Communications Africa/Afrique is the premier telecoms and broadcasting magazine for Africa. Published bimonthly, telecoms, broadcast and convergence is covered in English and French, giving coverage to Francophone and Anglophone Africa: the magazine reaches businesses and telecoms operators and manufacturers, charting business developments, projects and news in the region.
Afrique Issue 2 2012 Édition 2 2012 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 payments work Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50 East AfricaCom celebrates the development of regional business models Africa FEATURES: ● Network ● Commerce ● Satellite REGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda ● Equipment - Équipement www.communicationsafrica.com
Transcript
Afrique
Issue 2 2012Édition 2 2012
CableWhy submarine connections can
enhance business management and
support wealth creation
Wi-FiUsing small cells for
smarter networks
RadioMoving towards energy
efficient base stations
NFCMaking mobile
payments workEurope m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50
East AfricaCom celebrates the development of regional business models
A note from the EditorTHIS ISSUE’S SHOWCASE of processes, techniques, equipment and Industrydebate includes references to data andvoice transmission and receptionstandards and infrastructure, theimpact on commerce and economy ofadvances in the capacity, speed,geographic reach and reliability offixed-line and mobile broadbandconnectivity - and the use of satellitecommunications to extendconenctivity and so market potentials- all prefaced by previews ofinnovations at NAB, East Africa Comand MWC, and bookended with news ofsolutions recently introduced to theindustry
Une note du rédacteurCE NUMÉRO ATTEST aux innovateursen la quête inlassable duchangement dans la connectivitéafricaine, et dans les affaireslocales et internationales. Lesdéveloppements dans ces pagesgarantissent les plate-formesefficaces pour les entreprisess'efforçant d'attirer un maximumd'abonnés et de générer unmaximum de revenus.
Bulletin 4
Events 8
Agenda 10
Equipment 30
FEATURES
WiFi 18How mobile data traffic issues may be offset by utilising small cells, augmenting existing macro networks
Base Stations 20Developments in the deployment of low-power basestations to support network backhaul
Cable 22How and why the evolution of fixed and mobile broadband markets positively affects socio-economic phenomena
Near Field Communications 26The extent to which near field communications supports the emergence of mobile payments ecosystems
Satellite 28Despite recent economic difficulties amongst the world’s economies, new craft and connections have been introduced toserve Africa by opening up capacity options
CONTENTS
Audit Bureau ofCirculations -
Business Magazines
Near field communications integrates into African economies P.26
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
Head Office: Middle East Regional Office:Alain Charles Publishing Ltd Alain Charles Middle East FZ-LLCUniversity House Office 215, Loft 2A11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place PO Box 502207London SW1W 0EX, United Kingdom Dubai Media City, UAETelephone: +44 20 7834 7676 Telephone: +971 4 448 9260Fax: +44 20 7973 0076 Fax: +971 4 448 9261
Production: Donatella Moranelli, Nasima Osman, Nick Salt, Jeremy Walters and Sophia White - Email: [email protected]
Chinese devices promptcalls for low-cost mobilesOPERATORS IN AFRICA arereporting the widespreadavailability of $80 Chinese-manufactured Android devices;Mark Newman, Chief ResearchOfficer at Informa Telecoms &Media, reports that Bharti AirtelCEO Sunil Mittal is pressing forthe development of a $50 device.
Operators face SMS revenue slideACISION REPORTS THAT SMS still dominates mobile messaging, yetoperators are seen taking steps to launch IP-based messagingservices to remain competitive in the messaging market. In reaction,Neha Dharia, analyst at Ovum says, “There is no doubt that SMS iscurrently a sound revenue stream, drawing in just under $153bn in2011 - however, as Ovum’s report ‘Casualties of Social Messaging’reveals, there is an increasing shift towards IP based messaging andeven though this shift is bound to the smart phone usingdemographic, it has still managed to lose operators $13.9bn inmessaging revenue.”
Angolan engagement marks ICT milestoneICT SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Huawei and mobile service provider Movicelhave entered a strategic partnership to deliver advanced mobiletechnology in Angola; the first commercial contract under thispartnership sees Huawei support Movicel in deploying Africa’s firstcommercial LTE FDD 1.8 GHz network, marking a milestone in Movicel’sfuture-oriented network development blueprint in which the leadingoperator will provide mobile broadband services with a downlink speedof up to 100Mb/s across Angola.
Comviva launches social networking solutionCOMVIVA, WHICH PROVIDES mobile solutions, has launched Hola!, aone-stop-shop application to access social networking sites such asFacebook and Twitter, e-mail as well as popular web feeds via themobile phone; Arun Tanksali, Head of Mobile Lifestyle Solutions atComviva, said that Hola! “will help operators with their businessobjective of enhanced customer experience and increased revenues”and “will empower customers to experiencehandset agnostic, faster and instantsocial networking connect”.
Dolby showcases NokiasmartphoneAT MOBILE WORLD Congress 2012,Dolby Laboratories, Inc. displayed abrand-new Nokia smartphone withDolby technologies, andshowcased how a new operatingsystem update can improveother Nokia smartphones; thenew Nokia 808 PureViewsmartphone, which wasrevealed for the first time atMWC, incorporates Dolbytechnologies to improvethe mobile entertainmentexperience and complementthe other features.
Mobile industry gets Facebook supportSOCIAL NETWORK GIANT Facebook has pledged to help do away withfragmented mobile browser standards and to help operators bill forpurchases made through Internet applications; the move placesFacebook at the heart of the mobile community, with the Internetgiant acting as a champion for a mobile internet that works better formobile operators and their customers, and one that operators canmonetise more effectively than they do at present.
New products and partnerships at EricssonERICSSON HAS ANNOUNCEDnew contracts and productlaunches to enable the rapidshift in real-timecommunications in businessand society; the company’sPresident and CEO HansVestberg said, "Thecombination of leadership inmobile broadband, managedservices and support solutions(OSS/BSS) gives us anunrivalled ability to supportour customers in successfullymonetizing the opportunitiesin a Networked Society."
Synchronica offers new RCS serviceMOBILE MESSAGING SPECIALIST Synchronica has introduced a 'payas you grow' solution for mobile operators wishing to roll out a fastand cost effective Rich Communications Suite (RCS) service; the RCSas a Service offering is fully controllable by the mobile operator, andprovides a viable safeguard to competitive threats from the OTTdirect-to-user players such as WhatsApp and Google.
New services for mobile commerce and data solutionsGLOBE TELECOM HAS introduced new services that can enhancesubscribers’ mobile data experience; notably, Globe has launched amobile application for BlackBerry smartphones and Apple iPhones for itsmobile commerce service, GCASH, which makes it convenient for usersto send money, buy airtime load, and pay bills, without the need tomemorise keywords or access numbers.
Sicap and Wincor Nixdorf Easy Cash ATMs added toOrange Money offer in Cote d’IvoireORANGE COTE D’IVOIRE, a long-term partner of solutions provider Sicap,has extended its Orange Money offer with the deployment of the Sicapand Wincor Nixdorf Easy Cash ATMs solution, built on Wincor Nixdorfhardware and software products; subscribers in Abidjan can now easilydeposit and withdraw cash from their mobile wallets, as the Sicap EasyCash ATMs improve the interface between virtual cash and real money,and provide a 24/7 self-service opportunity.
Multimode fibre sold across one million kilometresCORNING INCORPORATED AFFIRMS has now sold more than one millionkilometres (km) of its ClearCurve multimode optical fibre, accounting formore than six million terminations globally deployed, and sales to morethan 90 cablers in 20 countries around the world; “Passing one millionkilometers sold is an exciting achievement...ClearCurve multimode fiberremains our standard 50-micron multimode product offering, providingassurance against tight bends and challenging cable installations withup to 10 times less signal loss than traditional multimode fibres,” saidBarry Linchuck, division vice president and director, worldwidemarketing, Corning Optical Fibre.
RUCKUS WIRELESS HAS introduced SmartCell, the first heterogeneous small cellwireless edge system that lets operators inject wireless capacity, increase coverageand enable new edge services while relieving radio access, backhaul and coreinfrastructure bottlenecks created by the deluge of data traffic hitting theirnetworks.
The fast uptake of mobile data services, driven by smartphones, laptops, andtablets, has accelerated data-traffic growth to the point where macro cellularnetworks are no longer sufficient to meet subscriber demand in many high-densitysettings. While the introduction of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology in themacro cellular network will provide partial relief, traffic volumes will continue togrow faster than operators can economically add capacity.
Ruckus SmartCell is the first in a new category of small cell systems designed tosolve these problems by combining a multi-radio, multi-function access point, theSmartCell 8800, with the industry’s first small cell HetNet edge services platform,the SmartCell 200 gateway. The Ruckus SmartCell system lets operators easilyenhance and extend their macro networks with smaller cellular networks that arean inseparable part of the mobile network infrastructureand built as part of an end-to-end solution.
With SmartCell, mobile operators can gain acapacity boost from LTE small cells, cutting costsand complexity by co-locating and combiningthem with Wi-Fi access points, sharing site-lease agreements and backhaul. Theintegration of Wi-Fi and LTE small cells withinthe cellular core also helps operators optimisenetwork utilisation across the radio accessnetwork, providing a further improvement inperformance, and creating a seamlessexperience for their subscribers.
The case for small cellsSmall cells represent a new architecturalapproach, enabling mobile operators tobring wireless capacity closer tosubscribers, both indoors and outdoors,helping to relieve the growing pains caused bymore devices, more users and moreconcurrent wireless connections. In-Statestimates that by 2015, worldwideshipments of small cell equipment will reach $14bn with outdoor metrocellshipments realising a compound annual growth rate of 248% over the next fiveyears.
According to Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research, “Small cells increasenetwork capacity by reducing the number of subscribers per coverage area. Suchsmall cells, however, can be problematic to deploy due to challenges such asproviding backhaul. Any solution that helps overcome such challenges willultimately benefit both operators and subscribers.”
“The telecom industry is going through major reconstruction as operatorsevaluate 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 shoulddeploy Wi-Fi or cellular within smaller cells, theyneed to do both. By putting small cells closer to thesubscriber, operators can lower the cost oftransporting each bit while boosting wirelesscapacity. Users will access the network at muchhigher data rates and be able to get on and off thenetwork more quickly - utilising less networkcapacity from a spectrum and time perspective.Our SmartCell is the first system of its kinddesigned with this in mind,” said Lo.
