Communications Africa issue 2 2012

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Issue 2 2012 Édition 2 2012

Africa

Afrique

www.communicationsafrica.com

Cable Why submarine connections can enhance business management and support wealth creation

Wi-Fi Using small cells for smarter networks

Radio Moving towards energy efficient base stations

NFC Making mobile East AfricaCom celebrates the development of regional business models Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

FEATURES: ● Network ● Commerce ● Satellite REGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda ● Equipment - Équipement

payments work

S01 CAF 2 2012 Start_Layout 1 02/04/2012 15:51 Page 2

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S01 CAF 2 2012 Start_Layout 1 03/04/2012 10:59 Page 3

CONTENTS

Issue 2 2012 Édition 2 2012

Afrique

Africa www.communicationsafrica.com

Cable Why submarine connections can enhance business management and support wealth creation

Wi-Fi

Bulletin

4

Events

8

Agenda

10

Equipment

30

Using small cells for smarter networks

Radio Moving towards energy efficient base stations

NFC Making mobile payments work

East AfricaCom celebrates the development of regional business models Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

FEATURES: ● Network ● Commerce ● Satellite REGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda ● Equipment - Équipement

A note from the Editor THIS ISSUE’S SHOWCASE of processes, techniques, equipment and Industry debate includes references to data and voice transmission and reception standards and infrastructure, the impact on commerce and economy of advances in the capacity, speed, geographic reach and reliability of fixed-line and mobile broadband connectivity - and the use of satellite communications to extend conenctivity and so market potentials - all prefaced by previews of innovations at NAB, East Africa Com and MWC, and bookended with news of solutions recently introduced to the industry

FEATURES WiFi

18

How mobile data traffic issues may be offset by utilising small cells, augmenting existing macro networks

Base Stations

20

Developments in the deployment of low-power basestations to support network backhaul

Cable

22

How and why the evolution of fixed and mobile broadband markets positively affects socio-economic phenomena

Near Field Communications

26

The extent to which near field communications supports the emergence of mobile payments ecosystems

Satellite

28

Despite recent economic difficulties amongst the world’s economies, new craft and connections have been introduced to serve Africa by opening up capacity options

Une note du rédacteur CE NUMÉRO ATTEST aux innovateurs en la quête inlassable du changement dans la connectivité africaine, et dans les affaires locales et internationales. Les développements dans ces pages garantissent les plate-formes efficaces pour les entreprises s'efforçant d'attirer un maximum d'abonnés et de générer un maximum de revenus.

Near field communications integrates into African economies P.26 Audit Bureau of Circulations Business Magazines

Managing Editor: Andrew Croft - andrew.croft@alaincharles.com Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, David Clancy, Prabhu Dev, Immanuel Devadoss, Ranganath GS, Prashant AP, Genaro Santos, Zsa Tebbit, Nicky Valsamakis and Julian Walker 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 Wang Ying Tanmay Mishra Bola Olowo Sergei Salov Annabel Marx Saida Hamad Camilla Capece Michael Tomashefsky

Telephone (86)10 8472 1899 (91) 80 656 84483 (234) 8034349299 (7495) 540 7564 (27) 218519017 (974) 55745780 (971) 4 448 9260 (1) 203 226 2882

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Email ying.matthieson@alaincharles.com tanmay.mishra@alaincharles.com bola.olowo@alaincharles.com mne@acpmos.ru annabel.marx@alaincharles.com saida.hamad@alaincharles.com camilla.capece@alaincharles.com michael.tomashefsky@alaincharles.com

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

Middle East Regional Office: Alain Charles Middle East FZ-LLC Office 215, Loft 2A PO Box 502207 Dubai Media City, UAE Telephone: +971 4 448 9260 Fax: +971 4 448 9261

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

Serving the world of business

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

3

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BULLETIN Chinese devices prompt calls for low-cost mobiles OPERATORS IN AFRICA are reporting the widespread availability of $80 Chinesemanufactured Android devices; Mark Newman, Chief Research Officer at Informa Telecoms & Media, reports that Bharti Airtel CEO Sunil Mittal is pressing for the development of a $50 device. Bharti Airtel CEO Sunil Mittal

Operators face SMS revenue slide ACISION REPORTS THAT SMS still dominates mobile messaging, yet operators are seen taking steps to launch IP-based messaging services to remain competitive in the messaging market. In reaction, Neha Dharia, analyst at Ovum says, “There is no doubt that SMS is currently a sound revenue stream, drawing in just under $153bn in 2011 - however, as Ovum’s report ‘Casualties of Social Messaging’ reveals, there is an increasing shift towards IP based messaging and even though this shift is bound to the smart phone using demographic, it has still managed to lose operators $13.9bn in messaging revenue.”

Angolan engagement marks ICT milestone ICT SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Huawei and mobile service provider Movicel have entered a strategic partnership to deliver advanced mobile technology in Angola; the first commercial contract under this partnership sees Huawei support Movicel in deploying Africa’s first commercial LTE FDD 1.8 GHz network, marking a milestone in Movicel’s future-oriented network development blueprint in which the leading operator will provide mobile broadband services with a downlink speed of up to 100Mb/s across Angola.

Mobile industry gets Facebook support SOCIAL NETWORK GIANT Facebook has pledged to help do away with fragmented mobile browser standards and to help operators bill for purchases made through Internet applications; the move places Facebook at the heart of the mobile community, with the Internet giant acting as a champion for a mobile internet that works better for mobile operators and their customers, and one that operators can monetise more effectively than they do at present.

New products and partnerships at Ericsson ERICSSON HAS ANNOUNCED new contracts and product launches to enable the rapid shift in real-time communications in business and society; the company’s President and CEO Hans Vestberg said, "The combination of leadership in mobile broadband, managed services and support solutions (OSS/BSS) gives us an unrivalled ability to support our customers in successfully monetizing the opportunities in a Networked Society."

Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg

Synchronica offers new RCS service MOBILE MESSAGING SPECIALIST Synchronica has introduced a 'pay as you grow' solution for mobile operators wishing to roll out a fast and cost effective Rich Communications Suite (RCS) service; the RCS as a Service offering is fully controllable by the mobile operator, and provides a viable safeguard to competitive threats from the OTT direct-to-user players such as WhatsApp and Google.

Comviva launches social networking solution COMVIVA, WHICH PROVIDES mobile solutions, has launched Hola!, a one-stop-shop application to access social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, e-mail as well as popular web feeds via the mobile phone; Arun Tanksali, Head of Mobile Lifestyle Solutions at Comviva, said that Hola! “will help operators with their business objective of enhanced customer experience and increased revenues” and “will empower customers to experience handset agnostic, faster and instant social networking connect”.

New services for mobile commerce and data solutions

Dolby showcases Nokia smartphone

ORANGE COTE D’IVOIRE, a long-term partner of solutions provider Sicap, has extended its Orange Money offer with the deployment of the Sicap and Wincor Nixdorf Easy Cash ATMs solution, built on Wincor Nixdorf hardware and software products; subscribers in Abidjan can now easily deposit and withdraw cash from their mobile wallets, as the Sicap Easy Cash ATMs improve the interface between virtual cash and real money, and provide a 24/7 self-service opportunity.

AT MOBILE WORLD Congress 2012, Dolby Laboratories, Inc. displayed a brand-new Nokia smartphone with Dolby technologies, and showcased how a new operating system update can improve other Nokia smartphones; the new Nokia 808 PureView smartphone, which was revealed for the first time at MWC, incorporates Dolby technologies to improve the mobile entertainment experience and complement the other features.

The new Nokia 808 PureView

4

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

GLOBE TELECOM HAS introduced new services that can enhance subscribers’ mobile data experience; notably, Globe has launched a mobile application for BlackBerry smartphones and Apple iPhones for its mobile commerce service, GCASH, which makes it convenient for users to send money, buy airtime load, and pay bills, without the need to memorise keywords or access numbers.

Sicap and Wincor Nixdorf Easy Cash ATMs added to Orange Money offer in Cote d’Ivoire

Multimode fibre sold across one million kilometres CORNING INCORPORATED AFFIRMS has now sold more than one million kilometres (km) of its ClearCurve multimode optical fibre, accounting for more than six million terminations globally deployed, and sales to more than 90 cablers in 20 countries around the world; “Passing one million kilometers sold is an exciting achievement...ClearCurve multimode fiber remains our standard 50-micron multimode product offering, providing assurance against tight bends and challenging cable installations with up to 10 times less signal loss than traditional multimode fibres,” said Barry Linchuck, division vice president and director, worldwide marketing, Corning Optical Fibre.

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Wi-Filicious W i ilicious i-F i

SSimply imply SSmarter marterr W Wi-Fi i-Fi iinn th thee AAge gee off the the Mobile Mobile IInternet. nternet.

www.ruckuswireless.com w w w.ruckuswireless.com

S01 CAF 2 2012 Start_Layout 1 02/04/2012 15:52 Page 6

BULLETIN MTN moves forward in Benin and in Cote d’Ivoire MTN HAS BEEN awarded 3G licences in Cote d’Ivoire and in Benin recently, meaning - as Christian de Faria, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer, puts it that the operator can “further enhance the experience of mobile telephony” in both markets.

The Ivorian Minister of Post and Information Communication Technologies (PTIC), Bruno Koné, delivered the news of the awarding of the 3G licence to MTN Cote d’Ivoire at MTN’s offices in Abidjan, during a press conference held to display the SIM and subscriber registration process in MTN service centres and the equipments related to the West African Cable System (WACS) - at which, also, Wim Vanhelleputte, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Cote d’Ivoire, announced that WACS, a submarine cable stretching 14,000 kilometres between Portugal and South Africa, will upgrade connectivity for Ivorians to international standards.

“This is a dream come true for many Ivorians whose internet access has been held back for a very long time. The cable will allow more Ivorians to enjoy fast access to the internet. We have already identified about 30 per cent of subscribers who will be the first to experience and enjoy the 3G service,” says Vanhelleputte.

The universal licence granted to MTN in Benin allows the company to provide mobile telecommunications services using any technology within the defined agreed frequency range without additional fees. This includes 3G, 4G, LTE, Wimax, Wi-Fi outdoor as well as the use of VoIP. “MTN is the first and only operator in Benin with a license which allows the use of new generation technologies, such as 3G, 4G, LTE and Wimax. This presents a great opportunity to improve business communication solutions and other services to our customers, both in the consumer and corporate sectors.

Customers are already eagerly waiting for the launch of new services using the new technology, and MTN Benin is working hard to ensure that our customers are not disappointed,” says Eric Tronel, Chief Executive Officer for MTN Benin.

Easing access, backhaul, and capacity pressures RUCKUS WIRELESS HAS introduced SmartCell, the first heterogeneous small cell wireless edge system that lets operators inject wireless capacity, increase coverage and enable new edge services while relieving radio access, backhaul and core infrastructure bottlenecks created by the deluge of data traffic hitting their networks.

The fast uptake of mobile data services, driven by smartphones, laptops, and tablets, has accelerated data-traffic growth to the point where macro cellular networks are no longer sufficient to meet subscriber demand in many high-density settings. While the introduction of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in the macro cellular network will provide partial relief, traffic volumes will continue to grow faster than operators can economically add capacity.

Ruckus SmartCell is the first in a new category of small cell systems designed to solve these problems by combining a multi-radio, multi-function access point, the SmartCell 8800, with the industry’s first small cell HetNet edge services platform, the SmartCell 200 gateway. The Ruckus SmartCell system lets operators easily enhance and extend their macro networks with smaller cellular networks that are an inseparable part of the mobile network infrastructure and built as part of an end-to-end solution.

With SmartCell, mobile operators can gain a capacity boost from LTE small cells, cutting costs and complexity by co-locating and combining them with Wi-Fi access points, sharing sitelease agreements and backhaul. The integration of Wi-Fi and LTE small cells within the cellular core also helps operators optimise network utilisation across the radio access network, providing a further improvement in performance, and creating a seamless experience for their subscribers.

TV to gain an integrated free-to-air satellite receiver

The case for small cells

SES ANNOUNCED, AT the Samsung Africa Forum held recently in Cape Town, South Africa, that it is collaborating with Samsung to drive digital broadcasting via satellite in sub-Saharan Africa; Samsung will introduce an LED television with an integrated free-to-air satellite receiver, the Samsung LED TV Free Satellite that will be distributed initially in Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

Small cells represent a new architectural approach, enabling mobile operators to bring wireless capacity closer to subscribers, both indoors and outdoors, helping to relieve the growing pains caused by more devices, more users and more Selina Lo, president and CEO of concurrent wireless connections. In-Stat Ruckus Wireless estimates that by 2015, worldwide shipments of small cell equipment will reach $14bn with outdoor metrocell shipments realising a compound annual growth rate of 248% over the next five years.

