Handsets are now the biggest hurdle to adoption in Africa – MTN CEO
Connecting the African continent is always going to be a complicated job, but the availability of handsets is now the biggest challenge according to MTN CEO Rob Schuter.
Connecting the African continent is always going to be a complicated job, but the availability of handsets is now the biggest challenge according to MTN CEO Rob Schuter.
Many in the industry shudder at the concept of ‘best effort’, but this should change in future when latency can be billed as a business case.
If anything sums up the telco industry, it is the pursuit of innovation coupled with the failure to be a leader in emerging segments. The solution might well be working with more start-ups, but are they accessible enough?
The idea of biometric identification is not new, though to realise the full benefits of the digital economy, adoption needs to increase and move away from hardware.
Yesteryear’s conversation in Africa was all about balancing the commercial realities of bridging the digital divide, but this year’s AfricaCom has showcased the bigger ambitions of South Africa.
A conundrum which has existed throughout the life of the technology and telco industry around the perfect balance between innovation and regulation.
It might seem like an unusual statement to make, but if the fortunes of the fourth industrial revolution are going to be realised, telcos need to stop bickering between themselves.
Last week’s AfricaCom conference had a heavy focus on satellites but how many people actually understand the economics of satellite connectivity? We didn’t, so we asked Intelsat.
Government intervention has been a hot topic all week at AfricaCom, and it doesn’t seem like there is going to be a resolution to the problem anytime soon.
Africa is firmly in last place when it comes to the development of the digital society, unless you count the Antarctic, but looking towards the failures of other emerging markets might help things along.
Usually telcos are quite guarded with the truth. Announcements and statements are filled with PR nonsense about aiding the greater good, but Safaricom’s new Chief Innovation Officer has been surprisingly honest.
Two things in life are guaranteed; death and taxes. This is generally accepted by the world, but perhaps the sticky fingers of the government are asking a bit too much.
After several presentations, discussions and lectures at AfricaCom 2017 I’m still not too sure what the plan is in the African telecoms markets.
Basic electricity for Africa’s 600 million disconnected citizens will always be more important than internet, according to AfricaCom 2016’s keynote speakers.
The South African Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services has stressed the growing significance of the internet in the development of the continent’s business and education sectors, but also stated that connectivity is becoming an imperative for society on an individual level.
Day two of AfricaCom 2014 saw a group of the continent’s most influential telecoms companies engaged in a panel discussion around the importance of LTE to Africa’s digital economy. With fixed broadband infrastructure still relatively thin on the ground, mobile broadband represents the only opportunity many Africans have to get online. While 3G may be the entry point for this, LTE offers many advantages, including simplicity, speed and data-optimization.
Peace broke out between telcos and OTT players on the opening day of AfricaCom 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. The headline discussion panel attempted to tackle the longstanding issue of cooperation between mobile operators, which invest in the infrastructure to provide mobile broadband, and over-the-top (OTT) service providers, which rely on that infrastructure to serve their customers.
MVNOs in Africa should focus on the premium end of the market rather than offer low-cost ‘no frills’ services, according to Bjorn Florman, chief executive, wholesale business at Cell C. The South African mobile operator is one of the relatively small number of networks in the region that has wholeheartedly opened its network to MVNOs.
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