Easing access, backhaul, and capacity pressures
Communications Africa Issue 2 20126
BULLETIN
TV to gain an integrated free-to-air satellite receiverSES ANNOUNCED, AT the Samsung Africa Forum held recently in Cape Town,South Africa, that it is collaborating with Samsung to drive digitalbroadcasting via satellite in sub-Saharan Africa; Samsung will introduce anLED television with an integrated free-to-air satellite receiver, the SamsungLED TV Free Satellite that will be distributed initially in Nigeria, Ghana, CoteD’Ivoire, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.
Vodacom SA’s customer service goes socialVODACOM CUSTOMER SERVICE agents will soon be able to switchseamlessly from social media interactions to another mode of contactwithout losing context or data; the operator is deploying Genesys SocialEngagement to automate and integrate social media interactions withcustomers throughout their contact centre and customer service operations.
One series of designer smartphonesHTC RECENTLY SHOWCASED its new One series of smartphones, whichrepresent a new premium mobile experience emphasising fresh designcues and improved visual and auralfunctionality; “The best moments in life arecaptured with a photo or remembered by asong, so it was key for the HTC One series toimprove these emotional experiences withan amazing camera and authentic soundexperience...We are very focused on creatinga camera and audio experience customerswill love and use often and we believe theHTC One series delivers this in a way neverseen on a phone before,”said Peter Chou, CEO ofHTC Corporation.
The new HTC Oneseries of
smartphones
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 toMTN Cote d’Ivoire at MTN’s offices in Abidjan, during a press conference heldto display the SIM and subscriber registration process in MTN service centresand the equipments related to the West African Cable System (WACS) - atwhich, also, Wim Vanhelleputte, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Coted’Ivoire, announced that WACS, a submarine cable stretching 14,000 kilometresbetween Portugal and South Africa, will upgrade connectivity for Ivorians tointernational standards.
“This is a dream come true for many Ivorians whose internet access hasbeen held back for a very long time. The cable will allow more Ivorians to enjoyfast access to the internet. We have already identified about 30 per cent ofsubscribers who will be the first to experience and enjoy the 3G service,” saysVanhelleputte.
The universal licence granted to MTN in Benin allows the company to providemobile telecommunications services using any technology within the definedagreed 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 theuse of new generation technologies, such as 3G, 4G, LTE and Wimax. Thispresents a great opportunity to improve business communication solutions andother services to our customers, both in the consumer and corporate sectors.Customers are already eagerly waiting for the launch of new services using thenew technology, and MTN Benin is working hard to ensure that our customersare not disappointed,” says Eric Tronel, Chief Executive Officer for MTN Benin.
Contact : Mr. Lamin Camara - Tel : +220 9974077 - Email : [email protected]
ACE will be operational Q4 2012
Will connect 21 territories, including 18 African countries
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
Will secure and diversify the international broadband traffic routing
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
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.
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.
MAY8 Cloud Computing World Forum Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.cloudcomputinglive.com
8-10 West African International Telecommunications Exhibition and Conference (W.Afri.Tel)/WAFICT Lagos, Nigeria www.exhibitionsafrica.com
9-11 IST-Africa Dar es Salaam, Tanzania www.ist-africa.org
14-17 Connected Africa Forum Johannesburg, South Africa www.mobile-money-gateway.com
14-17 TETRA World Congress Dubai, UAE www.tetraworldcongress.com
15-16 Global Broadcast Summit London, UK www.globalbroadcastsummit.com
15-16 North Africa Com Tunis, Tunisia nafrica.comworldseries.com
21-24 SatCom Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com
21-24 Submarine Networks World Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com
21-24 Telecoms World Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com
22-24 LTE World Summit Barcelona, Spain www.lteconference.com
23-24 Cloud Africa Johannesburg, South Africa cloudafricasummit.com
23-25 eLearning Africa Cotonou, Benin www.elearning-africa.com
28-29 AITEC Banking & Mobile Money West Africa Accra, Ghana www.aitecafrica.com
JUNE7 TMT Finance & Investment Africa London, UK www.tmtfinance.com
13-14 West & Central Africa Com Dakar, Senegal wcafrica.comworldseries.com
JULY3-4 VAS Africa Johannesburg, South Africa vasafrica.comworldseries.com
10-11 Broadcast & Film Africa Nairobi, Kenya www.aitecafrica.com
Events 2012
SPEAKING RECENTLY ON development in revenue management, MarkWindle, Head of Marketing at OpenCloud, observed, “For pre-paidand, to a large extent, also post-paid charging, the billing models havebeen hard-wired into the platforms delivering the service.Communication Service Providers (CSPs) have been able to changeprices with some ease, but changing the actual model has not been soeasy. For example, enterprise services created in Europe or NorthAmerica are built on the assumption that the end user (the employee)will be a post-paid customer. However, in a number of emergingmarkets, even for business use, it is more common for employees tohave pre-paid phones. This is a particular problem for enterprises inthose regions wanting to benefit from next-generation IP/SIPenterprise services.
“In Europe subscribers are now protected from excess roamingcharges by regulatory controls. European operators have needed totrack charges incurred by each roamer and provide warnings, andusage controls, in real-time. In order to provide this service forsubscribers, the CSP requires a real-time view of roaming expenditurefor each subscriber (whether they are pre-paid or not). This is just oneexample of providing improved customer service that can be enabledby implementing online charging; others include helping customerson multiple devices understand their spend as they use. M-paymentswill add to subscribers’ need to see real-time billing information. Thisis especially relevant in Africa because of the heavy use of m-payments in the region; brought about by the lack of fixed-lineinfrastructure.
“The pressure on operators to implement online charging willincrease steadily. Solutions are available that can simplify the processof enabling services for ‘online charging’ and even implement specialcase charging events, such as copying roaming charging to a separateroaming account.”
Comnet Power presents revolutionary Green Power Solution, integrating Power and Fuel Management for Mobile Operators, in the Middle East and Africa Region.
CAMERA CORPS IS introducing a presettable version of its Q-Ball robotic camera head and a compact fibre-optic linkat 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 (eachcomprising pan angle, tilt angle, zoom and focus) to be stored prior to a live or real-time recorded shoot. Settingscan be rehearsed ahead of a live event and saved in non-volatile RAM. Q-Ball and Q-Ball Pre-Set are fully compatiblewith all existing Camera Corps robotic control systems and CCU panels. Up to 72 heads can be operated from asingle controller. Housed in a fully-weatherproof 115 mm diameter aluminium sphere, Q-Ball integral 10-times zoomoptical lens and smooth-accelerating pan/tilt motors. Equipped with a 2 megapixel CMOS sensor and capable ofoperating 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-Ballor other remote high-definition camera heads. The linkconsists of separate transmitter and receiver modules, eachhoused in an impact-resistant and weatherproof metal case.Dual-fibre carries HD/SD-SDI from the camera to the controlposition plus a reverse direction channel whichcommunicates data from the controller to the camera. Controldata is encoded onto an audio carrier using the proventechnology deployed across Camera Corps’ entire range ofremote camera control systems. Compact-form-factor LCconnectors allow fast attachment of dual single-mode opticalfibres to the link. Power can be sourced from the same 12 voltsupply as the Q-Ball remote pan/tilt/zoom camera.Equalisation and reclocking within the integral videoprocessor permit long cables to be used between thetransmitter and receiver. A red LED warning light on the frontpanel illuminates in the event of signal loss. Video output isvia a standard 75 ohm BNC connector.
Communications Africa Issue 2 2012
AGENDA@NAB
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DIGITAL VIDEO SYSTEMS (part ofRohde & Schwarz) will belaunching its multi-channelbroadcast server Venice in a newform-factor at NAB 2012. In its 2Uchassis, it offers an extendedfeature set and occupies half itsformer size. New featuresinclude support for the GXF fileformat and for codecs such asH.264 and AVC, metadata editingfor file or signal ingests andextended read-while-writecapabilities when interfaced withAvid editing systems. Venice isnow available in a 2U chassisoffering space for up to 9 terabytesof internal storage and up to 4video channels. It is equipped asstandard with 10 GigabitEthernet and USB 3.0 ports.
Camera Corps introduces the BC550 fiber-optic linkand the Q-Ball Pre-Set
AT NAB THIS year, Tieline Technology will exhibit its new Genie sixchannel IP codec designed for IP-based studio-to-studio and studio-to-transmitter links. Other applications include multicasting overcompatible IP networks, receiving IP audio streams from remotebroadcast codecs, and (with an optional expansion card) 5.1 surroundsound or 6-channel audio distribution. Features include up to 24-bit 96kilohertz sampling, dual 1 gigahertz Ethernet ports, dual redundantpower supplies and a user-programmable audio mixing matrix. Silencedetection combined with automatic switchover ensures that a backupaudio source can be put online if an incoming channel goes down. Otherfeatures include a low-latency in-band RS-232 auxiliary data channel.MP3 or uncompressed WAV files can be imported quickly from a USBflash drive. An network of Genie codecs can be configured andsupervised from a remote computer using Tieline's Codec ManagementSystem. This can be deployed to create and manage primary and backupconnections, view audio signal levels and check IP statistics. Individualcodec settings such as algorithms, jitter buffers and forward errorcorrection can also be adjusted. Tieline’s SmartStream IP technologyprovides advanced network management tools which responddynamically to variable conditions over lossy IP networks, especially insituations when quality-of-service control is unavailable on a network ordelivery path. The Tieline Genie occupies a 1 rack-unit chassis.
DVS broadcast serverCamera Corps pre-set camera and BC550 fibre-optic link
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.
NOW IN ITS 7th year, East Africa Com is well-established in the region, with an expected 600+senior level representatives from mobile andfixed-line operators, Internet Service Providers,regulators, investors, telecoms solution vendorsand content providers at the event, networkingand knowledge-sharing with each and with OTTservice providers, social media players, digitalmedia brands and mobile advertisers.Taking place 17-18 April this year in nairobi,Kenya, the conference programme emphasisesapproaches to profitability in a changing digitalecosystem. Furthermore, there is a MobileMarketing Summit, arranged in partnership withthe Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), which
will serve exploration of the potential of themobile channel to connect and engaging withconsumers.
Technology and innovationThe two-day, strategic conference is designed todeliver market insights, practical solutions andbest practice benchmarks that can support newbusiness growth. The agenda is a mixture ofpresentations, case studies, interactive panelsessions and Q&A slots to ensure maximumreturns on participation.