According to Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research, “Small cells increase network capacity by reducing the number of subscribers per coverage area. Such small cells, however, can be problematic to deploy due to challenges such as providing backhaul. Any solution that helps overcome such challenges will ultimately benefit both operators and subscribers.”

“The telecom industry is going through major reconstruction as operators evaluate new network strategies to tackle the impact that the mobile Internet is having on their infrastructures,” said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless.

“It’s not about whether operators should deploy Wi-Fi or cellular within smaller cells, they need to do both. By putting small cells closer to the subscriber, operators can lower the cost of transporting each bit while boosting wireless capacity. Users will access the network at much higher data rates and be able to get on and off the network more quickly - utilising less network capacity from a spectrum and time perspective.

Our SmartCell is the first system of its kind designed with this in mind,” said Lo.

Vodacom SA’s customer service goes social VODACOM CUSTOMER SERVICE agents will soon be able to switch seamlessly from social media interactions to another mode of contact without losing context or data; the operator is deploying Genesys Social Engagement to automate and integrate social media interactions with customers throughout their contact centre and customer service operations.

One series of designer smartphones HTC RECENTLY SHOWCASED its new One series of smartphones, which represent a new premium mobile experience emphasising fresh design cues and improved visual and aural functionality; “The best moments in life are captured with a photo or remembered by a song, so it was key for the HTC One series to improve these emotional experiences with an amazing camera and authentic sound experience...We are very focused on creating a camera and audio experience customers will love and use often and we believe the HTC One series delivers this in a way never seen on a phone before,” said Peter Chou, CEO of The new HTC One series of HTC Corporation. smartphones

6

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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The Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) optical fiber submarine cable is a 17,000 kilometre long high bandwidth system that will connect 21 countries from France to South Africa.

ACE will be operational Q4 2012 Will connect 21 territories, including 18 African countries

France

7 countries in Africa will be served for the first time by a high bandwidth international cable system ACE connectivity will be extended to landlocked countries : Mali and Niger Senegal Gambia

Portugal

Canary Islands Mali Mauritania

Niger

Guinea

Ghana Benin Nigeria Liberia Cameroon Sierra Leone Equatorial Guinea Côte d’Ivoire Gabon Sao Tome & Principe Democratic Will secure and diversify the international Republic of Congo broadband traffic routing Angola

Will provide seamless interconnection with existing high bandwidth cable systems connecting Europe, Asia, North and South America Designed to provide 5,12 Tbps , will benefit from state-of-the-art submarine technology

Namibia

South Africa

ACE, with its large bandwidth and high quality transmission technology, will support the present and future growth in telecommunications traffic between Africa and the rest of the world, reduce digital divide and drive economic and social growth.

Contact : Mr. Lamin Camara - Tel : +220 9974077 - Email : mlcamara@moici.gov.gm

S02 CAF 2 2012 Agenda 01_Layout 1 02/04/2012 15:55 Page 8

AGENDA

Events 2012 MAY 8 8-10 9-11 14-17 14-17 15-16 15-16 21-24 21-24 21-24 22-24 23-24 23-25 28-29

Cloud Computing World Forum Africa West African International Telecommunications Exhibition and Conference (W.Afri.Tel)/WAFICT IST-Africa Connected Africa Forum TETRA World Congress Global Broadcast Summit North Africa Com SatCom Africa Submarine Networks World Africa Telecoms World Africa LTE World Summit Cloud Africa eLearning Africa AITEC Banking & Mobile Money West Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa Lagos, Nigeria Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Johannesburg, South Africa

www.cloudcomputinglive.com www.exhibitionsafrica.com www.ist-africa.org www.mobile-money-gateway.com

Dubai, UAE

www.tetraworldcongress.com

London, UK

www.globalbroadcastsummit.com

Tunis, Tunisia

nafrica.comworldseries.com

Johannesburg, South Africa

www.terrapinn.com

Johannesburg, South Africa

www.terrapinn.com

Johannesburg, South Africa

www.terrapinn.com

Barcelona, Spain

www.lteconference.com

Johannesburg, South Africa

cloudafricasummit.com

Cotonou, Benin Accra, Ghana

www.elearning-africa.com www.aitecafrica.com

JUNE 7 13-14

TMT Finance & Investment Africa West & Central Africa Com

London, UK Dakar, Senegal

wcafrica.comworldseries.com

VAS Africa Broadcast & Film Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

vasafrica.comworldseries.com

www.tmtfinance.com

JULY 3-4 10-11

Nairobi, Kenya

www.aitecafrica.com

Enterprising thoughts on billing models

Comnet Power presents revolutionary Green Power Solution, integrating Power and Fuel Management for Mobile Operators, in the Middle East and Africa Region.

Dbayé Highway Dbayé , Lebanon Telefax: 00961-4-545175 Email: sales@souknacomnet.com

www.souknacomnet.com 8

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

SPEAKING RECENTLY ON development in revenue management, Mark Windle, Head of Marketing at OpenCloud, observed, “For pre-paid and, to a large extent, also post-paid charging, the billing models have been hard-wired into the platforms delivering the service.

Communication Service Providers (CSPs) have been able to change prices with some ease, but changing the actual model has not been so easy. For example, enterprise services created in Europe or North America are built on the assumption that the end user (the employee) will be a post-paid customer. However, in a number of emerging markets, even for business use, it is more common for employees to have pre-paid phones. This is a particular problem for enterprises in those regions wanting to benefit from next-generation IP/SIP enterprise services.

“In Europe subscribers are now protected from excess roaming charges by regulatory controls. European operators have needed to track charges incurred by each roamer and provide warnings, and usage controls, in real-time. In order to provide this service for subscribers, the CSP requires a real-time view of roaming expenditure for each subscriber (whether they are pre-paid or not). This is just one example of providing improved customer service that can be enabled by implementing online charging; others include helping customers on multiple devices understand their spend as they use. M-payments will add to subscribers’ need to see real-time billing information. This is especially relevant in Africa because of the heavy use of mpayments in the region; brought about by the lack of fixed-line infrastructure.

“The pressure on operators to implement online charging will increase steadily. Solutions are available that can simplify the process of enabling services for ‘online charging’ and even implement special case charging events, such as copying roaming charging to a separate roaming account.”

S02 CAF 2 2012 Agenda 01_Layout 1 02/04/2012 15:55 Page 9

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S02 CAF 2 2012 Agenda 01_Layout 1 02/04/2012 15:55 Page 10

AGENDA@NAB

Camera Corps pre-set camera and BC550 fibre-optic link CAMERA CORPS IS introducing a presettable version of its Q-Ball robotic camera head and a compact fibre-optic link at NAB, which takes place this year in Las Vegas, in the USA, on 16-19 April.

Demonstrated in prototype at IBC 2011 and now in full production, Q-Ball Pre-Set allows 18 shot settings (each comprising pan angle, tilt angle, zoom and focus) to be stored prior to a live or real-time recorded shoot. Settings can be rehearsed ahead of a live event and saved in non-volatile RAM. Q-Ball and Q-Ball Pre-Set are fully compatible with all existing Camera Corps robotic control systems and CCU panels. Up to 72 heads can be operated from a single controller. Housed in a fully-weatherproof 115 mm diameter aluminium sphere, Q-Ball integral 10-times zoom optical lens and smooth-accelerating pan/tilt motors. Equipped with a 2 megapixel CMOS sensor and capable of operating in daylight or infra-red illumination, it delivers 1080i/720p high definition or 625/525 standard definition at 50 or 59.94 Hz refresh rates.

The BC550 fibre-optic link is designed for use with the Q-Ball or other remote high-definition camera heads. The link consists of separate transmitter and receiver modules, each housed in an impact-resistant and weatherproof metal case.

Dual-fibre carries HD/SD-SDI from the camera to the control position plus a reverse direction channel which communicates data from the controller to the camera. Control data is encoded onto an audio carrier using the proven technology deployed across Camera Corps’ entire range of remote camera control systems. Compact-form-factor LC connectors allow fast attachment of dual single-mode optical fibres to the link. Power can be sourced from the same 12 volt supply as the Q-Ball remote pan/tilt/zoom camera.

Equalisation and reclocking within the integral video processor permit long cables to be used between the transmitter and receiver. A red LED warning light on the front panel illuminates in the event of signal loss. Video output is Camera Corps introduces the BC550 fiber-optic link via a standard 75 ohm BNC connector. and the Q-Ball Pre-Set

DVS broadcast server

DIGITAL VIDEO SYSTEMS (part of Rohde & Schwarz) will be launching its multi-channel broadcast server Venice in a new form-factor at NAB 2012. In its 2U chassis, it offers an extended feature set and occupies half its former size. New features include support for the GXF file format and for codecs such as H.264 and AVC, metadata editing for file or signal ingests and extended read-while-write capabilities when interfaced with Avid editing systems. Venice is now available in a 2U chassis offering space for up to 9 terabytes of internal storage and up to 4 video channels. It is equipped as standard with 10 Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 ports.

Tieline Genie’s IPv6-ready audio codec

Spectrum Communications is a leading Solution Supplier to Telecom Industry, in the Middle East and Africa Regions, providing Transmission Solutions to Network and GSM mobile Operators and ISP Service Providers and Oil & Gas Industry.

A4 42 Saif Zone, Sharjah – UAE, POBox: 8983 Sharjah – UAE Tel: 971-6-557 2592, Email: sales@spectrummea.com Website: www.spectrummea.com

10 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

AT NAB THIS year, Tieline Technology will exhibit its new Genie six channel IP codec designed for IP-based studio-to-studio and studio-totransmitter links. Other applications include multicasting over compatible IP networks, receiving IP audio streams from remote broadcast codecs, and (with an optional expansion card) 5.1 surround sound or 6-channel audio distribution. Features include up to 24-bit 96 kilohertz sampling, dual 1 gigahertz Ethernet ports, dual redundant power supplies and a user-programmable audio mixing matrix. Silence detection combined with automatic switchover ensures that a backup audio source can be put online if an incoming channel goes down. Other features include a low-latency in-band RS-232 auxiliary data channel.

MP3 or uncompressed WAV files can be imported quickly from a USB flash drive. An network of Genie codecs can be configured and supervised from a remote computer using Tieline's Codec Management System. This can be deployed to create and manage primary and backup connections, view audio signal levels and check IP statistics. Individual codec settings such as algorithms, jitter buffers and forward error correction can also be adjusted. Tieline’s SmartStream IP technology provides advanced network management tools which respond dynamically to variable conditions over lossy IP networks, especially in situations when quality-of-service control is unavailable on a network or delivery path. The Tieline Genie occupies a 1 rack-unit chassis.

Tieline Technology’s Genie six-channel IP codec is designed for IP-based studio-to-studio and studio-to-transmitter links

S02 CAF 2 2012 Agenda 01_Layout 1 02/04/2012 15:55 Page 11

A true end-to-end fibre solution Falcon Electronics delivers cutting edge Fiber Optic Solutions to a variety of industries. These Solutions encompass Financial, Government, Healthcare, Data Centers and Enterprise. Our quality comes from Strict adherence to TIA/EIA/Telcordia standards.

Fibre Optic Cables We have a range of cables which include: t *OEPPS $BCMFT o 5IJT PGGFST B DPTU FGGFDUJWF MPX risk route to reliable LAN communications in the Gb/s range. t 0VUEPPS $BCMFT o 5IJT PGGFST DPOOFDUJWJUZ GPS network backbones that is optimised for all applications.

Fibre Patching Solutions t 1BUDI DPSET BSF NBEF UP PSEFS XJUI UXP TUBUF PG UIF art ямБbre optic termination plants. t 'JCSF/FU PQUJD QBUDI QBOFMT BSF 3BDL NPVOUBCMF XIJDI PGGFST HSFBUFS n FYJCJMJUZ BOE QSPWJEFT FBTZ access and administration for managing and routing of ямБbre patch cables.

Fibre test equipment and fusion splicers t 0VS SBOHF PG 'VTJPO TQMJDFST BOE 'JCSF 5FTUFST BSF HFBSFE GPS BOZ JOTUBMMBUJPO FOWJSPONFOU BOE DFSUJGZ BMM UZQFT PG m CSF networks. t 0VS 'VTJPO 4QMJDFST BSF FRVJQQFE XJUI 1"4 QSPm MF BMJHONFOU TZTUFN GPS QSFDJTF DPSF UP DPSF m CSF BMJHONFOU GPS DPOTJTUFOU MPX TQMJDF MPTT BOE BDDVSBUF MPTT FTUJNBUJPO SFHBSEMFTT PG m CSF UZQF PS RVBMJUZ 7BSJPVT BVUPNBUJPO TVDI BT DBMJCSBUJPO GSFF BSD EJTDIBSHF TZTUFN XJUI "650 TQMJDF NPEF BVUPNBUJD m CSF JEFOUJm DBUJPO TZTUFNT auto-start tube.

