. Carried out amongst 1,000 South African adult respondents, the study was conducted to celebrate the launch of WD's new family of personal cloud storage solutions, My Cloud, and found that although 89 per cent South Africans claim they are organised in their daily lives, the complete opposite could be said for their digital footprint. The research found that South Africans keep files on a plethora of devices including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, personal computers, and USB sticks. Of those that do not back up, 40 per cent blamed their busy schedule and 15 per cent said they cannot be bothered. With many having a personal reluctance to be digitally organised, 50 per cent of parents have even admitted they'd rather pay their children to back up their files for them rather than go through the hassle of doing it themselves. Organising parents' digital content is the new household chore - replacing the traditional pocket money earner of gardening work and cleaning the car, which ranked in third and second place respectively. Although South Africans are digital scatterbrains, it appears they fare slightly more favorably compared to their European counterparts. Of the five European

“South Africans keep precious digital files on 14 different devices, with more than 60 per cent never backing up” 32 Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

The My Cloud family of personal cloud solutions from WD enables file access anywhere, anytime using mobile and desktop apps

countries involved in the study, Spain was cited as the most digitally disorganised using sixteen devices - with the Germans and Italians not far behind with fifteen each. Anamika Budree, sales manager for WD branded products in South Africa, said, "Years ago, people would get their photos developed and organise them in family photo albums, but now we are a nation in digital chaos with only good fortune preventing us from losing files and photos forever. With almost one in five South Africans admitting they don’t know how to back up their all important data, the new My Cloud personal cloud device not only enables people to organise their data in one place and on one device, but also means that it can be accessed anywhere in an instant, making sharing with friends and family easier than ever before."

www.communicationsafrica.com

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Presenting the OMA’s pioneering industry concepts MOBILE VENDORS AND operators are coming together to present developments in the mobile industry, through insightful presentations from industry leaders and exciting presentrations at Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) demonstration day, taking place on 26 February at Mobile World Congress 2014. Highlights include a life size automotive console, multiple Android devices and the widely speculated Google Glass platform.

Presenting the wireless value chain Alongside presentations from OMA board chairman Gary K Jones and OMA technical plenary chairman Francesco Vadalà, keynote presentations come from ARM, Comverse, GS1, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), Red Bend Software and Telecom Italia. Visitors gain an exclusive preview into up and coming technologies across the entire wireless value chain, some of which are not yet commercially available. “We are excited to once again return to Mobile World Congress and demonstrate how OMA Enablers are driving developments in the mobile industry and ultimately how this is enabling broader adoption and delivering open specifications for the Internet of Everything,” said Seth Newberry, general manager of the Open Mobile Alliance. GS1 are hosting their exciting Google Glass demo, to show the power of barcodes on product packaging to receive nutritional information, recipes, coupons and the ability to share the information on social media websites. Cameron Green, B2C Director at GS1 are highlighting how OMA standards are critical in enabling a vision of the connected consumer of the future whose shopping trip and product usage are augmented with trusted information and services. “Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to research and purchase products. GS1 and OMA standards will allow more consumers to access accurate and trusted product information to help them with their daily lives,” said John Phillips, SVP customer supply chain and logistics at PepsiCo. Roger Ordman, director of product marketing for Red Bend Software, is presenting the challenges that car manufacturers are encountering