Alongside the conference sits a 30-standmarket-style exhibition where internationalvendors present, demonstrate and discusssolutions and technologies to supportcommercial operations in the region. Inparticular, the event will focus on therequirements of the communications markets in:Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia,Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania andUganda.
eaafrica.comworldseries.com
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AGENDA@EASTAFRICACOM
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EAST AFRICA COM exhibitor Giesecke &Devrient (G&D), which specialises insecurity technology, was selectedrecently by Intel to deliver lifecyclemanagement of the embedded SecureElements within Intel’s SmartphoneReference Device. G&D will managethe partitioning and key managementof the embedded Secure ElementsOver-the-Air. Embedded SecureElements provide an additionalprotected area for security-sensitiveapplications such as payments andticketing using NFC (Near FieldCommunication) technology. MikeBell, Intel vice president and generalmanager of Intel’s Mobile andCommunications Group. “Ourstrategic relationship with Giesecke &Devrient enables this new ecosystemwith the mutual goal of making NFCservices ubiquitous, secure andsuccessful for all stakeholders.”Intel has included an embeddedSecure Element in its recentlyannounced Smartphone ReferenceDevice, in addition to the conventionalSIM card slot. This protected areaprovides security comparable tolevels found in smart cards such as
EMV credit and SIM cards, so providingusers of mobile devices an addeddegree of security and conveniencefor new use cases includingcontactless payments in shops.G&D will act as Trusted ServiceManager (TSM) for the Secure ElementIssuer (SEITSM) providing the lifecyclemanagement of the embedded SecureElements. G&D’s SEI-TSM will interfacewith Service Provider TSMs (SP-TSM)that enable the trusted delivery ofapplications to the embedded SecureElement on behalf of serviceproviders such as banks, mobilenetwork operators and transitauthorities. G&D’s TSM solutions arealready supporting numerous secureservices on behalf of customers suchas network operators, banks andtransit authorities. The embeddedSecure Element in Intel’s platforms,with the SEI-TSM service operated byG&D, offers a trusted end-to-endmechanism to realise the benefits ofNFC. This can interface with anyGlobalPlatform standards-basedService Provider TSM to facilitate thesecure delivery and personalisation ofmobile applications.
G&D set to provide Intel with trusted servicemanagement for mobile device platforms
BUILDING ON A record of provision of communications technologiesthat enhance the end-to-end mobile experience, Dialogic’s bandwidthoptimisation solutions are helping service providers meet their mobilebackhaul challenges. For service providers, this has resulted inimproved customer experience and, in turn, an increase in subscriberbase, 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 thatglobal mobile data traffic is expected to grow 26-fold between 2010and 2015. This is based - at least, in part - on continued migrationtoward smartphone use, further increasing sales of media tablets anda burgeoning interest in data hungry mobile video and mobileapplications. But what’s more, this could lead to a need and demandfor additional bandwidth that goes beyond the levels that are alreadymaking news today. With that, there would also be an accompanyingexpectation for mobile backhaul solutions that provide bandwidthoptimisation on mobile networks.Dialogic’s mobile backhaul solutions allow service providers to optimisebandwidth without the need for new infrastructure. The Dialogic I-GateSession Bandwidth Optimiser product line already has a well establishedtrack record of providing bandwidth optimisation solutions, which cantransport VoIP traffic through 3G mobile and next-generation switchingnetworks. Part of this product line is the Dialogic I-Gate 4000 SessionBandwidth Optimiser Mobile Backhaul (I-Gate 4000 SBO MB), which hasbeen shown to be able to quickly and cost-effectively double thebandwidth in a typical Radio Access Network (RAN).“When evaluating their mobile backhaul roadmap, mobile serviceproviders should be looking for a solution that leverages existingnetwork resources and provides an upgrade to their managementtools and assurance processes,” said Akshay K. Sharma, researchdirector at Gartner.
Technology, innovation and new business growth
Dialogic help service providers handle backhaul
“East Africa Com… a great opportunity to sharein depth discussions with peers from across theecosystem, to network and to drive businessideas forward.” - Henry Njoroge, Marketing Director, AirtelKenya
“East Africa Com was a perfect place to enhance ourmarketing campaign and open our door to East Africaregion. We have met new and old business associatesand friends from the world of business telecoms.” - Eric You, Sales Manager, Zhongli Science and Technology Group Co. Ltd
“The event was superb. Allthe East African and global,
Telecom and ICT stakeholderswere there. It was a greatnetworking opportunity.”
- Bernard Wahome, ManagingDirector & CEO, Broadband
DJIBOUTI TELECOM AND TI Sparkle were able to quicklyrestore access to the Global Internet for all their customersvia their Tier 1 IP POP located in Djibouti City, Republic ofDjibouti, following the submarine cable outage in February2012. The three cables that provide most internetconnectivity between East Africa and Europe, EASSy, SMW3and EIG, had been damaged by a cargo ship in the Red Seabetween Djibouti and Port Sudan, generating a seriousdegrade of Internet service to and from East Africa.Although many carriers in the region had lost connectivitycompletely, thanks to the solid architecture of the fullyprotected IP node in Djibouti, TI Sparkle and DjiboutiTelecom were able to guarantee service to their customers
as well as to accommodate new demand from operatorswhose service was affected by the outage."The ambitious recovery plan that was executed in only 24hours by our operations team in cooperation with our partnerDjibouti Telecom is something we are very proud of as itdemonstrates the solidity of our network as well as itsflexibility," said Riccardo Delleani, CEO at Telecom Italia Sparkle."The fully protected configuration of our IP POP allowed usnot only to survive a triple cable failure but also toguarantee enough capacity to accommodate the demand ofnew customers for internet connectivity to Europe andNorth America," observed M. Abdourahman MohamedHassan, Director General of Djibouti Telecom..
Djibouti’s IP hub guarantees Internet access to operators and service providers
THERE ARE TWO days pf strategickeynote presentations at this year’sEast Africa Com. The conferenceagenda addresses the hottest topicsfacing the region’s digital ecosystem.Each session is expected to featurestimulating discussion using a seriesof C-Level roundtables, interviews,presentations, case studies andquestion-and-answer panel sessions.
Day One
Strategic Keynote• A Changing Landscape – Leading
Digital Innovation in East AfricaStream A• Winning LTE & Broadband StrategiesStream B• Cloud & Enterprise Network
RevolutionEast Africa Com• Customer Experience Management• Strategic Plenary Regulatory
Address• Choosing Technology & Services
for Empowering Rural Telecoms• Fighting Fraud WorkshopsMobile Marketing Summit• Key Reaching Africa consumers
through the mobile channel• Content is king• Developing apps for business users
Strategic keynotes atEast Africa Com
GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH supplies African telecommunications services, recently held a high-level industry panel in Johannesburg, South Africa, focusing on the ‘Future of African Connectivity.’ Hostedby 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; NziokaWaita, Head of Corporate Affairs at Safaricom; and Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Convergence Partners. Thediscussion addressed topics ranging from rural connectivity and the role telecoms plays in Africaneconomies, to pricing for consumers and the future of data use in Africa.
It was emphasised by Saidou that 20-40 per cent of the Africanpopulation does not have access to voice let alone data and that it isthese individuals, mostly in rural areas, that demand connectivity. Thereare 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 uplarge parts of the economy.“The challenge is driving this growth in landlocked countries in Africa thatdon’t have access to sub-sea cables. We need to break down the barriers tocross border roll-out,” he said. The way is being paved in this area througha variety of initiatives including Gateway Communications’ SADC terrestrialroll-out project, which has brought fibre connectivity to Malawi and Zambia.With regards to data in Africa, Waita argued that whilst we all aspire todemocratise data usage, actually delivering it can be an issue. “In Kenyayou have 8-5 sub-sea fibre cuts a day. We need much better geo-mapping to overcome this problem and addressing infrastructuredevelopment challenges more broadly must be a priority.”
Industry panel outlines the future of African connectivity
FRANCE TELECOM-ORANGE and Visa Inc. are working to ensureOrange Money customers have access to Visa prepaid accountfeatures inside their Orange Money accounts - a significant step inbringing Visa-quality payments to consumers. Orange Money is the mobile phone-based payment service designedby Orange to meet the needs of customers in Africa and the MiddleEast. It offers Orange subscribers applications such as person toperson transfers, bill payments, and agent-based cash-in and cash-out services for loading or withdrawing funds. Launched incooperation with local bank partners, the service was first introducedin 2008 and is presently available in eight countries across Africa andthe Middle East. Orange plans to introduce Visa payment capabilityto Orange Money subscribers in select markets by the end of 2012."We already provide secure and convenient payment capability to 3.5million unbanked or financially under-served African citizens," saidJean-Paul Cottet, Orange's Executive Director for Marketing andInnovation. "By combining the convenience of Orange Money withthe reach of Visa's global payment network, we can offer newpayment 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 andinteroperability of mobile money programmes, such as Orange Money, by enabling account holders to makeperson-to-person payments, retail and e-commerce purchases at merchants where Visa is accepted, orwithdraw funds at Visa ATMs."Mobile technology has become one of the most important enablers of financial inclusion and its ubiquityis allowing mobile network operators, financial institutions, and Visa to connect financially under-servedconsumers to each other and the global economy," said John Partridge, President, Visa Inc. "Theconvergence of mobile and financial services networks helps to remove service barriers, accelerates thepace of change and is transforming the lives of consumers in developing countries."
Communications Africa Issue 2 2012
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SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS,WHICH specialises insemiconductor solutions,showcased technologies formobile applications at MobileWorld Congress,demonstrating mobileinnovations for simple,speedy and multi-functionalapplications, to meet thedemands of today’s andtomorrow’s businessenvironments. “From state-of-the-artapplication processor Exynos,Samsung’s most advancedsmartcard chip solutions,high-quality image sensors,and the most advancedmobile memory technologies,we aim to embrace futuredesign development andproduct performance to meetthe needs of leading mobiledesigners for advanced mobilecomponent solutions,” saidYunshik Kim, president ofSamsung Semiconductor Europe.
Jean-Paul Cottet, Orange's ExecutiveDirector for Marketing and Innovation
CUMMINS POWER GENERATION exhibited at the2012 Mobile World Congress in Spain,showcasing its prime and standby generator setrange for the telecoms industry. A key feature ofthe Cummins presence at the show will be thenewly launched C17D5T generator set.