Head OfямБce, Johannesburg Tel: +27 (0) 11 630 1000 | E-mail: info@fe.co.za Branches Cape Town|Durban|Bloemfontein|Port Elizabeth

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AGENDA@EASTAFRICACOM

Technology, innovation and new business growth NOW IN ITS 7th year, East Africa Com is wellestablished in the region, with an expected 600+ senior level representatives from mobile and fixed-line operators, Internet Service Providers, regulators, investors, telecoms solution vendors and content providers at the event, networking and knowledge-sharing with each and with OTT service providers, social media players, digital media brands and mobile advertisers.

Taking place 17-18 April this year in nairobi, Kenya, the conference programme emphasises approaches to profitability in a changing digital ecosystem. Furthermore, there is a Mobile Marketing Summit, arranged in partnership with the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), which

“The event was superb. All the East African and global, Telecom and ICT stakeholders were there. It was a great networking opportunity.”

- Bernard Wahome, Managing Director & CEO, Broadband Communication Networks Ltd

“East Africa Com… a great opportunity to share in depth discussions with peers from across the ecosystem, to network and to drive business ideas forward.”

- Henry Njoroge, Marketing Director, Airtel Kenya

“East Africa Com was a perfect place to enhance our marketing campaign and open our door to East Africa region. We have met new and old business associates and friends from the world of business telecoms.”

- Eric You, Sales Manager, Zhongli Science and Technology Group Co. Ltd

will serve exploration of the potential of the mobile channel to connect and engaging with consumers.

Alongside the conference sits a 30-stand market-style exhibition where international vendors present, demonstrate and discuss solutions and technologies to support commercial operations in the region. In particular, the event will focus on the requirements of the communications markets in: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Technology and innovation The two-day, strategic conference is designed to deliver market insights, practical solutions and best practice benchmarks that can support new business growth. The agenda is a mixture of presentations, case studies, interactive panel sessions and Q&A slots to ensure maximum returns on participation.

G&D set to provide Intel with trusted service management for mobile device platforms EAST AFRICA COM exhibitor Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), which specialises in security technology, was selected recently by Intel to deliver lifecycle management of the embedded Secure Elements within Intel’s Smartphone Reference Device. G&D will manage the partitioning and key management of the embedded Secure Elements Over-the-Air. Embedded Secure Elements provide an additional protected area for security-sensitive applications such as payments and ticketing using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Mike Bell, Intel vice president and general manager of Intel’s Mobile and Communications Group.

“Our strategic relationship with Giesecke & Devrient enables this new ecosystem with the mutual goal of making NFC services ubiquitous, secure and successful for all stakeholders.”

Intel has included an embedded Secure Element in its recently announced Smartphone Reference Device, in addition to the conventional SIM card slot. This protected area provides security comparable to levels found in smart cards such as

12 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

EMV credit and SIM cards, so providing users of mobile devices an added degree of security and convenience for new use cases including contactless payments in shops.

G&D will act as Trusted Service Manager (TSM) for the Secure Element Issuer (SEITSM) providing the lifecycle management of the embedded Secure Elements. G&D’s SEI-TSM will interface with Service Provider TSMs (SP-TSM) that enable the trusted delivery of applications to the embedded Secure Element on behalf of service providers such as banks, mobile network operators and transit authorities. G&D’s TSM solutions are already supporting numerous secure services on behalf of customers such as network operators, banks and transit authorities. The embedded Secure Element in Intel’s platforms, with the SEI-TSM service operated by G&D, offers a trusted end-to-end mechanism to realise the benefits of NFC. This can interface with any GlobalPlatform standards-based Service Provider TSM to facilitate the secure delivery and personalisation of mobile applications.

eaafrica.comworldseries.com

Dialogic help service providers handle backhaul BUILDING ON A record of provision of communications technologies that enhance the end-to-end mobile experience, Dialogic’s bandwidth optimisation solutions are helping service providers meet their mobile backhaul challenges. For service providers, this has resulted in improved customer experience and, in turn, an increase in subscriber base, which is enhancing both short and long-term growth prospects.

A July 2011 report titled ‘Forecast: Mobile Data Traffic and Revenue, Worldwide, 2010-2015’ by market research firm Gartner predicts that global mobile data traffic is expected to grow 26-fold between 2010 and 2015. This is based - at least, in part - on continued migration toward smartphone use, further increasing sales of media tablets and a burgeoning interest in data hungry mobile video and mobile applications. But what’s more, this could lead to a need and demand for additional bandwidth that goes beyond the levels that are already making news today. With that, there would also be an accompanying expectation for mobile backhaul solutions that provide bandwidth optimisation on mobile networks.

Dialogic’s mobile backhaul solutions allow service providers to optimise bandwidth without the need for new infrastructure. The Dialogic I-Gate Session Bandwidth Optimiser product line already has a well established track record of providing bandwidth optimisation solutions, which can transport VoIP traffic through 3G mobile and next-generation switching networks. Part of this product line is the Dialogic I-Gate 4000 Session Bandwidth Optimiser Mobile Backhaul (I-Gate 4000 SBO MB), which has been shown to be able to quickly and cost-effectively double the bandwidth in a typical Radio Access Network (RAN).

“When evaluating their mobile backhaul roadmap, mobile service providers should be looking for a solution that leverages existing network resources and provides an upgrade to their management tools and assurance processes,” said Akshay K. Sharma, research director at Gartner.

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AGENDA@EASTAFRICACOM

Strategic keynotes at East Africa Com THERE ARE TWO days pf strategic keynote presentations at this year’s East Africa Com. The conference agenda addresses the hottest topics facing the region’s digital ecosystem.

Each session is expected to feature stimulating discussion using a series of C-Level roundtables, interviews, presentations, case studies and question-and-answer panel sessions.

Day One

Djibouti’s IP hub guarantees Internet access to operators and service providers DJIBOUTI TELECOM AND TI Sparkle were able to quickly restore access to the Global Internet for all their customers via their Tier 1 IP POP located in Djibouti City, Republic of Djibouti, following the submarine cable outage in February 2012. The three cables that provide most internet connectivity between East Africa and Europe, EASSy, SMW3 and EIG, had been damaged by a cargo ship in the Red Sea between Djibouti and Port Sudan, generating a serious degrade of Internet service to and from East Africa.

Although many carriers in the region had lost connectivity completely, thanks to the solid architecture of the fully protected IP node in Djibouti, TI Sparkle and Djibouti Telecom were able to guarantee service to their customers

as well as to accommodate new demand from operators whose service was affected by the outage.

"The ambitious recovery plan that was executed in only 24 hours by our operations team in cooperation with our partner Djibouti Telecom is something we are very proud of as it demonstrates the solidity of our network as well as its flexibility," said Riccardo Delleani, CEO at Telecom Italia Sparkle.

"The fully protected configuration of our IP POP allowed us not only to survive a triple cable failure but also to guarantee enough capacity to accommodate the demand of new customers for internet connectivity to Europe and North America," observed M. Abdourahman Mohamed Hassan, Director General of Djibouti Telecom..

Strategic Keynote • A Changing Landscape – Leading Digital Innovation in East Africa Stream A • Winning LTE & Broadband Strategies Stream B • Cloud & Enterprise Network Management Strategic Plenary • Efficiency & Cost Management

Day Two Strategic Keynote • Joining the East Africa VAS Revolution East Africa Com • Customer Experience Management • Strategic Plenary Regulatory Address • Choosing Technology & Services for Empowering Rural Telecoms • Fighting Fraud Workshops Mobile Marketing Summit • Key Reaching Africa consumers through the mobile channel • Content is king • Developing apps for business users

Industry panel outlines the future of African connectivity GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH supplies African telecommunications services, recently held a highlevel industry panel in Johannesburg, South Africa, focusing on the ‘Future of African Connectivity.’ Hosted

by Mike van den Bergh, CEO of Gateway Communications, the panel comprised Ibrahima Guimba Saidou, African VP and GM at SES; Chris Wood, CEO of WIOCC; technology entrepreneur, Stafford Masie; Nzioka Waita, Head of Corporate Affairs at Safaricom; and Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Convergence Partners. The discussion addressed topics ranging from rural connectivity and the role telecoms plays in African economies, to pricing for consumers and the future of data use in Africa.

It was emphasised by Saidou that 20-40 per cent of the African population does not have access to voice let alone data and that it is these individuals, mostly in rural areas, that demand connectivity. There are a number of challenges experienced by mobile network operators (MNOs) when looking to expand to remote areas in Africa.

Wood asserted that telecoms development in a country can open up large parts of the economy.

“The challenge is driving this growth in landlocked countries in Africa that don’t have access to sub-sea cables. We need to break down the barriers to cross border roll-out,” he said. The way is being paved in this area through a variety of initiatives including Gateway Communications’ SADC terrestrial roll-out project, which has brought fibre connectivity to Malawi and Zambia.

With regards to data in Africa, Waita argued that whilst we all aspire to democratise data usage, actually delivering it can be an issue. “In Kenya you have 8-5 sub-sea fibre cuts a day. We need much better geomapping to overcome this problem and addressing infrastructure Mike van den Bergh, development challenges more broadly must be a priority.”

CEO of Gateway Communications

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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AGENDA@MWC

Orange offers Visa mobile prepaid accounts

Samsung’s new solutions

FRANCE TELECOM-ORANGE and Visa Inc. are working to ensure Orange Money customers have access to Visa prepaid account features inside their Orange Money accounts - a significant step in bringing Visa-quality payments to consumers.

Orange Money is the mobile phone-based payment service designed

by Orange to meet the needs of customers in Africa and the Middle East. It offers Orange subscribers applications such as person to person transfers, bill payments, and agent-based cash-in and cashout services for loading or withdrawing funds. Launched in cooperation with local bank partners, the service was first introduced in 2008 and is presently available in eight countries across Africa and the Middle East. Orange plans to introduce Visa payment capability to Orange Money subscribers in select markets by the end of 2012.

"We already provide secure and convenient payment capability to 3.5 million unbanked or financially under-served African citizens," said Jean-Paul Cottet, Orange's Executive Director for Marketing and Jean-Paul Cottet, Orange's Executive Innovation. "By combining the convenience of Orange Money with Director for Marketing and Innovation the reach of Visa's global payment network, we can offer new payment capability to Orange Money customers in their home country and abroad."

Visa Mobile Prepaid, a new Visa product introduced in October 2011, enhances the security, scale and interoperability of mobile money programmes, such as Orange Money, by enabling account holders to make person-to-person payments, retail and e-commerce purchases at merchants where Visa is accepted, or withdraw funds at Visa ATMs. "Mobile technology has become one of the most important enablers of financial inclusion and its ubiquity is allowing mobile network operators, financial institutions, and Visa to connect financially under-served consumers to each other and the global economy," said John Partridge, President, Visa Inc. "The convergence of mobile and financial services networks helps to remove service barriers, accelerates the pace of change and is transforming the lives of consumers in developing countries."

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, WHICH specialises in semiconductor solutions, showcased technologies for mobile applications at Mobile World Congress, demonstrating mobile innovations for simple, speedy and multi-functional applications, to meet the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s business environments.

“From state-of-the-art application processor Exynos, Samsung’s most advanced smartcard chip solutions, high-quality image sensors, and the most advanced mobile memory technologies, we aim to embrace future design development and product performance to meet the needs of leading mobile designers for advanced mobile component solutions,” said Yunshik Kim, president of Samsung Semiconductor Europe.

Power generation specialist set to help telcos target the "next billion" mobile subscribers CUMMINS POWER GENERATION exhibited at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Spain, showcasing its prime and standby generator set range for the telecoms industry. A key feature of the Cummins presence at the show will be the newly launched C17D5T generator set.

Targeting the "next billion" The C17D5T Series Integrated Generator Set is a powerful addition to the Cummins Power Generation family of products, ideal for mobile telecommunications in the world's fast-growing developing markets. The new diesel-engined generator set features integrated automatic

The Cummins generator set C17D5T

14 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

transfer switch, a large fuel tank and long intervals between services, allied to a heavy-duty engine and integral radiator cooling system.

The C17D5T is suited to the needs of mobile operators reaching new subscribers in remote areas – who are expected to account for the bulk of the "next billion" mobile connections according to research by leading analyst firm Ovum. Power provision is vital to base station sites servicing the widespread rural locations where these potential new subscribers live, and a prime-power source such as the Cummins Power Generation C17D5T will help operators install base stations reliably and efficiently.