from the convergence of the mobile and automotive industries, specifically in managing the multitude of software elements in the car. Roger shows that using OMA Device Management (OMA-DM) and specifically the Software Component Management Object (SCOMO) Enabler will allow the complex automotive industry to manage these software elements throughout the lifecycle of the car. M2M is the focus for discussion by Zach Shelby, director of technology for the ARM Internet of Things Business Unit. Zach was the founder of Sensinode, which was acquired by ARM in 2013 and has been an active participant in defining the OMA Lightweight M2M (LWM2M) Enabler and shares insights into the world of M2M and the need for standardisation to support the projected growth of this market. Gil Kazes, domain expert - digital and VAS services from Comverse, focuses on interoperability among a wide variety of legacy systems, and the convergence of those systems with new IP based services and technologies. An important point to note is that the primary goal is to enhance user experience and the operator’s ability to build comprehensive communications systems. George Percivall, chief engineer of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), concentrates on the latest developments in location-based services (LBS) in an exciting presentation, looking at how OGC and other standards developing organisations are co-operatively developing specifications that raise overall industry capabilities across differing mobile networks, platforms, and devices. Camillo Carlini, wireless devices innovation manager at Telecom Italia, along with Luigi Carabiniere, executive chairman at 0infinito, are set on a debate of current concern - around ‘Are Smartphones (still) a vertical industry? Or is Standardisation progressing?’ They look, also, at new initiatives for smartphone openness and developer engagement. Telecom Italia’s demonstration supports this presentation and includes demonstration of an innovative smartphone development device which aims at maximising the user’s quality of experience (QoE) and the exploitation of next generation wireless networks, through the new OMA framework Generic Open Terminal API.

The OMA attracts significant interest from forward-thinking commercial entities such as Telecom Italia and Comverse, and from professionals interested in improving their technical expertise

www.communicationsafrica.com

Communications Africa Issue 1 2014

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Mise au point d'un chargeur universel pour ordinateur portable et d'une batterie écologique LA RÉUNION DU Groupe d'experts de l'UIT sur les TIC vertes a abouti à la mise au point de nouvelles normes de chargeur universel écologique pour les ordinateurs portables et d'autres équipements portables (Recommandation UIT-T L.1002) et d'une norme de batterie écologique pour les téléphones intelligents et d'autres équipements TIC portables (Recommandation UIT-T L.1010). En outre, les experts ont convenu d'une méthode normalisée que les fabricants pourront utiliser pour indiquer la quantité de métaux rares contenue dans leurs produits TIC (Recommandation UIT-T L.1101), ce qui permettra d'améliorer l'efficacité des programmes de recyclage. Élaboré dans le but précis de réduire les déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques et d'accroître les possibilités d'utilisation, la Recommandation UIT-T L.1002 est une norme internationale d'adaptateur de puissance universel pour les dispositifs portables, y compris pour les ordinateurs de type "notebook", qui complète la toute nouvelle spécification technique 62700/Ed1 de la CEI, en y ajoutant un certain nombre d'exigences sur le plan écologique. Par exemple, la norme de l'UIT traite de l'efficacité énergétique et de la réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, définit des exigences en

matière d'écoconception, d'immunité et de consommation d'énergie en l'absence de charge et optimise l'utilisation des matières premières rares. Elle fait fond sur les Recommandations UIT-T L.1000 et UIT-T L.1001 très utiles qui portent respectivement sur les téléphones mobiles et les dispositifs fixes (par exemple, les modems xDSL), dont les premières versions ont été adoptées par l'UIT en 2009 et 2012. Ces normes pourraient permettre d'éviter la production de 300 000 tonnes de déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques par an selon une étude UIT/GeSI réalisée par l'Université de Gênes. A l'occasion de cette même réunion, les experts de l'UIT-T ont également adopté la Recommandation UIT-T L.1005, contenant une suite de tests complète permettant de vérifier la conformité à la Recommandation UIT-T L.1000, qui est la norme de chargeur universel pour les téléphones portables. Cette suite a été élaborée conformément à la Directive du Parlement européen concernant les Ahmed Zeddam, Président de la Commission d'études 5 de l'UIT-T

équipements hertziens, selon laquelle tous les téléphones mobiles doivent être compatibles avec un chargeur universel (cliquez ici pour en savoir plus). Selon Hamadoun I. Touré, Secrétaire général de l'UIT, "Les solutions normalisées constitueront une manière essentielle de remédier au problème de plus en plus complexe des déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques, en particulier dans les pays en développement, comme le souligne le rapport publié la semaine dernière par l'Initiative StEP des Nations Unies, qui prévoit une augmentation de 33% du volume global des déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques au cours des quatre prochaines années". L'UIT est partenaire de l'initiative multi-parties prenantes StEP, qui vise à résoudre le problème des déchets d'équipements électriques et électroniques en prônant un changement de politique et de conception, la réutilisation et le recyclage.

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