Targeting the "next billion" The C17D5T Series Integrated Generator Set is apowerful addition to the Cummins PowerGeneration family of products, ideal for mobiletelecommunications in the world's fast-growingdeveloping markets. The new diesel-enginedgenerator set features integrated automatic
transfer switch, a large fuel tank and longintervals between services, allied to a heavy-dutyengine and integral radiator cooling system. The C17D5T is suited to the needs of mobileoperators reaching new subscribers in remoteareas – who are expected to account for the bulkof the "next billion" mobile connectionsaccording to research by leading analyst firmOvum. Power provision is vital to base stationsites servicing the widespread rural locationswhere these potential new subscribers live, and aprime-power source such as the Cummins PowerGeneration C17D5T will help operators installbase stations reliably and efficiently.
Dependable solution The C17D5T generator set operates at 50 Hz and hassingle phase and 3-phase rating of 17 kVA standby,15 kVA prime. Reliability is ensured by a rugged, 4-cycle industrial engine which features lowemissions and a fast response to load changes. Cooling is provided by a standard integralradiator system, designed and tested for ratedambient temperatures – making it simpler todesign generator sets installations to meetrequirements for rejected heat.Control is through Cummins Power GenerationPowerCommand® 1.1, which provides totalgenerator set system integration, includingautomatic remote starting and stopping, plusalarms and status message display.
Remote reliability The C17D5T generator set is equipped withintegrated automatic transfer switch (ATS), a 1,000litre fuel tank and can run for 1,000 hours betweenservicing, including lube oil and air filter changes.The weather-protected, sound-attenuatedenclosure, coupled with robust structural strengthand pilferage-protected lockable fuel tank, makethe C17D5T a practical and efficient choice forremote areas in developing regions. "The growth in requirement for prime power is akey trend in the telecoms industry today, and theC17D5T generator set is an excellent prime powersolution. It is ideally suited for environments inAsia, Africa, Middle East and parts of EasternEurope and Latin America where the telecomsoperators see their best mobile growth prospects.Mobile base stations in these regions are oftenfar from a dependable grid supply. The integratedATS makes it easy for installation and will reduceinstallation time significantly. The quality andreliability of the diesel generator sets in theselocations are critical," said Alan Zhao. The C17D5T is the latest member of a line ofCummins Power Generation products meetingboth the prime and standby requirements oftelecommunications operators. The range covers8 kVA to 3,500 kVA for both 50Hz and 60Hzmarkets. These generator sets are suited to avariety of applications including cell towers, datacentres and complex switching environments.
Samsung’s new solutionsOrange offers Visa mobile prepaid accounts
Power generation specialist set to help telcos target the "next billion" mobile subscribers
CGAP, GRAMEEN FOUNDATION, and MTN Uganda are introducing a new initiative to research and develop mobilefinancial 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 buildupon the extensive research already conducted through Grameen Foundation’s Application Laboratory (AppLab) inUganda 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 andhealth services. However, 2.7bn people – most of whom live in developing countries – still do not have a bankaccount. This gap is due to two major challenges: Many low-income communities are underserved by financialinstitutions, and the products offered by these institutions are more suitable for higher-income clientele. The growthof mobile money is helping address the access issue, but there is still a need for product offerings that areappropriate for low-income consumers.
The goal of the initiative is to drive the next wave of innovation in the mobile moneyspace by researching and developing products that are both appropriate for poorclients and commercially viable for the financial service providers involved. “To achieve our goal of financial inclusion for all, the industry needs to movebeyond mobile payments and provide a full array of pro-poor mobile financialproducts,” said Tilman Ehrbeck, CEO of CGAP. “This collaboration with CGAP and MTN Uganda will enable us to lead the nextwave of product innovation to truly serve poor people’s needs – a goal that is atthe very core of Grameen Foundation,” said Alex Counts, President and CEO ofGrameen Foundation.“MTN is committed to being innovative and relevant to its customers, particularlyin this increasingly competitive global market. This partnership will ensure that weare able to address the needs of our customers in the rural market by enablingthem to access otherwise inaccessible financial services. This in turn will ensurethat the rural poor have better access to other social services, such as education,health and investment opportunities,” said Themba Khumalo, CEO MTN Uganda.
IT IS REFLECTIVE of Microsoft'sstrategy that its announcement ofWindows 8 would come at MobileWorld Congress. Microsoftrecognises that a significant shareof its business will be affected bymobile, and that's why Windows 8is built to be a cross-platformoperating system - delivering thesame experience on desktops,laptops and tablets.
Windows 8 features a newMetro-style interface that isdesigned for touchscreen, mouse,keyboard, and pen input. It alsoadds support for the ARM processorarchitecture in addition to thepreviously supported x86microprocessors from Intel and AMD.
www.microsoft.comTilman Ehrbeck,
CEO of CGAP
Investment to strengthen commitment to mobile money A cross-platform OS
ERICSSON AND WESTERN Union are workingthrough a strategic agreement designed toaccelerate the interconnection between the m-commerce eco-system and the existingfinancial world. The first step of this agreementwill result in seamless platform integrationbetween the Western Union Mobile MoneyTransfer network and the Ericsson suite of M-commerce solutions, including EricssonConverged Wallet, Ericsson Wallet Platform,and Ericsson M-commerce Interconnect. Thiswill enable mobile network operators to easilyinclude Western Union Mobile MoneyTransfers in the service suite of their mobilefinancial service offers. Ericsson's M-commerce services portfolio is designed tounlock the potential of the wallet, fast-trackmobile operators' time to market in launchingmobile financial services and support therapid adoption of M-commerce by theirsubscribers. Western Union has been a marketleader in mobile money transfer for the pastfour years. By joining forces with WesternUnion for these services, mobile operators canconnect their accounts easily and simply to theworld's premier money transfer network ofmore than 450,000 Agent locations across 200 countries and territories. This enables account holders toeasily send and/or receive money transfers globally.
Communications Africa Issue 2 2012
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AT MOBILE WORLD Congress2012, customer experiencesystems provider Amdocsannounced best-in-classresults for the communicationsindustry’s first benchmark toreport the performance ofintegrated real-time chargingand SCP (service controlplatform) software on open(e.g. non-proprietary), cost-effective, hardware systems.The benchmark demonstratedsupport for 220mn prepaidand postpaid customers, thelargest benchmark customerbase ever reported. Thebenchmark ran Amdocs’Convergent Charging and SCPproducts on IBM BladeCenterservers and IBM StorwizeUnified Storage Systems -achieving outstandingperformance, reliability andcost-efficient scalability.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONStechnology (ICT) solutions providerHuawei announced at Mobile WorldCongress the release of its SoftMobilesuite of solutions, featuringcoordination, sharing and profiting, tohelp operators achieve more flexibleand profitable mobile broadbandnetwork connections.Huawei’s SoftMobile can optimisenetwork architecture, achievedynamic resource sharing, andimproving user experience. Thesolution of macro-macro and macro-micro coordination can decreaseinterference between sites. Macro-macro coordination can improve thesite throughput. And network capacitycan be improved with macro-microcoordination. At MWC, Huawei demonstratedNetworker, its user-side applicationfor monetising QoE (Quality ofExperience), which can be easilyinstalled in smart terminals.Networker enables real-time displaysof current data rate, available datarate, volume quota, and subscriptionstatus information. The Networkersoftware solution encourages users toupgrade their subscriptions for higher
bandwidth, volume top-ups, andtemporary boosts of speed via one-touch purchases. Also introduced wasCloud EPC, Huawei’s concept for thefuture evolution of packet corenetworks operating on three layers:infrastructure, virtualisation, andapplications. The infrastructure levelinvolves the modularisation,unification, and standardisation ofunderlying facilities to improvecapabilities and performance; thevirtualisation level supports multiplelogical network elements todynamically share the infrastructurelayer’s network resources; thevirtualisation layer utilises an openAPI (Application ProgrammingInterface) for the application layer tofacilitate mobile broadband serviceinnovation, accelerates developmentcycles of third-party applications, andhelps improve QoE.Huawei’s SoftMobile solutions helpoperators build open and profitablemobile broadband connections bysolving capacity congestion,providing end-to-end networkcoordination, and facilitating a varietyof flexible strategies to improve userexperience.
Huawei’s solutions forefficient mobile broadband
WITH MANY EMERGING markets preparing for the transition from voice todata-driven mobile telecommunications, Alcatel-Lucent recently hosted ahigh-level summit meeting of ICT ministers not only from Africa but alsofrom from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia to debate the essential‘rules of the road’ for adopting next-generation mobile technologies.
Recognising the benefitsGovernments play an essential role in the adoption of mobilebroadband, recognising the societal, economic and competitivebenefits of implementing robust and effective regulatory frameworksto allow the development of infrastructure, networks and thecommercial marketplace in their countries.Within this context, the roundtable event – Reinventing The Rules ForMobile 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 thedigital economy in their respective countries.The debate also encompassed the essential regulatory needs formobile telecommunications in the adoption of next-generationtechnologies - including 4G LTE - to foster digital inclusion and thedevelopment of applications to enhance education, youthemployment and social engagement amongst local communities andacross large geographies.Speaking about the debate, Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen said,“The migration from voice to data and video puts consumers in greatercontrol of their own content than at any time in human history. At thesame time, mobile broadband will bring tremendous societaladvantages to countries where fixed-line access has been limited oreven impossible to implement. This debate represents a key platformfor the panellists to address the opportunities of mobile broadband,and to flesh out their needs and regulatory challenges.”
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OPERATORS ARE CURRENTLYconfronted with an insane demandfor mobile data and as a result,need to start looking for possible
solutions to add more capacity. According toMichael Fletcher, Sales Director for RuckusWireless, Sub-Saharan Africa, to solve theproblem at hand now there are three waysthe industry can address it - increasecapacity of the affected network resource,offload the network resource to relievecongestion, or do both.
“The move to smaller cells to augmentexisting macro networks is widely viewed as apotential panacea to the access radio networkcongestion, but it also creates a new one –backhaul. Today, this has become one of thetelecom industry’s biggest debates especiallyas mobile operators look to achieve thecapacity required by the rapidly rising mobileInternet bandwidth demand.”
Getting smaller It is for this reason that mobile operators needto start thinking differently about the way theywant to achieve this. Small cells are low-powered, multi-radio access points such ascellular/Wi-Fi/backhaul that improve indoorand outdoor coverage to increase capacity andoffload traffic. Even though small cells benefit3G service deployments today, theirimportance will only grow as the industry
moves towards higher capacity like 4G or LTE,especially in urban environments.