Dependable solution The C17D5T generator set operates at 50 Hz and has single phase and 3-phase rating of 17 kVA standby, 15 kVA prime. Reliability is ensured by a rugged, 4cycle industrial engine which features low emissions and a fast response to load changes.

Cooling is provided by a standard integral radiator system, designed and tested for rated ambient temperatures – making it simpler to design generator sets installations to meet requirements for rejected heat.

Control is through Cummins Power Generation PowerCommand® 1.1, which provides total generator set system integration, including automatic remote starting and stopping, plus alarms and status message display.

Remote reliability The C17D5T generator set is equipped with integrated automatic transfer switch (ATS), a 1,000 litre fuel tank and can run for 1,000 hours between servicing, including lube oil and air filter changes.

The weather-protected, sound-attenuated enclosure, coupled with robust structural strength and pilferage-protected lockable fuel tank, make the C17D5T a practical and efficient choice for remote areas in developing regions.

"The growth in requirement for prime power is a key trend in the telecoms industry today, and the C17D5T generator set is an excellent prime power solution. It is ideally suited for environments in Asia, Africa, Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe and Latin America where the telecoms operators see their best mobile growth prospects.

Mobile base stations in these regions are often far from a dependable grid supply. The integrated ATS makes it easy for installation and will reduce installation time significantly. The quality and reliability of the diesel generator sets in these locations are critical," said Alan Zhao.

The C17D5T is the latest member of a line of Cummins Power Generation products meeting both the prime and standby requirements of telecommunications operators. The range covers 8 kVA to 3,500 kVA for both 50Hz and 60Hz markets. These generator sets are suited to a variety of applications including cell towers, data centres and complex switching environments.

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AGENDA@MWC

Investment to strengthen commitment to mobile money CGAP, GRAMEEN FOUNDATION, and MTN Uganda are introducing a new initiative to research and develop mobile financial products for the poor.

CGAP, an independent policy and research centre dedicated to advancing financial access for the world’s poor, together with MTN and Grameen Foundation will provide US$1mn in financing to this initiative. The aim is to build upon the extensive research already conducted through Grameen Foundation’s Application Laboratory (AppLab) in Uganda and to leverage MTN’s successful Mobile Money service.

Access to financial services can help the poor smooth their income and invest in productive assets, education and health services. However, 2.7bn people – most of whom live in developing countries – still do not have a bank account. This gap is due to two major challenges: Many low-income communities are underserved by financial institutions, and the products offered by these institutions are more suitable for higher-income clientele. The growth of mobile money is helping address the access issue, but there is still a need for product offerings that are appropriate for low-income consumers.

The goal of the initiative is to drive the next wave of innovation in the mobile money space by researching and developing products that are both appropriate for poor clients and commercially viable for the financial service providers involved.

“To achieve our goal of financial inclusion for all, the industry needs to move beyond mobile payments and provide a full array of pro-poor mobile financial products,” said Tilman Ehrbeck, CEO of CGAP. “This collaboration with CGAP and MTN Uganda will enable us to lead the next wave of product innovation to truly serve poor people’s needs – a goal that is at the very core of Grameen Foundation,” said Alex Counts, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation.

“MTN is committed to being innovative and relevant to its customers, particularly in this increasingly competitive global market. This partnership will ensure that we are able to address the needs of our customers in the rural market by enabling them to access otherwise inaccessible financial services. This in turn will ensure Tilman Ehrbeck, that the rural poor have better access to other social services, such as education, CEO of CGAP health and investment opportunities,” said Themba Khumalo, CEO MTN Uganda.

A cross-platform OS IT IS REFLECTIVE of Microsoft's strategy that its announcement of Windows 8 would come at Mobile World Congress.

Microsoft recognises that a significant share of its business will be affected by mobile, and that's why Windows 8 is built to be a cross-platform operating system - delivering the same experience on desktops, laptops and tablets.

Windows 8 features a new Metro-style interface that is designed for touchscreen, mouse, keyboard, and pen input. It also adds support for the ARM processor architecture in addition to the previously supported x86 microprocessors from Intel and AMD.

www.microsoft.com

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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AGENDA@MWC

The fast track for mobile financial services ERICSSON AND WESTERN Union are working through a strategic agreement designed to accelerate the interconnection between the mcommerce eco-system and the existing financial world. The first step of this agreement will result in seamless platform integration between the Western Union Mobile Money Transfer network and the Ericsson suite of Mcommerce solutions, including Ericsson Converged Wallet, Ericsson Wallet Platform, and Ericsson M-commerce Interconnect. This will enable mobile network operators to easily include Western Union Mobile Money Transfers in the service suite of their mobile financial service offers. Ericsson's Mcommerce services portfolio is designed to unlock the potential of the wallet, fast-track mobile operators' time to market in launching mobile financial services and support the rapid adoption of M-commerce by their subscribers. Western Union has been a market leader in mobile money transfer for the past four years. By joining forces with Western Union for these services, mobile operators can connect their accounts easily and simply to the world's premier money transfer network of more than 450,000 Agent locations across 200 countries and territories. This enables account holders to easily send and/or receive money transfers globally.

Huawei’s solutions forefficient mobile broadband INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei announced at Mobile World Congress the release of its SoftMobile suite of solutions, featuring coordination, sharing and profiting, to help operators achieve more flexible and profitable mobile broadband network connections.

Huawei’s SoftMobile can optimise network architecture, achieve dynamic resource sharing, and improving user experience. The solution of macro-macro and macromicro coordination can decrease interference between sites. Macromacro coordination can improve the site throughput. And network capacity can be improved with macro-micro coordination.

At MWC, Huawei demonstrated Networker, its user-side application for monetising QoE (Quality of Experience), which can be easily installed in smart terminals.

Networker enables real-time displays of current data rate, available data rate, volume quota, and subscription status information. The Networker software solution encourages users to upgrade their subscriptions for higher

16 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

bandwidth, volume top-ups, and temporary boosts of speed via onetouch purchases. Also introduced was Cloud EPC, Huawei’s concept for the future evolution of packet core networks operating on three layers: infrastructure, virtualisation, and applications. The infrastructure level involves the modularisation, unification, and standardisation of underlying facilities to improve capabilities and performance; the virtualisation level supports multiple logical network elements to dynamically share the infrastructure layer’s network resources; the virtualisation layer utilises an open API (Application Programming Interface) for the application layer to facilitate mobile broadband service innovation, accelerates development cycles of third-party applications, and helps improve QoE. Huawei’s SoftMobile solutions help operators build open and profitable mobile broadband connections by solving capacity congestion, providing end-to-end network coordination, and facilitating a variety of flexible strategies to improve user experience.

Amdocs provides platform benchmark AT MOBILE WORLD Congress 2012, customer experience systems provider Amdocs announced best-in-class results for the communications industry’s first benchmark to report the performance of integrated real-time charging and SCP (service control platform) software on open (e.g. non-proprietary), costeffective, hardware systems.

The benchmark demonstrated support for 220mn prepaid and postpaid customers, the largest benchmark customer base ever reported. The benchmark ran Amdocs’ Convergent Charging and SCP products on IBM BladeCenter servers and IBM Storwize Unified Storage Systems achieving outstanding performance, reliability and cost-efficient scalability.

Ministers meet on mobile broadband WITH MANY EMERGING markets preparing for the transition from voice to data-driven mobile telecommunications, Alcatel-Lucent recently hosted a high-level summit meeting of ICT ministers not only from Africa but also from from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia to debate the essential ‘rules of the road’ for adopting next-generation mobile technologies.

Recognising the benefits Governments play an essential role in the adoption of mobile broadband, recognising the societal, economic and competitive benefits of implementing robust and effective regulatory frameworks to allow the development of infrastructure, networks and the commercial marketplace in their countries.

Within this context, the roundtable event – Reinventing The Rules For Mobile Internet - hosted by Alcatel-Lucent at Mobile World Congress, saw ministers and regulators from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Kenya, Nigeria and Lebanon sharing their perspectives on the evolution of the digital economy in their respective countries.

The debate also encompassed the essential regulatory needs for mobile telecommunications in the adoption of next-generation technologies - including 4G LTE - to foster digital inclusion and the development of applications to enhance education, youth employment and social engagement amongst local communities and across large geographies.

Speaking about the debate, Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen said, “The migration from voice to data and video puts consumers in greater control of their own content than at any time in human history. At the same time, mobile broadband will bring tremendous societal advantages to countries where fixed-line access has been limited or even impossible to implement. This debate represents a key platform for the panellists to address the opportunities of mobile broadband, and to flesh out their needs and regulatory challenges.”

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Connecting Africa to the World Revolutionising wholesale connectivity to the internet and global markets

AFRICA’S CARRIERS’ CARRIER With an international network reach that extends to 100 cities in 29 countries across Europe and more than 700 cities in 70 countries globally, WIOCC is the ideal partner for extending your network. Together with our investment in multiple submarine cable systems and access to the largest terrestrial footprint in sub-Saharan Africa, this enables us to offer unique, flexible wholesale bandwidth packages combining reach, diversity and affordability.

Connecting to WIOCC delivers improved access to the global internet and better connectivity to international markets through a seamless service - managed end-to-end 24/7 by our Africa-based service desk - that simplifies the procurement of international connectivity.

To find out more about our high-quality, high-capacity international connectivity, visit

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NETWORK

WiFi

Can Wi-Fi really be used to backhaul cellular voice?

Under the strain of a mobile data onslaught, the move to small cells is opening the door to new and unexpected uses of smarter Wi-Fi

O

PERATORS ARE CURRENTLY confronted with an insane demand for mobile data and as a result, need to start looking for possible solutions to add more capacity. According to Michael Fletcher, Sales Director for Ruckus Wireless, Sub-Saharan Africa, to solve the problem at hand now there are three ways the industry can address it - increase capacity of the affected network resource, offload the network resource to relieve congestion, or do both.

Unlicensed smart Wi-Fi may be used as a viable and affordable option to solve cellular traffic problems

“The move to smaller cells to augment existing macro networks is widely viewed as a potential panacea to the access radio network congestion, but it also creates a new one – backhaul. Today, this has become one of the telecom industry’s biggest debates especially as mobile operators look to achieve the capacity required by the rapidly rising mobile Internet bandwidth demand.”

Getting smaller It is for this reason that mobile operators need to start thinking differently about the way they want to achieve this. Small cells are lowpowered, multi-radio access points such as cellular/Wi-Fi/backhaul that improve indoor and outdoor coverage to increase capacity and offload traffic. Even though small cells benefit 3G service deployments today, their importance will only grow as the industry moves towards higher capacity like 4G or LTE, especially in urban environments.

“This is because as network operators continue to increase coverage and capacity and look to offload data to relieve traffic pressures, they also increase the stress on their cell site backhaul connectivity,” observes Fletcher. “Another viable option is using licensed spectrum as it is better suited for carrying mobile data traffic, but when using licensed spectrum, there are some limitations, these spectrum bands are expensive and frequently not available for licensing. In this case fiber is clearly the p r e f e r r e d backhaul option for mobile operators but in Michael Fletcher, Sales Director for Ruckus Wireless, Sub-Saharan Africa

18 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

some instances could be non-viable as it is too expensive, disruptive and time consuming.

And therefore traditional cellular backhaul solutions must be rethought in the context of moving to smaller cells.”

Wanted: new backhaul options Mobile operators need to find a sustainable backhaul technique, which meets all the requirements. The new backhaul option needs to be well suited for dense urban environments as well as for close-to-the ground equipment, and lastly need to make small cells more viable. In light of these, Ruckus Wireless suggest that unlicensed smart Wi-Fi be used as a viable and affordable option to solve the cellular traffic problem and here is why this could be the answer to the pending problem: • Wi-Fi has evolved to become an ideal solution for the small cell backhaul problem, that is, if done properly • New Wi-Fi technology has been developed especially aimed at the congestion of the mobile networks; the new technology combines integrated adaptive directional antennas with smart meshing technology and predictive channel management. The combination of these technologies makes the use of Wi-Fi accessible for all users.

• Backhaul links can be automatically moved to a better channel with less interference thereby identifying higher data rates. This is definitely a more affordable solution and with greater resiliency in crowded urban environments which are in dire need of more capacity.

• Wi-Fi backhaul technology is currently being built into small cell nodes housing cellular and Wi-Fi access – with a fairly small footprint. This allows operators to deploy a single box to provide Wi-Fi access, cellular access and backhaul together.