“This is because as network operatorscontinue to increase coverage and
capacity and look to offload data torelieve traffic pressures, they alsoincrease the stress on their cell site
backhaul connectivity,” observesFletcher. “Another viable option is using
licensed spectrum as it is bettersuited for carrying mobile
data traffic, but whenusing licensed
spectrum, there aresome limitations,these spectrumbands areexpensive andfrequently notavailable for
licensing. In thiscase fiber isclearly thep r e f e r r e dbackhaul optionfor mobile
operators but in
some instances could be non-viable as it is tooexpensive, disruptive and time consuming.And therefore traditional cellular backhaulsolutions must be rethought in the context ofmoving to smaller cells.”
Wanted: new backhaul options Mobile operators need to find a sustainablebackhaul technique, which meets all therequirements. The new backhaul option needsto be well suited for dense urban environmentsas well as for close-to-the ground equipment,and lastly need to make small cells moreviable. In light of these, Ruckus Wirelesssuggest that unlicensed smart Wi-Fi be used asa viable and affordable option to solve thecellular traffic problem and here is why thiscould be the answer to the pending problem: • Wi-Fi has evolved to become an ideal
solution for the small cell backhaulproblem, that is, if done properly
• New Wi-Fi technology has been developedespecially aimed at the congestion of themobile networks; the new technologycombines integrated adaptive directionalantennas with smart meshing technologyand predictive channel management. Thecombination of these technologies makesthe use of Wi-Fi accessible for all users.
• Backhaul links can be automatically movedto a better channel with less interferencethereby identifying higher data rates. This isdefinitely a more affordable solution andwith greater resiliency in crowded urbanenvironments which are in dire need of morecapacity.
• Wi-Fi backhaul technology is currently beingbuilt into small cell nodes housing cellularand Wi-Fi access – with a fairly smallfootprint. This allows operators to deploy asingle box to provide Wi-Fi access, cellularaccess and backhaul together.
“Ultimately with small cells and betterbackhaul, mobile subscribers should enjoyhigher speeds with more coverage in moreplaces. In turn, mobile operators can reducesubscriber churn and increase revenue byhaving visibility into both cellular and Wi-Fitraffic – giving the customers more optionsto connect in more places,” concludesFletcher. ✆
Unlicensed smart Wi-Fi maybe used as a viable andaffordable option to solvecellular traffic problems
Communications Africa Issue 2 201218
Under the strain of a mobile data onslaught, the move to small cells is opening the doorto new and unexpected uses of smarter Wi-Fi
Can Wi-Fi really be usedto backhaul cellular voice?
NETWORK WiFi
Michael Fletcher, Sales Director for Ruckus Wireless,
A look at the trend towards more energy efficient base stations, underpinned by researchinto efficiency gains and improved coverage
Mobile networksfor the connected future
MOBILE Base Stations
MOBILE BASESTATIONS are themost energyi n t e n s i v e
component of a mobile phonenetwork, and more significantlyso if it’s a 3G network. Anestimated 1.6bn people manageto survive without an electricitysupply. A further one billionpeople live in areas with sporadicaccess to power. When they wantto expand commercially intoareas lacking a dependableenergy supply, mobile networkoperators have traditionallylooked to diesel generators fortheir power source – Vodafonehas confirmed that it uses onemillion litres of diesel a day tofuel remote base stations.However, as diesel pricesincrease and mobile networksare put up in increasinglyisolated regions with inadequatetransport infrastructure, mobileoperators in Africa will needviable alternatives to diesel, suchas solar and wind power.
Efficiencies are also beingarrived at through technologyupgrades to the basestationitself; in other words, energyconsumption is a topic that isbeing handled directly by theequipment vendors rather thanthe service providers. Accordingto Fezekile Mashinini, Analyst atBMI-TechKnowledge inJohannesburg, “There is anatural evolution of products
and the latest base stations arealready significantly smallerand more power efficient thanearlier generations. This ismostly to do with investments insilicon like putting more intointegrated circuits than inlarger, discrete components.”
Plans for power Mashinini’s view on solar andwind power is that “their load isreducing and at the same timethe efficiency of the renewablesources and their backupbatteries is increasing, and sothere is more chance of runningbase stations off-grid.”
The GSMA would appear toagree, as the issue has drivenone of their latest initiatives, theGreen Power for Mobile (GPM)programme, scheduled toconclude in 2012, which sets atarget of powering 118,000 off-grid basestations with renewableenergy by that time.
A central tenet of the plan isthe working group of 50 operatorsthat get together every threemonths to collaboratively sharecase studies, solve sectorchallenges and meet equipmentvendors from all over the world.GPM is exploring a number ofapproaches; Pico hydro, whichrefers to smaller hydro powerprojects providing under 10kw, isone of the latest. It is describedas having “the lowest installedcost per kW of all green powersolutions (~US$2,000-4,000 perkW),” a lifespan of up to 25 years,and “very low maintenancerequirements.” Every five years orso, an overhaul of the systemmay be required including thereplacement of key moving parts.Unlike solar or wind the reliabilityof flow means the solution can besized very accurately to the loadrequirements of the site and
therefore minimal battery ordiesel backup is required.
However, the problem withpico hydro is that there is littlestandardised equipmentavailable on a global scale, soequipment must be carefullysourced where local capacitydoesn’t exist. Additionally, theskills needed to install andmaintain the system are notwidely available in mostcountries. GPM presentlyfavours the use of biodiesel,but warns that the total costsfor running diesel generatorsrange from US$2.5–5 per hourof use. This is a substantialpremium to alternative sourcesof power. Other drawbacks arethat fuel quality is dependenton production methods; poorquality fuel can damage dieselgenerators. Fuel and generatortheft remain a problem, asdoes noise pollution anddistribution logistics.
New ways to network Another option for more remoteregions on the continent may beto bypass the need for basestations altogether, using aPeer-to-Peer ‘daisy chain’network like that employed bySwedish firm TerraNet in eastAfrica. In such a system, userscommunicate directly with eachother over a 1km range, thoughcalls may be routed throughseveral handsets, giving amaximum range of over 10km.
In major urban centres,though, the focus will remain on3G, with LTE pilot projects - thetechnology is often mistaken as4G, but remains essentially animproved 3G - also underway thisyear in South Africa and Nigeria.A typical 3G basestation usesabout 500W of input power toproduce about 40W of output RF
The emergence of femtocells has made iteasy for homeowners and small businesses
to install low-power basestations, usingtheir broadband connections for backhaul to
power. According to thesefigures, the average annualenergy consumption of a 3Gbasestation is approximately4.5MWh, which is in fact animprovement on theconsumption of GSM basestationdesigns. A 3G mobile network willtherefore consume more than50GWh a year, addingsignificantly to the network'soperating costs. Network energyuse may be much greater indeveloping markets with theirlarge geographic areas and largepopulations.
According to Peter Grant,Emeritus Professor at theUniversity of Edinburgh, there aretwo types of customer that willnecessitate more efficient mobilenetworks in future. “In theindustrialised world, theinfrastructure is in place and themarkets are saturated in terms ofsubscriber numbers, but traffic isgrowing exponentially and soquality of service is becoming akey issue,” he says. “The maindrive from the operators is to cutcosts. Things are different in therapidly growing emergingmarkets: there's less establishedinfrastructure, often largegeographical areas to cover,uncertain mains power.”
Grant believes that one of thekey issues in green basestationdesign is the tension betweencell size and realisticallyachievable data rates. Whenbasestations are being used tocreate physically largemacrocells, the signal to
interference and noise ratio(SINR) close to the basestation isrelatively high, which enables theapplication of advancedmodulation schemes, such as 64-way quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM), to attainreasonably high data rates.However, a consequence ofsignal propagation loss is thatSINR is lowered at the moredistant cell edge, permitting lesssophisticated quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation,with a corresponding reduction inlikely data rates. Smaller cells,with shorter distances to the celledge, solve this problem -although it takes many suchreduced-size cells to attain thesame coverage as a macrocell.
In recent years, the emergencein the West of femtocells, such asthe Vodafone Sure Signal box,has made it easy for homeownersand small businesses to installlow-power basestations, usingtheir broadband connections forbackhaul to the operatornetworks. Some forecasts predict45 million femtocells will bedeployed worldwide by 2014.
There are other techniquesthat can provide quick wins orimmediate energy reductions inbasestations: optimising the
power-supply rectifier; upgradingolder 2G systems to moreefficient transmission schemes,for example from GPRS toEvolved EDGE; and employingmore free-air cooling.
Current research Mobile VCE is working onmethods to boost the efficiencyof heavily loaded basestations toattain both high spectralefficiency and improved coverage- meaning high bit/s/Hz/km2figures - throughout the network,at what it terms ‘low power drain.’
This system powerconsumption measure includesboth the operational power, andthe embodied energy ofextracting and transporting rawmaterials, the manufacture,assembly, and installation ofboth the basestation and thefemtocells, and their finaldisassembly, deconstruction anddecomposition. At lower userdensities, of only 30 to 60 usersper macrocell, a power savingcan be achieved. In thesesimulations a total energyreduction of between 3 and 40per cent is possible.
The traffic load on cellularnetworks can range by a factor oftwo daily, typically hitting a low at
7am and a peak at 9pm. Thismeans Mobile VCE also has totake account of low-loadsituations in its work to improvebasestation efficiency, includingthe use of sleep modes to sharethe meagre available spectralresources in the most effectivepossible way.
In Mobile VCE’s work, there aretwo closely related low-loadtechniques. One cuts the numberof active basestations andreallocates their users, reducingpower needs by turning off partsof the network at certainfrequencies, or by cutting thenumbers of basestation sectorsused. Setting active basestationsto work on 900MHz, rather thanat 1.8GHz, can serve to minimisepropagation losses and thussaves RF transmission power.
The efficiency of radiobasestations, defined as theamount of RF energy they radiatedivided by the AC power suppliedto do so, is showing a year-on-year increase, from three per centin 2003 to 12 per cent in 2009and possibly to 25 per cent in2015. For the future, the nextgeneration of the LTE standard,LTE-Advanced, may implementcoordinated multi-pointstrategies, in whichtransmissions from severalbasestations are coordinated toremove interfering signals,hopefully reducing energyconsumption as well as boostingtraffic throughput. ✆
Barry Mansfield
Energy consumption is being handleddirectly by equipment vendors rather than
service providers
The lucrative market for production of applications, or apps, is being disrupted byfast, easy and cheap do-it-yourself app tools where creative people without anyprogramming skills can build apps. This trend will not only migrate revenues fromdevelopers to creators, but also accelerate the rise of app-internet.
”AppSpotr is a new do-it-yourself app tool that will radically speed up thecreation 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 nolonger 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 yournative app before publishing it to app markets. With the AppSpotr Viewer appavailable in AppStore and Android Market, it is now possible to preview yournative 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-it-yourself apps during 2012, we will also see how consumer interaction with mobilephones and other consumer hardware will keep emerging around apps. The mobilewebb interaction will decrease, and app-internet explode,” says Patric Bottne.
AppSpotr was launched online at www.appspotr.com during the 2012 MobileWorld Congress.
How improvements in connectivity are transforming the way people in Africa enrich theirlives and grow their businesses
The changing faceand pace of Africa
CONTINUAL ADVANCES IN thecapacity, speed, geographic reachand reliability of fixed-line andmobile broadband connectivity are
fundamentally changing how businesses
operate and how individuals go about theirdaily lives.
Africa has travelled a huge distance in a veryshort time, and connectivity continues toimprove in what Informa Telecoms & Media say
has recently become the second bestconnected region, in terms of mobilesubscription count, in the world – ahead ofWestern Europe and the Americas. The upshotfor Africans and businesses operating in Africa,is that valuable online business and personalapplications – such as mobile banking, socialnetworks (including Facebook, Twitter andYouTube), business networking, informationsecurity and cloud computing – are becomingincreasingly available.
However, just a few years ago the situationwas fundamentally different. Poor internationaland terrestrial connectivity restricted theeffectiveness and efficiency of businesses:new communications technologies such asvideo-conferencing and real-time informationsharing were unavailable – even emails withattachments couldn’t get through, onlinenetworking was all but non-existent andbusiness expansion into new geographies wasfraught with difficulty.
Meanwhile, slow, high-cost, geographically-limited and unreliable Internet and mobileaccess served to isolate Africans from theinformation, functionality and data servicesavailable with high-quality connectivity.Handset prices were also beyond the reach ofmost Africans.
The communications landscape in Africahas changed dramatically in the last coupleof years, with significant investments inhigh-capacity fibre-optic submarine cablesand terrestrial networks dramaticallyimproving connectivity into, out of andwithin the continent.
New submarine cables boost internationalconnectivityEighteen months ago, the 10,000km EASSy(East African Submarine System) cable wentlive, bringing unprecedented bandwidth andinternational connectivity to some 20 countriesin Eastern and Southern Africa – from South
Fixed and mobile broadbandmarkets in Africa willcontinue to evolve, as willthe growing number ofservices
Africa to Sudan. At 4.72 Terabits per second,EASSy is the largest system currently servingAfrica and represents two-thirds of theinternational submarine cable capacityavailable to sub-Saharan Africa.
Investment in new, high-capacity fibre-optic submarine cables linking Africa to therest of the world continues apace. During2012, more submarine cables are scheduledto go live – including WACS along the Westernseaboard and EIG providing connectivity toEurope. These two systems alone will providealmost 10Tbps of additional capacity to andfrom the continent.
By investing in EASSy, WACS and EIG,WIOCC is creating a unique high-capacity ringaround Africa, connected to Europe, enablingit to offer African and international telcos andinternet service providers high-quality,reliable international connectivity at anaffordable price.
Terrestrial network growthThe arrival and subsequent growth ininternational capacity has acted as a strongcatalyst for national operators to grow andenhance their own terrestrial networks.
Hamilton Research Limited recentlyreported a 15 per cent increase in Africa’stotal inventory of terrestrial transmissionnetworks over the last 12 months, which bythe end of Q3 2011 had reached 676,739route-kms. Laid end-to-end, that is enoughnetwork infrastructure to wrap around theearth almost 17 times.
Over the last year, an average of 138 route-kms of new African fibre-optic network enteredservice every day, and 2012 should seecontinuous interconnected terrestrial fibrerunning from Cape Town to Cairo.
WIOCC’s shareholders – 14 telcos fromacross Africa – are major contributors to thisterrestrial expansion, rolling out andinterconnecting high-capacity fibre-opticnetworks to carry mobile and fixed-line voice,data and internet traffic domestically, betweenneighbouring countries and internationally.
There is no sign of any slowdown in thegrowth of terrestrial networks. On thecontrary, the forward inventory of networks inAfrica under deployment, being planned orproposed is increasing.
Improvement in terrestrial connectivity, andthe benefits it brings, is set to increase at an evenfaster rate than previously. Across Africa there isnow twice as much fibre under deployment thantwo years ago – according to Hamilton Research,62,255.5km in September 2011, compared to31,687.7km in September 2009.
A faster, slicker and more modern AfricaThe explosion in fibre reach is bringing high-capacity national and international fibrebackbone networks to dozens of new townsand cities for the first time, significantlyincreasing the number of people in Africa withaccess to broadband networks and the myriadof services they can carry.
At the same time, existing terrestrialnetworks are being upgraded to improvereliability and data-carrying capacity, in orderto meet the greater needs and raisedexpectations of end-users and satisfy thedemands of an expanding wholesale market.
It is no surprise that businesses in Africaand African consumers are flourishing in thisfertile environment of increased networkreach, enhanced data speeds and networkcapacity, improved Internet reliability andgreater affordability.
The new-found improved connectivity has amultitude of benefits. International investmentinto African markets and companies iscontinuing, governments are competing toposition their countries as hubs for outsourcingoperations, and web-based business isgrowing fast. It is bringing a growing range ofinnovative, popular and useful applications tothe fingertips of an increasing number ofAfrican consumers and businesses. Mobilebanking (very successfully introduced in Kenyaunder the brand name of M-PESA and a fieldwhere Africa leads the world), e-wallet services,online bookings and payments, and popularnetworking sites such as Twitter, Facebook,YouTube, Spotify and LinkedIn, are all nowavailable to many at the touch of a button.
Businesses are using online services toimprove their efficiency and are now able tocost-effectively extend operations to satelliteoffices. eGovernment initiatives are changingthe delivery of public services. The Kenyangovernment has introduced an online companyregistration system, dramatically cuttingwaiting times, and in 2011, Rwanda wasrecognised for its efforts to give rural citizensaccess to information on healthcare, foodprices and crop prices.
However, the benefits are not yet universallyavailable. Other initiatives are taking theinternet to those who remain unable, forreasons of price, coverage or knowledge, totake advantage. Mobile service provider andWIOCC shareholder, Zantel has recentlylaunched an internet cafe franchise in Tanzaniaas part of its corporate social responsibilityprogramme. The initiative offers free computerand internet training and access to a growingnumber of rural communities and young
people across the country. Internet buses,which take internet access to underserved ruralcommunities, are an alternative orsupplementary approach being implementedin some markets.
What next? Fixed and mobile broadband markets in Africaare on an extended journey and will continue toevolve, as will the growing number of servicesaccessible with this revolution in connectivity.
To facilitate this growth, bandwidthdemands will continue to rise sharply -inexorably linked as they are to the increasingnumber and sophistication of connectivity-enabled, data-rich business and domesticapplications. Network diversity is alsoincreasingly important, with uptime and high-quality service delivery vital for differentiationin competitive markets.
With handset prices falling andsmartphones becoming increasingly availableover the next couple of years (Informa expectsthere to be 127mn smartphones in Africa by2015), the business, music, entertainment,social networking, financial services andmedia sectors in Africa are all set toexperience further significant change asconnectivity continues to improve.
After five consecutive years of close to 20per cent growth in the number of mobilesubscribers, Africa is the fastest-growingmobile market in the world. However, with amobile penetration of 649mn subscribers(equivalent to a 65 per cent penetration rate) inthe fourth quarter of 2011, there is still plenty ofscope for significant further growth. The GSMAssociation predicts there will be more than735mn subscribers by the end of 2012 and thatat the end of 2016 Africa will have a mobilepenetration rate of 86.92 per cent.
Better, faster and cheaperWith high-quality international and terrestrialfibre-optic connectivity now available, and thecontinent’s communications infrastructurecontinuing to improve – driving better, fasterand cheaper broadband access - the future forbusinesses and individuals in Africa is bright. ✆
Chris Wood, CEO at WIOCC
The explosion in fibrereach is bringing high-capacity national and
international fibrebackbone networks to
dozens of new towns andcities for the first time
Population Within Reach Of A Terrestrial Fibre Node, Sub-Saharan Africa 2010 – 2011Date % of population within 10km % of population within 25km % of population within 50kmJuly 2010 15.6% (131.23million) 30.8% (259.33 million) 47.7% (401.06 million)July 2011 18.6% (160.61 million) 36.3% (313.21 million) 56.1% (483.93 million)Change July ’10-11 +3.0% (+29.38 million) +5.5% (+53.88 million) +8.4% (+82.87 million)Source: Hamilton Research.
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!
“WITH THE TOTAL value ofmobile money transfersin Africa expected toexceed $200bn by 2015,
the mobile phone is fast becoming thedominant financial touchpoint for manyAfricans,” according to Martin Holloway, VicePresident of Sales for VeriFone, Middle Eastand Africa.
“With increasing prevalence of mobilebased electronic funds, many parts of Africaare eager to exploit new peer-to-peer mobilepayments systems to overcome a lack oftraditional electronic transactioninfrastructure, 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 andconvenient solution. One that connects mobileusers in a broader payment context – toretailers, services, trading points andtransportation - without relying on cash. Inaddition, the low value transactions covered byNFC suits Africa’s spending profile perfectly -giving its population a practical solution totheir payments issues.”
A promising market With specific challengesWith more than 500mn mobile phonesubscribers in Africa, there is no question ofthe potential for new mobile based paymenttechnologies such as NFC. New players,greater connectivity and enabling technologyare creating innovative ways for consumers tobuy, for merchants to sell and for financialinstitutions to reach their customers viaelectronic transactions – bringing non-cashpayments to rural populations and financialservices to the unbanked. However thedelicate balance between retailers andoperators investment in NFC is still undernegotiation.
Holloway confirms, “We are definitelyseeing more interest in NFC within Africa.However, there is still a lack of basic cardprocessing within the various countries, letalone NFC acceptance devices required toenable NFC’s mass use. As a globalmanufacturer, VeriFone can help overcomethis by making sure NFC developments filtertheir way quickly through to the Africanmarket. For example, our recently launched VXEvolution POS devices are ready and able to
process Contactless and NFC and are ready toroll-out via our reseller partners in most Africancountries. We have also been busy developingback office solutions that will help retailers toaggregate and manage NFC content.”