“Ultimately with small cells and better backhaul, mobile subscribers should enjoy higher speeds with more coverage in more places. In turn, mobile operators can reduce subscriber churn and increase revenue by having visibility into both cellular and Wi-Fi traffic – giving the customers more options to connect in more places,” concludes Fletcher. ✆

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MOBILE

Base Stations

Mobile networks for the connected future A look at the trend towards more energy efficient base stations, underpinned by research into efficiency gains and improved coverage

M

OBILE BASE STATIONS are the most energy i n t e n s i v e component of a mobile phone network, and more significantly so if it’s a 3G network. An estimated 1.6bn people manage to survive without an electricity supply. A further one billion people live in areas with sporadic access to power. When they want to expand commercially into areas lacking a dependable energy supply, mobile network operators have traditionally looked to diesel generators for their power source – Vodafone has confirmed that it uses one million litres of diesel a day to fuel remote base stations.

However, as diesel prices increase and mobile networks are put up in increasingly isolated regions with inadequate transport infrastructure, mobile operators in Africa will need viable alternatives to diesel, such as solar and wind power.

The emergence of femtocells has made it easy for homeowners and small businesses to install low-power basestations, using their broadband connections for backhaul to the operator networks Efficiencies are also being arrived at through technology upgrades to the basestation itself; in other words, energy consumption is a topic that is being handled directly by the equipment vendors rather than the service providers. According to Fezekile Mashinini, Analyst at BMI-TechKnowledge in Johannesburg, “There is a natural evolution of products

20 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

and the latest base stations are already significantly smaller and more power efficient than earlier generations. This is mostly to do with investments in silicon like putting more into integrated circuits than in larger, discrete components.”

Plans for power Mashinini’s view on solar and wind power is that “their load is reducing and at the same time the efficiency of the renewable sources and their backup batteries is increasing, and so there is more chance of running base stations off-grid.”

The GSMA would appear to agree, as the issue has driven one of their latest initiatives, the Green Power for Mobile (GPM) programme, scheduled to conclude in 2012, which sets a target of powering 118,000 offgrid basestations with renewable energy by that time.

A central tenet of the plan is the working group of 50 operators that get together every three months to collaboratively share case studies, solve sector challenges and meet equipment vendors from all over the world.

GPM is exploring a number of approaches; Pico hydro, which refers to smaller hydro power projects providing under 10kw, is one of the latest. It is described as having “the lowest installed cost per kW of all green power solutions (~US$2,000-4,000 per kW),” a lifespan of up to 25 years, and “very low maintenance requirements.” Every five years or so, an overhaul of the system may be required including the replacement of key moving parts.

Unlike solar or wind the reliability of flow means the solution can be sized very accurately to the load requirements of the site and

therefore minimal battery or diesel backup is required.

However, the problem with pico hydro is that there is little standardised equipment available on a global scale, so equipment must be carefully sourced where local capacity doesn’t exist. Additionally, the skills needed to install and maintain the system are not widely available in most countries. GPM presently favours the use of biodiesel, but warns that the total costs for running diesel generators range from US$2.5–5 per hour of use. This is a substantial premium to alternative sources of power. Other drawbacks are that fuel quality is dependent on production methods; poor quality fuel can damage diesel generators. Fuel and generator theft remain a problem, as does noise pollution and distribution logistics.

New ways to network Another option for more remote regions on the continent may be to bypass the need for base stations altogether, using a Peer-to-Peer ‘daisy chain’ network like that employed by Swedish firm TerraNet in east Africa. In such a system, users communicate directly with each other over a 1km range, though calls may be routed through several handsets, giving a maximum range of over 10km.

In major urban centres, though, the focus will remain on 3G, with LTE pilot projects - the technology is often mistaken as 4G, but remains essentially an improved 3G - also underway this year in South Africa and Nigeria.

A typical 3G basestation uses about 500W of input power to produce about 40W of output RF

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MOBILE

Base Stations

power. According to these figures, the average annual energy consumption of a 3G basestation is approximately 4.5MWh, which is in fact an improvement on the consumption of GSM basestation designs. A 3G mobile network will therefore consume more than 50GWh a year, adding significantly to the network's operating costs. Network energy use may be much greater in developing markets with their large geographic areas and large populations.

According to Peter Grant, Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh, there are two types of customer that will necessitate more efficient mobile networks in future. “In the industrialised world, the infrastructure is in place and the markets are saturated in terms of subscriber numbers, but traffic is growing exponentially and so quality of service is becoming a key issue,” he says. “The main drive from the operators is to cut costs. Things are different in the rapidly growing emerging markets: there's less established infrastructure, often large geographical areas to cover, uncertain mains power.”

Grant believes that one of the key issues in green basestation design is the tension between cell size and realistically achievable data rates. When basestations are being used to create physically large macrocells, the signal to

Energy consumption is being handled directly by equipment vendors rather than service providers interference and noise ratio (SINR) close to the basestation is relatively high, which enables the application of advanced modulation schemes, such as 64way quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), to attain reasonably high data rates.

However, a consequence of signal propagation loss is that SINR is lowered at the more distant cell edge, permitting less sophisticated quadrature phaseshift keying (QPSK) modulation, with a corresponding reduction in likely data rates. Smaller cells, with shorter distances to the cell edge, solve this problem although it takes many such reduced-size cells to attain the same coverage as a macrocell.

In recent years, the emergence in the West of femtocells, such as the Vodafone Sure Signal box, has made it easy for homeowners and small businesses to install low-power basestations, using their broadband connections for backhaul to the operator networks. Some forecasts predict 45 million femtocells will be deployed worldwide by 2014.

There are other techniques that can provide quick wins or immediate energy reductions in basestations: optimising the

power-supply rectifier; upgrading older 2G systems to more efficient transmission schemes, for example from GPRS to Evolved EDGE; and employing more free-air cooling.

Current research Mobile VCE is working on methods to boost the efficiency of heavily loaded basestations to attain both high spectral efficiency and improved coverage - meaning high bit/s/Hz/km2 figures - throughout the network, at what it terms ‘low power drain.’

This system power consumption measure includes both the operational power, and the embodied energy of extracting and transporting raw materials, the manufacture, assembly, and installation of both the basestation and the femtocells, and their final disassembly, deconstruction and decomposition. At lower user densities, of only 30 to 60 users per macrocell, a power saving can be achieved. In these simulations a total energy reduction of between 3 and 40 per cent is possible.

The traffic load on cellular networks can range by a factor of two daily, typically hitting a low at

7am and a peak at 9pm. This means Mobile VCE also has to take account of low-load situations in its work to improve basestation efficiency, including the use of sleep modes to share the meagre available spectral resources in the most effective possible way.

In Mobile VCE’s work, there are two closely related low-load techniques. One cuts the number of active basestations and reallocates their users, reducing power needs by turning off parts of the network at certain frequencies, or by cutting the numbers of basestation sectors used. Setting active basestations to work on 900MHz, rather than at 1.8GHz, can serve to minimise propagation losses and thus saves RF transmission power.

The efficiency of radio basestations, defined as the amount of RF energy they radiate divided by the AC power supplied to do so, is showing a year-onyear increase, from three per cent in 2003 to 12 per cent in 2009 and possibly to 25 per cent in 2015. For the future, the next generation of the LTE standard, LTE-Advanced, may implement coordinated multi-point strategies, in which transmissions from several basestations are coordinated to remove interfering signals, hopefully reducing energy consumption as well as boosting traffic throughput. ✆

Barry Mansfield

Making application development easy The lucrative market for production of applications, or apps, is being disrupted by fast, easy and cheap do-it-yourself app tools where creative people without any programming skills can build apps. This trend will not only migrate revenues from developers to creators, but also accelerate the rise of app-internet.

”AppSpotr is a new do-it-yourself app tool that will radically speed up the creation and maintenance of apps. It’s now really possible to build a beautiful, highly functional native app in a few minutes for anyone. App creation is no longer difficult and expensive. No developer skills are needed. With AppSpotr, we want to push app development and app maintenance a big step forward,” says Patric Bottne, CEO of CamClic AB, the company behind AppSpotr.

AppSpotr comes with an innovative solution for testing and previewing your native app before publishing it to app markets. With the AppSpotr Viewer app available in AppStore and Android Market, it is now possible to preview your native app in real-time and test the app’s exact look and feel. ”Not only will we see a huge explosion of middle and small brands publishing do-ityourself apps during 2012, we will also see how consumer interaction with mobile phones and other consumer hardware will keep emerging around apps. The mobile webb interaction will decrease, and app-internet explode,” says Patric Bottne.

AppSpotr was launched online at www.appspotr.com during the 2012 Mobile World Congress.

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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CABLE

Commerce

The changing face and pace of Africa How improvements in connectivity are transforming the way people in Africa enrich their lives and grow their businesses

C

ONTINUAL ADVANCES IN the capacity, speed, geographic reach and reliability of fixed-line and mobile broadband connectivity are fundamentally changing how businesses

operate and how individuals go about their daily lives.

Africa has travelled a huge distance in a very short time, and connectivity continues to improve in what Informa Telecoms & Media say

has recently become the second best connected region, in terms of mobile subscription count, in the world – ahead of Western Europe and the Americas. The upshot for Africans and businesses operating in Africa, is that valuable online business and personal applications – such as mobile banking, social networks (including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube), business networking, information security and cloud computing – are becoming increasingly available.

However, just a few years ago the situation was fundamentally different. Poor international and terrestrial connectivity restricted the effectiveness and efficiency of businesses: new communications technologies such as video-conferencing and real-time information sharing were unavailable – even emails with attachments couldn’t get through, online networking was all but non-existent and business expansion into new geographies was fraught with difficulty.

Meanwhile, slow, high-cost, geographicallylimited and unreliable Internet and mobile access served to isolate Africans from the information, functionality and data services available with high-quality connectivity.

Handset prices were also beyond the reach of most Africans.

The communications landscape in Africa has changed dramatically in the last couple of years, with significant investments in high-capacity fibre-optic submarine cables and terrestrial networks dramatically improving connectivity into, out of and within the continent.

Fixed and mobile broadband markets in Africa will continue to evolve, as will the growing number of services New submarine cables boost international connectivity Eighteen months ago, the 10,000km EASSy (East African Submarine System) cable went live, bringing unprecedented bandwidth and international connectivity to some 20 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa – from South

22 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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CABLE

Commerce

Africa to Sudan. At 4.72 Terabits per second, EASSy is the largest system currently serving Africa and represents two-thirds of the international submarine cable capacity available to sub-Saharan Africa.

Investment in new, high-capacity fibreoptic submarine cables linking Africa to the rest of the world continues apace. During 2012, more submarine cables are scheduled to go live – including WACS along the Western seaboard and EIG providing connectivity to Europe. These two systems alone will provide almost 10Tbps of additional capacity to and from the continent.

By investing in EASSy, WACS and EIG, WIOCC is creating a unique high-capacity ring around Africa, connected to Europe, enabling it to offer African and international telcos and internet service providers high-quality, reliable international connectivity at an affordable price.

Terrestrial network growth The arrival and subsequent growth in international capacity has acted as a strong catalyst for national operators to grow and enhance their own terrestrial networks.

Hamilton Research Limited recently reported a 15 per cent increase in Africa’s total inventory of terrestrial transmission networks over the last 12 months, which by the end of Q3 2011 had reached 676,739 route-kms. Laid end-to-end, that is enough network infrastructure to wrap around the earth almost 17 times.

Over the last year, an average of 138 routekms of new African fibre-optic network entered service every day, and 2012 should see continuous interconnected terrestrial fibre running from Cape Town to Cairo.

WIOCC’s shareholders – 14 telcos from across Africa – are major contributors to this terrestrial expansion, rolling out and interconnecting high-capacity fibre-optic networks to carry mobile and fixed-line voice, data and internet traffic domestically, between neighbouring countries and internationally.

There is no sign of any slowdown in the growth of terrestrial networks. On the contrary, the forward inventory of networks in Africa under deployment, being planned or proposed is increasing.

Improvement in terrestrial connectivity, and the benefits it brings, is set to increase at an even faster rate than previously. Across Africa there is now twice as much fibre under deployment than two years ago – according to Hamilton Research, 62,255.5km in September 2011, compared to 31,687.7km in September 2009.

A faster, slicker and more modern Africa The explosion in fibre reach is bringing highcapacity national and international fibre backbone networks to dozens of new towns and cities for the first time, significantly increasing the number of people in Africa with access to broadband networks and the myriad of services they can carry.

At the same time, existing terrestrial networks are being upgraded to improve reliability and data-carrying capacity, in order to meet the greater needs and raised expectations of end-users and satisfy the demands of an expanding wholesale market.

It is no surprise that businesses in Africa and African consumers are flourishing in this fertile environment of increased network reach, enhanced data speeds and network capacity, improved Internet reliability and greater affordability.

The new-found improved connectivity has a multitude of benefits. International investment into African markets and companies is continuing, governments are competing to position their countries as hubs for outsourcing operations, and web-based business is growing fast. It is bringing a growing range of innovative, popular and useful applications to the fingertips of an increasing number of African consumers and businesses. Mobile banking (very successfully introduced in Kenya under the brand name of M-PESA and a field where Africa leads the world), e-wallet services, online bookings and payments, and popular networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify and LinkedIn, are all now available to many at the touch of a button.

Businesses are using online services to improve their efficiency and are now able to cost-effectively extend operations to satellite offices. eGovernment initiatives are changing the delivery of public services. The Kenyan government has introduced an online company registration system, dramatically cutting waiting times, and in 2011, Rwanda was recognised for its efforts to give rural citizens access to information on healthcare, food prices and crop prices.

However, the benefits are not yet universally available. Other initiatives are taking the internet to those who remain unable, for reasons of price, coverage or knowledge, to take advantage. Mobile service provider and WIOCC shareholder, Zantel has recently launched an internet cafe franchise in Tanzania as part of its corporate social responsibility programme. The initiative offers free computer and internet training and access to a growing number of rural communities and young

Population Within Reach Of A Terrestrial Fibre Node, Sub-Saharan Africa 2010 – 2011 Date % of population within 10km July 2010 15.6% (131.23million) July 2011 18.6% (160.61 million) Change July ’10-11 +3.0% (+29.38 million) Source: Hamilton Research.

% of population within 25km 30.8% (259.33 million) 36.3% (313.21 million) +5.5% (+53.88 million)

% of population within 50km 47.7% (401.06 million) 56.1% (483.93 million) +8.4% (+82.87 million)

The explosion in fibre reach is bringing highcapacity national and international fibre backbone networks to dozens of new towns and cities for the first time people across the country. Internet buses, which take internet access to underserved rural communities, are an alternative or supplementary approach being implemented in some markets.

What next?

Fixed and mobile broadband markets in Africa are on an extended journey and will continue to evolve, as will the growing number of services accessible with this revolution in connectivity.

To facilitate this growth, bandwidth demands will continue to rise sharply inexorably linked as they are to the increasing number and sophistication of connectivityenabled, data-rich business and domestic applications. Network diversity is also increasingly important, with uptime and highquality service delivery vital for differentiation in competitive markets.

With handset prices falling and smartphones becoming increasingly available over the next couple of years (Informa expects there to be 127mn smartphones in Africa by 2015), the business, music, entertainment, social networking, financial services and media sectors in Africa are all set to experience further significant change as connectivity continues to improve.

After five consecutive years of close to 20 per cent growth in the number of mobile subscribers, Africa is the fastest-growing mobile market in the world. However, with a mobile penetration of 649mn subscribers (equivalent to a 65 per cent penetration rate) in the fourth quarter of 2011, there is still plenty of scope for significant further growth. The GSM Association predicts there will be more than 735mn subscribers by the end of 2012 and that at the end of 2016 Africa will have a mobile penetration rate of 86.92 per cent.

Better, faster and cheaper With high-quality international and terrestrial fibre-optic connectivity now available, and the continent’s communications infrastructure continuing to improve – driving better, faster and cheaper broadband access - the future for businesses and individuals in Africa is bright. ✆

Chris Wood, CEO at WIOCC

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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Our world. Whole African coverage. Full spectrum of satellite services. Your world.

www.arabsat.com

S04 CAF 2 2012 Communications 02_Layout 1 03/04/2012 10:04 Page 25

With Arabsat's new generation of state-of-the-art satellites, your world is growing larger — and closer — than ever. With four orbital positions in the sky covering an ever-expanding footprint across the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Europe, now you have unrivalled capacity to reach farther and connect in more ways than ever before. That means all the power to meet the growing and evolving needs of large telecom companies, government entities, the military sector and VSAT or IP networks. Connect more of your world, and join the Arabsat neighborhood today!

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MOBILE

Commerce

Combating fraud remains a high priority, particularly for mobile based services

Making payments work for the continent The relationship between near field communications and the practicalities of establishing a true mobile payments infrastructure that embraces retailers as well as operators and banks

“W

ITH THE TOTAL value of mobile money transfers in Africa expected to exceed $200bn by 2015, the mobile phone is fast becoming the dominant financial touchpoint for many Africans,” according to Martin Holloway, Vice President of Sales for VeriFone, Middle East and Africa.

“With increasing prevalence of mobile based electronic funds, many parts of Africa are eager to exploit new peer-to-peer mobile payments systems to overcome a lack of traditional electronic transaction infrastructure, particularly in rural communities – that’s where NFC comes in.

“By allowing simple, secure, swipe and pay, NFC has the potential to offer a practical and convenient solution. One that connects mobile users in a broader payment context – to retailers, services, trading points and transportation - without relying on cash. In addition, the low value transactions covered by NFC suits Africa’s spending profile perfectly giving its population a practical solution to their payments issues.”

26 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

A promising market With specific challenges With more than 500mn mobile phone subscribers in Africa, there is no question of the potential for new mobile based payment technologies such as NFC. New players, greater connectivity and enabling technology are creating innovative ways for consumers to buy, for merchants to sell and for financial institutions to reach their customers via electronic transactions – bringing non-cash payments to rural populations and financial services to the unbanked. However the delicate balance between retailers and operators investment in NFC is still under negotiation.

Holloway confirms, “We are definitely seeing more interest in NFC within Africa.

However, there is still a lack of basic card processing within the various countries, let alone NFC acceptance devices required to enable NFC’s mass use. As a global manufacturer, VeriFone can help overcome this by making sure NFC developments filter their way quickly through to the African market. For example, our recently launched VX Evolution POS devices are ready and able to

process Contactless and NFC and are ready to roll-out via our reseller partners in most African countries. We have also been busy developing back office solutions that will help retailers to aggregate and manage NFC content.”

In fact, stitching it all together and making NFC work is a complex task according to Holloway, “Enabling NFC payments and nonpayment applications requires acceptance devices for a wide variety of environments and a secure software that provides integration of payment with value-added online services.

More than this it also requires a vision of how to ensure merchants—from the largest to the smallest—can easily migrate to this new era with the confidence that their investments today will be viable as new capabilities and payment services come on-stream.”

Regulation and development While regulations vary from country to country and affect which services can be offered, by whom and in which way - operators, financial institutions and payments providers must work in harmony to ensure consistently secure and reliable platforms for African customers.

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MOBILE

Commerce

Combating fraud remains a high priority, particularly for mobile based services. In many areas of the world, EMV (Chip & PIN) and PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance are being used to reduce card fraud and ensure data security.

“In Africa, however, many NFC users will be ‘unbanked’ – consequently the focus may not be on protecting account holder data,” highlights Holloway. “What will be important are ways to protect fraudulent access of mobile funds at the POS and to prove identity of the user. One way to address data issues is to utilise advanced end-to-end encryption and tokenisation to safeguard the payments chain. In addition, biometrics may become increasingly used to offer identity based security.”

And it’s not just about developing new platforms around Security. VeriFone is eager to look at evolving other new NFC based service offering with partners in the region.

“VeriFone already processes payments across Africa via its VIP reseller network, which provides bespoke solutions for local markets. Through its acquisition of CSC in Africa, VeriFone is able to provide a greater number of solutions particularly for transport and NFC”, says Holloway. “We will be working

There is huge potential for mobile based payment technologies such as NFC

with retailers on value added services that make it simple and affordable for banks, processors and vertical market service providers to deliver value-added applications such as loyalty, gift card and prepaid – right to the point-of-sale.”

Focusing on Future Enablement As 2011 progresses, Holloway talks of VeriFone’s clear vision of how the African market is evolving, “Africa’s trailblazing progress in micro-finance, peer-to-peer payments and mobile services will be able to evolve into a wider payments infrastructure.

The ‘choice’ to access electronic payments, from any location at anytime will drive new

opportunities for growth, trade and personal security. Partnership, innovation and local knowledge will remain crucial to making this vision a reality.”

Holloway concludes, “For the moment, there is an emphasis on the African unbanked. Mobile still remains the most viable way to reach most of the population. As mobile banking, couponing and NFC continue to evolve, there is a lot of work to be done.

While Africa’s adoption of NFC may be ahead of other nations, the limits and pitfalls surrounding NFC still remain. For it to succeed, Africa needs to roll out NFC enabled payment devices, or to upgrade existing POS systems in tandem with NFC phone deployment.” ✆

Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

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MARKETS

Finance

Are our satellites reaching full capacity?

The economic outlook is still mostly gloomy, but satellite stocks have remained attractive throughout the recession

A

NALYSTS BELIEVE THAT intensified demand for transponder capacity, the rapid adoption of HD channels, huge growth in emerging markets like Africa, and government services’ increasing utilisation of the technology, are all factors in satellite’s current growth spurt.

According to consultants like System House, demand has been decreasing for Internet based services typically delivered via hubs in Europe or USA, normally using cross-strapped transponders. This sector is facing stiff competition from terrestrial solutions, including fibre and wireless (WIMAX, 3G, etc). The cost of delivering traditional satellite services is so steep that they simply cannot compete against the terrestrial options. There is, however, still strong demand for VSAT connectivity within a country or region, primarily for corporates (Wide Area Networks) and in many regions there is high demand for Ku band capacity, particularly in East Africa and Southern Africa.

There remains therefore a need for satellite backup, but typically only a fraction of the terrestrial capacity is backed up Backup with satellite

In recent years, much has been made within the satellite industry of transponder shortages and higher capacity pricing impacting the SubSaharan African market. Roy Blatch, an analyst with System House in South Africa, confirms that there are still transponder shortages.

However, he says he is not aware of any technical problems with satellite services other than incidents of interference from terrestrial services, specifically wireless systems operating in 3.5GHz band.

“On the other hand, the reliability of the terrestrial solutions, especially to land-locked countries connecting to the cable POP via fibre or microwave, has been very poor,” he warns. “There remains therefore a need for satellite backup, but typically only a fraction of the terrestrial capacity is backed up due to the extreme difference in price, with terrestrial coming in at as low as $100/Mbps and satellite Internet trunk costing the service provider a minimum of $1000/Mbps to land at their teleport. End customers are very reluctant to pay the higher price for the backup service.”

Blatch believes there are still many opportunities for deploying Ku band VSAT solutions in the retail and banking sectors where they are used for point of sale terminals, ATMs, and access to central databases and applications.

“Clearly, outside of urban areas, terrestrial connectivity remains limited in many countries and users in these areas still rely on satellite, but that is only a very small percentage of the market and usually less commercially active.”

Many satellites with continental high power C band coverage (eg.

NSS-12, Arabsat 5A) have minimal capacity left so demand is high, but according to Systems House the supply side will likely catch up

28 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

Intelsat-14, launched in 2009, prefaced a wave of new craft serving Africa

during as new satellites have been coming online. The higher power C band capacity is allowing service providers to lower the cost of delivery due to more efficient modulation and coding being possible and smaller VSAT terminals, which are then less expensive to deploy.

More capacity To deal with capacity issues, satellite operators have been planning and launching several satellites to deliver service including New Dawn, Amos 5, Eutelsat W3c, SES-4 and Yahsat. In terms of existing capacity on orbit, where there is strong demand the operators naturally respond with higher prices. In terms of capacity used for Internet trunking, many service providers have defaulted on their payments since their market has been completely eroded through the arrival of fibre (SEACOM, TEAMS, Eassy, etc and shortly WACS and other cables). Service providers are doing their part by cutting costs, trying to improve network efficiencies in RF and IP, targeting corporate customers instead of broadband, and concentrating on niche market segments like maritime. ✆

Barry Mansfield

S06 CAF 2 2012 Equipment A, B, C,D & E_Layout 1 02/04/2012 16:25 Page 29

we do best

SkyVision. Your link to Global Communications

www.skyvision.net

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EQUIPMENT

Comprion SIMfony LTE offers conformance test cases for LTE USAT terminal testing

Aircom’s new ASSET and CONNECT

The correct interworking of LTE terminals with the USIM is a basic part of the E-UTRA/EPC system due to the central role of the USIM as the responsible element for authentication, mobility management and call control handling.

For the TS 31.124 Rel-8 (USAT conformance test specification) new TCs have been defined to cover the enhanced functionalities for the interworking of BIP (bearer independent protocol) and provide local information features with EUTRA/EPC and the newly defined Network Rejection Event.

AIRCOM INTERNATIONAL, AN independent network planning and optimisation solutions provider, has introduced two significant upgrades to its leading planning products, ASSET and CONNECT. ASSET 8.0 and CONNECT 8.0 upgrades deliver important functionality advancements on existing versions and strengthen the integration to its I-VIEW framework.

The two new releases will deliver competitive differentiation to new and existing Aircom operator customers by addressing technology evolution, automation tasks and usability market requirements.

ASSET 8.0 places great emphasis on better usability, better performance and adds new planning capabilities. The new release is significantly more visual and collaborative, introducing Web Maps to the existing ASSET map view and continuing with enhanced Google Earth exporting capabilities.

Analysis zones and areas for location-based services have also been integrated to better inform network planning decisions.

CONNECT 8.0 is focussed on addressing technology evolution and enhancing existing integration with ASSET and I-VIEW DIMENSION. It shares the same visual capabilities as ASSET 8.0, also enabling the ability to use Web Maps and exporting data to Google Earth. CONNECT 8.0 contains a powerful new productivity pack for Automatic Frequency and Capacity Planning in backhaul networks and adds LTE support for its market-leading Carried Traffic Analysis feature. “Both ASSET 8.0 and CONNECT 8.0 represent notable advancements from existing releases,” says Calum Byers, COO at Aircom International. “The wide range of new features and additional content available in these upgrades ensure that ASSET and CONNECT will continue to be the most powerful planning tools available today.

www.comprion.com

www.synchronica.com

COMPRION’S LTE USAT test bench contains all test cases (TCs) specified by 3GPP TSG CT6 for LTE USAT which have been selected by GCF in the new work item (WI) 137 for USAT interworking with EUTRA/EPC Rel-8. Comprion is known for its timely delivery of test benches based on official test standards. The LTE USAT test bench, part of the Comprion SIMfony LTE solution, was launched before the GCF had selected which of the test cases were to be included in its set of conformance test cases. The TCs included in the WI-137 and in the Comprion SIMfony LTE USAT test bench test the enhancements for E-UTRA/EPC for the existing USAT proactive commands and events already defined in previous releases of 3GPP TS 31.124.

USAT testing essential for LTE environment

Cisco’s multiservice transport platform THE CISCO ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform sets the industry benchmark for metropolitan and regional dense wavelength-division multiplexing solutions by using proven Cisco Multiservice Provisioning Platform networking technologies to deliver simple, fast, and intelligent DWDM capabilities and lower capital and operating expenditures.

Transforming Metro and regional networks When Cisco Systems introduced the Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) for the metropolitan market in 1999, a clear demarcation was created between what is considered “traditional” optical transport equipment and what is now considered “next-generation.” With its significant leap in technology and product migration, the Cisco MSPP offered traditional time-division multiplexing (TDM) and Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) services ranging from DS1/E1 to OC-192/STM-64, as well as Ethernet and IP services. The platform was scalable and was the fraction of the size of traditional bit-rate-specific equipment. In addition to providing greater functionality and scalability from a platform that used less space and power, the Cisco MSPP proved to be cost effective, and it uniquely met the requirements for the new market segment.

The Cisco ONS 15454 MSPP product line quickly established itself as the market leader. Continuing with its tradition of innovation and leadership in metro optical networking, Cisco has

30 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

introduced the Cisco Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP), which is transforming metropolitan and regional dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) networks. The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP (Figure 1) allows a metro or regional DWDM system to become as intelligent as the highly successful Cisco MSPP, including wide service interface mix, service transparency, flexible topology, and simplified operations.

Wide Service Interface Mix A metropolitan network, being close to or on a customer’s premises—unlike its long-haul counterpart—requires support for a great diversity of service interfaces.

The service interfaces allow network providers to offer new tariffs and allow enterprise customers to natively transport a wide variety of services over a common transport network without unnecessary conversion stages and equipment.

Additionally, a wide service mix simplifies the planning for services. The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP, with its MSPP capabilities, supports a broad range of standards-based services in a single platform, including: • Aggregated lower-rate TDM services from DS-1/E-1 over 2.5-Gbps and 10-Gbps wavelengths.

• SONET/SDH wavelength and aggregated services: OC-3/STM-1, OC-12/STM-4, OC-48/STM-16, OC192/STM-64.

• Data services: private-line, switched and

Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform

wavelength-based, including 10/100BASE-T, Gigabit Ethernet, 10-Gigabit Ethernet LAN physical layer, and 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN physical layer.

• Storage services: 1-Gbps and 2-Gbps Fibre Channel, Fiber Connectivity (FICON), and Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON).

• Video services: D1 and high-definition television (HDTV).

The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP provides multiple provisionable interface protection options, which enable support for high availability as well as unprotected service delivery to meet the varied service level agreements for metro transport offerings.

www.cisco.com

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EQUIPMENT

Smasung and Apple: do features and functionality outweigh price?

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Tab has been hailed as the only serious competitor to Apple’s popular iPad currently available in SA. Although the iPad is still the tablet of choice for most people, Samsung has created a device that does a convincing job of addressing some of the iPad’s

The Samsung Galaxy Tab - a serious competitor to Apple’s tablet

shortcomings.

One could think that the smaller size might be a downside for the Galaxy Tab, but its relatively smaller size next to the iPad actually makes it far more practical. Its slick black and whitestyled body is about half the size of the iPad and it fits comfortably in any sized bag — including a ladies handbag. The Galaxy Tab is equipped with an 18 centimetre screen (measured diagonally), making it possible to hold the device securely in one hand. This is not possible with Apple’s device.

The Galaxy Tab is the first tablet device to use Android as its operating system. Many people were sceptical about Samsung’s decision, especially given that the operating system was not built for tablet-like devices. We think that criticism is misplaced. Android works well in this form factor and on the Galaxy Tab, it runs quickly, too. The menus and scrolling are

responsive and intuitive on the device’s 1GHz processor.

There’s lots of other cool stuff shoved into the tablet, including high-speed 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. The battery life is very good: about four days on standby and light use and six or seven hours with moderately heavy use. The operating system allows for up to five customisable home screens, and additional applications and widgets are easy to come by.

The camera on the Tab is reasonable, but with only 3megapixels it’s not about to replace your point and click. The device can play back full highdefinition video, but it records at only 720×480 at 30 frames a second. So, the Tab is quick, it fits neatly in one hand, and is generally a practical everyday device.

But it also has its downsides. The biggest is that it often behaves more like a very large smartphone

The iPad 2 - designed, developed and marketed by Apple

than a full-fledged tablet PC. Samsung hasn’t tweaked Android much — some menu options refer to “your phone” instead of “your tablet”, for instance.

To take advantage of the Samsung App store, you need to have a Sim card installed. For most, this won’t be a problem, as South Africans are likely to buy the device from their cellphone service provider on contract, but for those hoping to use Wi-Fi exclusively, it’s an inconvenience.

A standards-compliant, multi-gigabit wireless chipset QUALCOMM ATHEROS INC., the networking and connectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, and Wilocity, a developer of 60GHz multi-gigabit wireless chipsets for the mobile computing, consumer electronics and peripheral markets, has introduced the AR9004TB, the first tri-band Wi-Fi chipset that integrates the multi-gigabit performance of in-room 60GHz band with seamless handoff to 2.4GHz and 5GHz band Wi-Fi. The new AR9004TB solution is the first chipset capable of supporting a wide range of applications, from I/O to video to networking, at the same speeds as equivalent wired connectivity technologies, while maintaining whole home coverage and complete interoperability.

AR9004TB is a significant step forward in delivering the most seamless, high-performance wireless networking connectivity. By using a fully standardscompliant and interoperable approach, Qualcomm Atheros and Wilocity can help device makers deliver more than 10 times greater speed in Wi-Fi performance, resulting in faster data and video transfers between devices. These enhancements will help power even more advanced devices, applications and experiences, from gaming to video streaming, smart synchronisation and wireless docking. New fast session transfer technology in the AR9004TB will drive a seamless transition between multi-gigabit inroom performance to whole home and enterprise wireless coverage.

“By incorporating 60GHz multi-gigabit transfer with proven 802.11n Wi-Fi technologies, Qualcomm Atheros

and Wilocity are creating an even more valuable offering for customers looking to expand their presence in the market. AR9004TB will allow users to enjoy new generations of rich applications in the home and at work while also helping keep their devices and information fully synchronised,” said Amir Faintuch, senior vice president and general manager, consumer business unit, Qualcomm Atheros.

“As the promise of multi-gigabit wireless technology becomes reality, Wilocity is proud to take its place, with Qualcomm Atheros, at the head of the long line of future WiGig and draft 802.11ad products that will follow,” said Mark Grodzinsky, vice president of marketing, Wilocity. “The AR9004TB solution is the first to offer multi-gigabit Wi-Fi and wireless bus extension, coupled with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 for a truly wireless experience for a wide range of applications from I/O to networking to video. For the first time, the fastest way to access data from products that implement this groundbreaking technology will be wireless.”

The AR9004TB solution is the first tri-band Wi-Fi chipset to integrate support for 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 60GHz bands. As such, it is the first chipset to bring standards-based, multi-gigabit wireless networking to the market, integrating 802.11n and WiGig/802.11ad technologies in the same form factor. Consumers utilising devices based on this technology will enjoy 802.11n Wi-Fi for whole home connectivity along with 802.11ad for networked synchronisation of HD movies in seconds (versus tens of minutes), I/O connection to

By using a fully standardscompliant and interoperable approach, Qualcomm Atheros and Wilocity can help device makers deliver more than 10 times greater speed in Wi-Fi performance, resulting in faster data and video transfers between devices USB3/SATA hard drives, instant “sync and go” between mobile platforms, streaming display to projectors/TVs/monitors, and high-performance wireless docking.

The 60GHz technology found in AR9004TB is based on the latest specifications from the Wireless Gigabit Alliance and IEEE 802.11ad and will be Wi-Fi Alliance certified. The AR9004TB also supports the latest Bluetooth 4.0 specification, which includes both highspeed and low-energy operation to extend personal area connectivity to a variety of devices. It includes a new message-based coexistence interface that allows superior interference avoidance and cancellation for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence.

www.qca.qualcomm.com

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EQUIPMENT

M2M application framework solutions for 3G networks

accelerates

Processor offers computing possibilities

TRANSITIONING EMBEDDED M2M solutions from 2G to 3G networks is now both easier and smoother, as Sierra Wireless creates the availability of the Open AT Application Framework on a 3G version of the AirPrime SL Series, the SL808x embedded wireless module. For the first time, customers can build M2M application software once and deploy it in any market worldwide, or seamlessly migrate from 2G to 3G. “Solutions for M2M markets on 3G networks are gaining rapid adoption in multiple markets worldwide,” said Didier Dutronc, Senior Vice President and General Manager, M2M Embedded Solutions for Sierra Wireless.

“Today’s announcement means that for the first time, M2M customers have a seamless path between 2G and 3G. Customers who have built 2G applications with the Open AT Application Framework can now use the same software and design to create solutions for 3G networks. For the larger industry, it means that M2M application developers can now easily migrate from a 2G to a 3G solution, using Open AT to build applications once, and deploy them in any market.”

The Open AT Application Framework has a 10-year track record as the industry’s first choice for developing embedded M2M applications. Open AT enables easy embedded software development with industry-standard C language programming, combining the world’s first operating system designed for M2M application development with a comprehensive set of software libraries and a powerful, easy-to-use integrated development environment, the Sierra Wireless Developer Studio.

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED IS offering a Pro version of the Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 processor to enable even more capable mobile computing devices. The successful Snapdragon S4 class, which has more than 120 OEM designs in development, is already raising the bar on performance and industry benchmarking, as reported in recent product reviews.

The S4 Pro processor features the Adreno 320 GPU, support for higher resolution displays, as well as hardware and software compatibility with the S4 class. The Adreno 320 is a high performance programmable GPU—with up to a four times performance improvement—providing a superior user experience for Web browsing, games, user interfaces and other graphics applications. The Adreno 320 also infuses the S4 Pro version with new multimedia capabilities, including computational camera—the ability to tap directly into the computational capability of the Adreno 320 GPU through new APIs like OpenCL, to enable nextgeneration use cases such as light-field cameras for mobile devices. In support of next-generation 3D graphics APIs, Adreno 320 will enable more realistic 3D graphic effects through hardware acceleration of advanced rendering features like instancing, occlusion queries and multiple render targets. Adreno 320 also includes dedicated hardware to accelerate Windows and fully supports the top game engines in the industry from Unity, Epic and others.

"As a result of strong customer demand for Snapdragon S4 processors, we've added a new Pro version of MSM8960 to continue delivering the highest performing mobile processors in the industry," said Cristiano Amon, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm.

www.sierrawireless.com

www.qualcomm.com

Synchronica introduces cross-platform unified messaging with Unity SYNCHRONICA PLC HAS launched Unity, a mobile messaging platform that enables mobile operators and device manufacturers to deliver a unified messaging experience. Previously known as Synchronica Mobile Gateway, Unity works on all mobile phones, but also adds new innovations designed to make feature phones smart and smartphones smarter.Designed to help operators and device manufacturers combat predatory moves from ‘Over the Top’ (OTT) players, Unity’s uMail, uChat and uSocial services provide white-labelled connectivity to the most widely used email, instant messaging (IM) and social networking services, thereby enriching their value added service portfolio and reducing churn with a bouquet of ‘sticky’ messaging services. New innovations introduced with Unity include: Cross-platform unified messaging clients Unity’s clients deliver true unified conversation with an aggregated, single-screen view of all messages from each contact (including email, IM and social networking communities, in tandem with SMS and MMS inboxes, voicemail and call logs), and an enhanced presence-enabled address book. Unity allows users to focus entirely on those they intend to communicate with, rather than deciding which communications channel to use. All communications are consolidated into a single service, where users can, for example, reply to an email with an SMS, a twitter message with an IM or a social message with an email. The unified messaging experience is made possible by a range of Unity clients for the Android, Apple iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry RIM Smartphone platforms, as well as the MediaTek and Spreadtrum platforms for low and ultra-low-cost featurephones.

Geo socialisation Synchronica has also entered the new Geo socialisation segment with uChat, part of the Unity family. uChat Geo socialisation allows mobile subscribers to see who and what’s near them and to build new connections beyond their existing social circle. Subscribers opt in to uChat’s Geo socialisation services with their service provider and, using the chat functionality in uChat Geo socialisation, are able to

32 Communications Africa Issue 2 2012

get involved in one-to-one or group chats based on their current location and specific interests.

Integration with Ortsbo language technology Integrated with the conversational language platform Ortsbo, Unity provides real time on-the-fly translation between more than 50 languages, fostering social and IM chat regardless of geographical or language limitations.

Registration, scalability and performance enhancements Unity guarantees mobile operators and device manufacturers the highest possible performance levels at any time, regardless of the amount of users registered with the service, or the volume of transactions taking place. In order to maintain its reputation as a stable, carrier-grade messaging platform, Unity also introduces several performance and scalability enhancements across its architecture, databases and product core. Unity is designed to stimulate user uptake with a simplified and automated registration process, while its new reporting engine provides a range of useful reports, as well as the ability to build custom reports, providing mobile operators and device manufacturers with a powerful customer and market intelligence tool.

www.synchronica.com

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EQUIPMENT

MTN prolonge son partenariat de services gérés MTN, UN CHEF de file des télécommunications présent actuellement dans 21 pays de l’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient, a annoncé qu’il prolongeait son accord de services gérés avec Ericsson pour ses opérations au Ghana. Avec une part de marché de 49 %, MTN est le premier opérateur au Ghana qui est l’un des marchés africains les plus fleurissants. Cette année, sa croissance a atteint environ 18 % avec plus de 10 millions d’abonnés.

Cette annonce représente la prolongation du premier contrat de services gérés entre Ericsson et MTN, signé à l’origine en 2009 pour le déploiement du réseau 3G de MTN au Ghana. Au titre de la prolongation de ce contrat, Ericsson est chargé du fonctionnement du réseau, de la maintenance sur site et de l’optimisation.

Jon Hoffmann, le directeur technique de MTN au Ghana, a déclaré : « Nos deux premières années de collaboration ont atteint les résultats escomptés : nous avons pu nous consacrer à la croissance des abonnés, et Ericsson a assuré la fiabilité et l’efficacité du réseau. » MTN conservera l’entière propriété du réseau et la responsabilité de l’orientation stratégique, tandis qu’Ericsson sera chargé du

fonctionnement du réseau, de l’optimisation et de la maintenance des sites 3G de MTN. « Depuis de nombreuses années, MTN et Ericsson collaborent dans de nombreux domaines à cet égard et dans d’autres régions.

Au Ghana, nous sommes particulièrement ravis d’avoir parcouru le chemin menant aux 10 millions d’abonnés », selon Valter D’Avino, chef des services gérés d’Ericsson. « Étant donné qu’Ericsson continuera à s’occuper du fonctionnement du réseau, MTN sera en mesure de consacrer davantage de temps à la conception de produits et services novateurs, adaptés aux besoins de ses clients. » À l’échelle mondiale, Ericsson a signé plus de 300 contrats de services gérés dans quelques 100 pays. Ericsson gère des réseaux pour le compte des opérateurs, représentant globalement plus de 850 millions d’abonnés dans le monde. En s’associant avec Ericsson, les opérateurs peuvent renforcer leur avantage concurrentiel en améliorant la disponibilité et la capacité du réseau, tout en diminuant les coûts d’exploitation.

En retour, la croissance du marché des services mobiles augmente, ce qui permet d’améliorer la qualité des services et l’expérience de l’utilisateur final.

Mobily choisit Gemalto pour les services M2M MOBILY, OPÉRATEUR SAOUDIEN de réseaux mobiles, a choisi les Modules d’Identification de Machine (MIM) de Gemalto pour le déploiement de services M2M (Machine-to-Machine).

Les modules MIM répondent aux exigences de longévité et de fiabilité des environnements industriels, notamment où les conditions climatiques sont rudes. « Les tests de qualité que nous avons réalisés sur les modules Gemalto n’ont fait que confirmer leur robustesse exceptionnelle, une caractéristique à la réussite et à la pérennité de tout projet de connectivité M2M. Ce partenariat nous permettra de lancer des services M2M avec la qualité exceptionnelle qui a fait notre renommée. Il profitera également à nos clients qui recherchent des solutions fiables et durables », déclare Mr Marwan Al Ahmadi, Directeur Business Développement chez Mobily.

Alcatel-Lucent et Etisalat réalisent la connexion haut débit mobile 4G LTE avec lightRadio ALCATEL-LUCENT ET ETISALAT, principal opérateur mobile des Émirats arabes unis, révolutionnaires du portefeuille lightRadio. Avec l’essai concluant de ces toutes viennent d’achever un projet pilote avec le portefeuille de produits dernières technologies, la promesse lightRadio est en passe de devenir réalité.

Les tests effectués avant le projet pilote ont montré que les fournisseurs de révolutionnaires lightRadio, mettant ainsi en lumière sa capacité à absorber la services déployant le MRO dans leur réseau LTE pourraient en améliorer la capacité très forte croissance de la demande en services haut débit mobile.

Première aux Émirats arabes unis, les deux acteurs ont établi une connexion haut et la performance, et réduire leur coûts jusqu’à 40 %, tout en fournissant à leurs débit mobile sur un réseau 4G LTE opérationnel grâce à l’architecture lightRadio abonnés des services de données 4G LTE ultrarapides et de haute qualité.

Son excellence Ahmad Abdul Karim d’Alcatel-Lucent.

Julfar, PDG d’Etisalat, a déclaré : « Alcatel-Lucent a révélé toute la Etisalat est fier de participer à ce puissance de son nouveau produit programme et d’être de la partie pour lightRadio MRO (Metro Radio façonner les futurs réseaux haut Outdoor) au siège d’Etisalat à Abu débit mobile qui sauront répondre à Dhabi, en établissant une connexion la demande croissante des abonnés. de données ultrarapide sur le Avec lightRadio, nous serons en réseau commercial 4G LTE de mesure non seulement d’absorber l’opérateur, déployé par le Groupe cette croissance du trafic, mais l’an dernier. Cette nouvelle offre également d’offrir à nos abonnés des conçue sur la base du ‘cube’ solutions de pointe pour leur lightRadio fait partie de la famille de permettre d’accéder facilement aux solutions micro-cellulaires (« small applications de données mobiles les cells ») lightRadio d’Alcatel-Lucent, H.E. Ahmad Abdul Karim Julfar, Etisalat Group, avec des cadres d’Etisalat, et plus modernes et les plus géniales leaders sur le marché. En d’Alcatel-Lucent: Ben Verwaayen, Stephen Carter, et Amr El Leihty sur le terminal mobile de leur choix. » prolongeant le réseau LTE d’un fournisseur de services, ces solutions assurent la couverture des points d’accès Et Stephen Carter, président de la région Europe, Moyen-Orient & Afrique d’Alcatelsitués dans des zones très fréquentées telles que les centres commerciaux, les Lucent, d’ajouter : « Nous sommes heureux d’avoir l’opportunité de travailler avec Etisalat pour tirer le meilleur parti de nos produits lightRadio, et pour l’aider à aéroports ou les stades.

Aux Émirats arabes unis, l’adoption massive des smartphones, des tablettes et trouver des solutions à ses besoins. Les informations précieuses que nous avons autres terminaux mobiles a généré des besoins de connexions à haute vitesse pu tirer du travail réalisé dans le cadre de ce projet pilote réussi indiquent que les pour accéder à des services haut débit mobile comme la visioconférence et la fournisseurs de services tels qu’Etisalat peuvent très facilement déployer les télévision à la demande. En octobre 2011, Alcatel-Lucent et Etisalat ont signé un cellules métro d’Alcatel-Lucent pour enrichir l’expérience haut débit mobile de accord pour développer ensemble un moyen de satisfaire cette demande le plus leurs clients, tout en réduisant leur consommation d’énergie, leurs coûts et la taille durablement et le plus efficacement possible, en s’appuyant sur les produits de leurs équipements. »

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S07 CAF 2 2012 Equipment French_Layout 1 03/04/2012 11:18 Page 34

EQUIPMENT

Des services mobiles prépayés en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient FRANCE TELECOM-ORANGE ET Visa Inc. ont annoncé que les clients Orange Money pourront bientôt bénéficier des services des comptes prépayés Visa.

Orange Money est le service de paiement par téléphone mobile conçu par Orange pour répondre aux besoins de ses clients en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient. Il propose aux abonnés Orange des fonctions telles que les transferts d’argent de mobile à mobile, les règlements de factures, les services de retrait et de dépôts d’argent auprès de réseaux d’agents agrées.

Lancé en coopération avec des banques partenaires locales en 2008, ce service est actuellement disponible dans huit pays d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient. Orange prévoit d’introduire le paiement auprès des réseaux Visa pour les abonnés Orange Money sur une sélection de pays d’ici fin 2012.

Visa Mobile Prépayé, un nouveau produit de Visa lancé en octobre 2011, permet d’augmenter la sécurité, l’ampleur et l’interopérabilité des programmes de paiement mobile comme Orange Money, en permettant aux détenteurs de compte d’effectuer des paiements de particulier à particulier, de faire des achats en magasin ou sur Internet auprès

ADVERTISERS INDEX

Les services Visa avec Orange Money En réunissant les comptes prépayés Visa et les comptes Orange Money, Orange connecte les abonnés au paiement mobile actuels à VisaNet, le réseau de paiement de Visa. Orange et Visa travaillent ensemble au niveau international afin de permettre aux filiales d’Orange et aux établissements financiers partenaires locaux de proposer toutes les fonctionnalités des comptes mobiles prépayés Visa à leurs clients, dont : • Mode de paiement Visa – Que ce soit pour régler des transactions en magasin ou sur Internet, Visa mobile prépayé ajoutera un mode de paiement aux comptes actuels des

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utilisateurs d’Orange Money.

Les consommateurs pourront également avoir la possibilité de recevoir une carte prépayée.

• Autorisation de transaction, services de compensation et de règlement bancaires – Visa proposera une gamme complète de services de traitement des paiements et de gestion des comptes s’appuyant sur le plus grand réseau de paiement au monde, VisaNet. • Paiements sécurisées de qualité Visa – Visa mobile prépayé réunit des technologies de pointe dans le traitement du risque avec les capacités de sécurisation et d’authentification des appareils mobiles, permettant aux consommateurs des pays en développement de faire des achats l’esprit tranquille. De plus, les capacités de contrôle de la fraude de Visa aident à prévenir et à réduire les risques de fraude.

Les pays en développement d’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient sont parmi les premiers marchés ciblés par Orange et Visa pour déployer leurs produits et services prépayés conjoints, qui permettront de stimuler la croissance économique et l’inclusion financière en faisant migrer les dépenses en argent liquide vers le paiement électronique.

des commerçants qui acceptent les paiements Visa, ou bien de retirer de l’argent aux distributeurs automatiques de billets Visa. « La technologie mobile est l’un des principaux modes d’inclusion financière.

Son omniprésence permet aux opérateurs de réseaux mobiles, aux établissements financiers et à Visa de relier financièrement des clients ayant peu accès à ce genre de services entre eux et avec l’économie mondiale », a ajouté John Partridge, Président de Visa Inc.

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