In fact, stitching it all together and makingNFC work is a complex task according toHolloway, “Enabling NFC payments and non-payment applications requires acceptancedevices for a wide variety of environments anda secure software that provides integration ofpayment with value-added online services.More than this it also requires a vision of howto ensure merchants—from the largest to thesmallest—can easily migrate to this new erawith the confidence that their investmentstoday will be viable as new capabilities andpayment services come on-stream.”
Regulation and developmentWhile regulations vary from country to country -and affect which services can be offered, bywhom and in which way - operators, financialinstitutions and payments providers must workin harmony to ensure consistently secure andreliable platforms for African customers.
The relationship between near field communications and the practicalities of establishing a true mobile paymentsinfrastructure that embraces retailers as well as operators and banks
Making payments work for the continent
MOBILE Commerce
Combating fraud remains a high priority,particularly for mobile based services
Combating fraud remains a high priority,particularly for mobile based services. Inmany areas of the world, EMV (Chip & PIN) andPCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance arebeing used to reduce card fraud and ensuredata security.
“In Africa, however, many NFC users willbe ‘unbanked’ – consequently the focus maynot be on protecting account holder data,”highlights Holloway. “What will be importantare ways to protect fraudulent access ofmobile funds at the POS and to prove identityof the user. One way to address data issuesis to utilise advanced end-to-end encryptionand tokenisation to safeguard the paymentschain. In addition, biometrics may becomeincreasingly used to offer identity basedsecurity.”
And it’s not just about developing newplatforms around Security. VeriFone is eagerto look at evolving other new NFC basedservice offering with partners in the region.
“VeriFone already processes paymentsacross Africa via its VIP reseller network,which provides bespoke solutions for localmarkets. Through its acquisition of CSC inAfrica, VeriFone is able to provide a greaternumber of solutions particularly for transportand NFC”, says Holloway. “We will be working
with retailers on value added services thatmake it simple and affordable for banks,processors and vertical market serviceproviders to deliver value-added applicationssuch as loyalty, gift card and prepaid – right tothe point-of-sale.”
Focusing on Future EnablementAs 2011 progresses, Holloway talks ofVeriFone’s clear vision of how the Africanmarket is evolving, “Africa’s trailblazingprogress in micro-finance, peer-to-peerpayments and mobile services will be able toevolve into a wider payments infrastructure.The ‘choice’ to access electronic payments,from any location at anytime will drive new
opportunities for growth, trade and personalsecurity. Partnership, innovation and localknowledge will remain crucial to making thisvision a reality.”
Holloway concludes, “For the moment,there is an emphasis on the Africanunbanked. Mobile still remains the mostviable way to reach most of the population. Asmobile banking, couponing and NFC continueto evolve, there is a lot of work to be done.While Africa’s adoption of NFC may be aheadof other nations, the limits and pitfallssurrounding NFC still remain. For it to succeed,Africa needs to roll out NFC enabled paymentdevices, or to upgrade existing POS systemsin tandem with NFC phone deployment.” ✆
There is huge potential for mobile based payment technologies such as NFC
The economic outlook is still mostly gloomy, but satellite stocks have remained attractivethroughout the recession
Are our satellitesreaching full capacity?
MARKETS Finance
ANALYSTS BELIEVE THAT intensified demand for transpondercapacity, the rapid adoption of HD channels, huge growth inemerging 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 inEurope or USA, normally using cross-strapped transponders. Thissector is facing stiff competition from terrestrial solutions, includingfibre and wireless (WIMAX, 3G, etc). The cost of delivering traditionalsatellite services is so steep that they simply cannot compete againstthe terrestrial options. There is, however, still strong demand for VSATconnectivity within a country or region, primarily for corporates (WideArea Networks) and in many regions there is high demand for Ku bandcapacity, particularly in East Africa and Southern Africa.
Backup with satellite
In recent years, much has been made within the satellite industry oftransponder shortages and higher capacity pricing impacting the Sub-Saharan African market. Roy Blatch, an analyst with System House inSouth Africa, confirms that there are still transponder shortages.However, he says he is not aware of any technical problems withsatellite services other than incidents of interference from terrestrialservices, 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 viafibre or microwave, has been very poor,” he warns. “There remainstherefore a need for satellite backup, but typically only a fraction ofthe terrestrial capacity is backed up due to the extreme difference inprice, with terrestrial coming in at as low as $100/Mbps and satelliteInternet trunk costing the service provider a minimum of $1000/Mbpsto land at their teleport. End customers are very reluctant to pay thehigher price for the backup service.”
Blatch believes there are still many opportunities for deploying Kuband VSAT solutions in the retail and banking sectors where they areused for point of sale terminals, ATMs, and access to centraldatabases and applications.
“Clearly, outside of urban areas, terrestrial connectivity remainslimited in many countries and users in these areas still rely onsatellite, but that is only a very small percentage of the market andusually 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
during as new satellites have been coming online. The higher powerC band capacity is allowing service providers to lower the cost ofdelivery due to more efficient modulation and coding being possibleand smaller VSAT terminals, which are then less expensive to deploy.
More capacityTo deal with capacity issues, satellite operators have been planning andlaunching several satellites to deliver service including New Dawn, Amos5, Eutelsat W3c, SES-4 and Yahsat. In terms of existing capacity on orbit,where there is strong demand the operators naturally respond with higherprices. In terms of capacity used for Internet trunking, many serviceproviders have defaulted on their payments since their market has beencompletely eroded through the arrival of fibre (SEACOM, TEAMS, Eassy,etc and shortly WACS and other cables). Service providers are doing theirpart by cutting costs, trying to improve network efficiencies in RF and IP,targeting corporate customers instead of broadband, and concentratingon niche market segments like maritime. ✆
Barry Mansfield
There remains therefore a need for satellitebackup, but typically only a fraction of theterrestrial capacity is backed up
Intelsat-14, launched in2009, prefaced a wave ofnew craft serving Africa
COMPRION’S LTE USAT testbench contains all test cases(TCs) specified by 3GPP TSGCT6 for LTE USAT which havebeen selected by GCF in thenew work item (WI) 137 forUSAT interworking with E-UTRA/EPC Rel-8. Comprion isknown for its timely deliveryof test benches based onofficial test standards. The LTE USAT test bench, part of the Comprion SIMfonyLTE solution, was launched before the GCF had selected which of the testcases were to be included in its set of conformance test cases. The TCsincluded in the WI-137 and in the Comprion SIMfony LTE USAT test bench testthe enhancements for E-UTRA/EPC for the existing USAT proactive commandsand events already defined in previous releases of 3GPP TS 31.124.
USAT testing essential for LTE environmentThe correct interworking of LTE terminals with the USIM is a basic part of theE-UTRA/EPC system due to the central role of the USIM as the responsibleelement for authentication, mobility management and call control handling.For the TS 31.124 Rel-8 (USAT conformance test specification) new TCs havebeen defined to cover the enhanced functionalities for the interworking of BIP(bearer independent protocol) and provide local information features with E-UTRA/EPC and the newly defined Network Rejection Event.
www.comprion.com
THE CISCO ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platformsets the industry benchmark for metropolitan andregional dense wavelength-division multiplexingsolutions by using proven Cisco MultiserviceProvisioning Platform networking technologies todeliver simple, fast, and intelligent DWDM capabilitiesand lower capital and operating expenditures.
Transforming Metro and regional networksWhen Cisco Systems introduced the MultiserviceProvisioning Platform (MSPP) for the metropolitanmarket in 1999, a clear demarcation was createdbetween what is considered “traditional” opticaltransport equipment and what is now considered“next-generation.” With its significant leap intechnology and product migration, the Cisco MSPPoffered traditional time-division multiplexing (TDM)and Synchronous Optical Network/SynchronousDigital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) services ranging fromDS1/E1 to OC-192/STM-64, as well as Ethernet and IPservices. The platform was scalable and was thefraction of the size of traditional bit-rate-specificequipment. In addition to providing greaterfunctionality and scalability from a platform thatused less space and power, the Cisco MSPP proved tobe cost effective, and it uniquely met therequirements for the new market segment.The Cisco ONS 15454 MSPP product line quicklyestablished itself as the marketleader. Continuing with its tradition of innovation andleadership in metro optical networking, Cisco has
introduced the Cisco Multiservice Transport Platform(MSTP), which is transforming metropolitan andregional dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing(DWDM) networks. The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP (Figure1) allows a metro or regional DWDM system to becomeas intelligent as the highly successful Cisco MSPP,including wide service interface mix, servicetransparency, flexible topology, and simplifiedoperations.
Wide Service Interface MixA metropolitan network, being close to or on acustomer’s premises—unlike its long-haulcounterpart—requires support for a great diversity ofservice interfaces.The service interfaces allow network providers tooffer new tariffs and allow enterprise customers tonatively transport a wide variety of services over acommon transport network without unnecessaryconversion stages and equipment.Additionally, a wide service mix simplifies theplanning for services. The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP, withits MSPP capabilities, supports a broad range ofstandards-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:
wavelength-based, including 10/100BASE-T, GigabitEthernet, 10-Gigabit Ethernet LAN physical layer,and 10-Gigabit Ethernet WAN physical layer.
• Storage services: 1-Gbps and 2-Gbps FibreChannel, Fiber Connectivity (FICON), andEnterprise Systems Connection (ESCON).
• Video services: D1 and high-definition television(HDTV).
The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP provides multipleprovisionable interface protection options, whichenable support for high availability as well asunprotected service delivery to meet the variedservice level agreements for metro transportofferings.
AIRCOM INTERNATIONAL, AN independent network planning andoptimisation solutions provider, has introduced two significant upgrades toits leading planning products, ASSET and CONNECT. ASSET 8.0 andCONNECT 8.0 upgrades deliver important functionality advancements onexisting versions and strengthen the integration to its I-VIEW framework. The two new releases will deliver competitive differentiation to new andexisting Aircom operator customers by addressing technology evolution,automation tasks and usability market requirements. ASSET 8.0 places great emphasis on better usability, better performanceand adds new planning capabilities. The new release is significantly morevisual and collaborative, introducing Web Maps to the existing ASSET mapview and continuing with enhanced Google Earth exporting capabilities.Analysis zones and areas for location-based services have also beenintegrated to better inform network planning decisions. CONNECT 8.0 is focussed on addressing technology evolution andenhancing existing integration with ASSET and I-VIEW DIMENSION. It sharesthe same visual capabilities as ASSET 8.0, also enabling the ability to useWeb Maps and exporting data to Google Earth. CONNECT 8.0 contains apowerful new productivity pack for Automatic Frequency and CapacityPlanning in backhaul networks and adds LTE support for its market-leadingCarried Traffic Analysis feature. “Both ASSET 8.0 and CONNECT 8.0 represent notableadvancements from existing releases,” says Calum Byers, COO atAircom International. “The wide range of new features and additionalcontent available in these upgrades ensure that ASSET and CONNECT willcontinue to be the most powerful planning tools available today.
THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Tab hasbeen hailed as the only seriouscompetitor to Apple’s populariPad currently available in SA.Although the iPad is still the tabletof choice for most people,Samsung has created a devicethat does a convincing job ofaddressing some of the iPad’s
shortcomings.One could think that the smallersize might be a downside for theGalaxy Tab, but its relativelysmaller size next to the iPadactually makes it far morepractical. Its slick black and white-styled body is about half the sizeof the iPad and it fits comfortablyin any sized bag — including aladies handbag. The Galaxy Tab isequipped with an 18 centimetrescreen (measured diagonally),making it possible to hold thedevice securely in one hand. Thisis not possible with Apple’sdevice.The Galaxy Tab is the first tabletdevice to use Android as itsoperating system. Many peoplewere sceptical about Samsung’sdecision, especially given that theoperating system was not built fortablet-like devices. We think thatcriticism is misplaced. Androidworks well in this form factor andon the Galaxy Tab, it runs quickly,too. The menus and scrolling are
responsive and intuitive on thedevice’s 1GHz processor.There’s lots of other cool stuffshoved into the tablet, includinghigh-speed 3G and Wi-Ficonnectivity. The battery life isvery good: about four days onstandby and light use and six orseven hours with moderatelyheavy use. The operating systemallows for up to five customisablehome screens, and additionalapplications and widgets are easyto come by.The camera on the Tab isreasonable, but with only 3-megapixels it’s not about toreplace your point and click. Thedevice can play back full high-definition video, but it records atonly 720×480 at 30 frames asecond. So, the Tab is quick, it fitsneatly in one hand, and isgenerally a practical everydaydevice.But it also has its downsides. Thebiggest is that it often behavesmore like a very large smartphone
than a full-fledged tablet PC.Samsung hasn’t tweaked Androidmuch — some menu options referto “your phone” instead of “yourtablet”, for instance.To take advantage of the SamsungApp store, you need to have a Simcard installed. For most, this won’tbe a problem, as South Africansare likely to buy the device fromtheir cellphone service provider oncontract, but for those hoping touse Wi-Fi exclusively, it’s aninconvenience.
QUALCOMM ATHEROS INC., the networking andconnectivity subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated,and Wilocity, a developer of 60GHz multi-gigabitwireless chipsets for the mobile computing, consumerelectronics and peripheral markets, has introducedthe AR9004TB, the first tri-band Wi-Fi chipset thatintegrates the multi-gigabit performance of in-room60GHz band with seamless handoff to 2.4GHz and 5GHzband Wi-Fi. The new AR9004TB solution is the firstchipset capable of supporting a wide range ofapplications, from I/O to video to networking, at thesame speeds as equivalent wired connectivitytechnologies, while maintaining whole home coverageand complete interoperability.AR9004TB is a significant step forward in deliveringthe most seamless, high-performance wirelessnetworking connectivity. By using a fully standards-compliant and interoperable approach, QualcommAtheros and Wilocity can help device makers delivermore than 10 times greater speed in Wi-Fiperformance, resulting in faster data and videotransfers between devices. These enhancements willhelp power even more advanced devices, applicationsand experiences, from gaming to video streaming,smart synchronisation and wireless docking. New fastsession transfer technology in the AR9004TB willdrive a seamless transition between multi-gigabit in-room performance to whole home and enterprisewireless coverage. “By incorporating 60GHz multi-gigabit transfer withproven 802.11n Wi-Fi technologies, Qualcomm Atheros
and Wilocity are creating an even more valuableoffering for customers looking to expand theirpresence in the market. AR9004TB will allow users toenjoy new generations of rich applications in thehome and at work while also helping keep theirdevices and information fully synchronised,” said AmirFaintuch, senior vice president and general manager,consumer business unit, Qualcomm Atheros.“As the promise of multi-gigabit wireless technologybecomes reality, Wilocity is proud to take its place,with Qualcomm Atheros, at the head of the long line offuture WiGig and draft 802.11ad products that willfollow,” said Mark Grodzinsky, vice president ofmarketing, Wilocity. “The AR9004TB solution is thefirst to offer multi-gigabit Wi-Fi and wireless busextension, coupled with dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth4.0 for a truly wireless experience for a wide range ofapplications from I/O to networking to video. For thefirst time, the fastest way to access data fromproducts that implement this groundbreakingtechnology will be wireless.”The AR9004TB solution is the first tri-band Wi-Fichipset to integrate support for 2.4GHz, 5GHz and60GHz bands. As such, it is the first chipset to bringstandards-based, multi-gigabit wireless networking tothe market, integrating 802.11n and WiGig/802.11adtechnologies in the same form factor. Consumersutilising devices based on this technology will enjoy802.11n Wi-Fi for whole home connectivity along with802.11ad for networked synchronisation of HD moviesin seconds (versus tens of minutes), I/O connection to
USB3/SATA hard drives, instant “sync and go” betweenmobile platforms, streaming display toprojectors/TVs/monitors, and high-performancewireless docking.The 60GHz technology found in AR9004TB is based onthe latest specifications from the Wireless GigabitAlliance and IEEE 802.11ad and will be Wi-Fi Alliancecertified. The AR9004TB also supports the latestBluetooth 4.0 specification, which includes both high-speed and low-energy operation to extend personalarea connectivity to a variety of devices. It includes anew message-based coexistence interface that allowssuperior interference avoidance and cancellation forWi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence.
www.qca.qualcomm.com
A standards-compliant, multi-gigabit wireless chipset
Smasung and Apple: do features and functionality outweigh price?
By using a fully standards-compliant and interoperableapproach, Qualcomm Atherosand Wilocity can help devicemakers deliver more than 10times greater speed in Wi-Fiperformance, resulting infaster data and videotransfers between devices
The iPad 2 - designed, developedand marketed by Apple
The Samsung Galaxy Tab - a seriouscompetitor to Apple’s tablet
TRANSITIONING EMBEDDED M2M solutions from 2G to 3G networks is nowboth easier and smoother, as Sierra Wireless creates the availability of theOpen AT Application Framework on a 3G version of the AirPrime SL Series,the SL808x embedded wireless module. For the first time, customers canbuild M2M application software once and deploy it in any marketworldwide, or seamlessly migrate from 2G to 3G.“Solutions for M2M markets on 3G networks are gaining rapid adoption inmultiple markets worldwide,” said Didier Dutronc, Senior Vice Presidentand General Manager, M2M Embedded Solutions for Sierra Wireless.“Today’s announcement means that for the first time, M2M customers havea seamless path between 2G and 3G. Customers who have built 2Gapplications with the Open AT Application Framework can now use thesame software and design to create solutions for 3G networks. For thelarger industry, it means that M2M application developers can now easilymigrate from a 2G to a 3G solution, using Open AT to build applicationsonce, and deploy them in any market.” The Open AT Application Framework has a 10-year track record as theindustry’s first choice for developing embedded M2M applications. Open ATenables easy embedded software development with industry-standard Clanguage programming, combining the world’s first operating systemdesigned for M2M application development with a comprehensive set ofsoftware libraries and a powerful, easy-to-use integrated developmentenvironment, the Sierra Wireless Developer Studio.
www.sierrawireless.com
QUALCOMM INCORPORATED IS offering a Pro version of the SnapdragonS4 MSM8960 processor to enable even more capable mobile computingdevices. The successful Snapdragon S4 class, which has more than 120OEM designs in development, is already raising the bar on performanceand industry benchmarking, as reported in recent product reviews.
The S4 Pro processor features the Adreno 320 GPU, support for higherresolution displays, as well as hardware and software compatibility withthe S4 class. The Adreno 320 is a high performance programmableGPU—with up to a four times performance improvement—providing asuperior user experience for Web browsing, games, user interfaces andother graphics applications. The Adreno 320 also infuses the S4 Proversion with new multimedia capabilities, including computationalcamera—the ability to tap directly into the computational capability ofthe Adreno 320 GPU through new APIs like OpenCL, to enable next-generation use cases such as light-field cameras for mobile devices. Insupport of next-generation 3D graphics APIs, Adreno 320 will enablemore realistic 3D graphic effects through hardware acceleration ofadvanced rendering features like instancing, occlusion queries andmultiple render targets. Adreno 320 also includes dedicated hardware toaccelerate Windows and fully supports the top game engines in theindustry from Unity, Epic and ot hers.
"As a result of strong customer demand for Snapdragon S4 processors,we've added a new Pro version of MSM8960 to continue delivering thehighest performing mobile processors in the industry," said CristianoAmon, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm.
www.qualcomm.com
SYNCHRONICA PLC HAS launched Unity, a mobile messaging platform that enablesmobile operators and device manufacturers to deliver a unified messagingexperience. Previously known as Synchronica Mobile Gateway, Unity works on allmobile phones, but also adds new innovations designed to make feature phonessmart and smartphones smarter.Designed to help operators and devicemanufacturers combat predatory moves from ‘Over the Top’ (OTT) players, Unity’suMail, uChat and uSocial services provide white-labelled connectivity to the mostwidely used email, instant messaging (IM) and social networking services, therebyenriching their value added service portfolio and reducing churn with a bouquetof ‘sticky’ messaging services. New innovations introduced with Unity include:
Cross-platform unified messaging clientsUnity’s clients deliver true unified conversation with an aggregated, single-screenview of all messages from each contact (including email, IM and social networkingcommunities, in tandem with SMS and MMS inboxes, voicemail and call logs), andan enhanced presence-enabled address book. Unity allows users to focus entirelyon those they intend to communicate with, rather than deciding whichcommunications channel to use. All communications are consolidated into asingle service, where users can, for example, reply to an email with an SMS, atwitter message with an IM or a social message with an email. The unifiedmessaging experience is made possible by a range of Unity clients for theAndroid, Apple iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry RIM Smartphone platforms, aswell as the MediaTek and Spreadtrum platforms for low and ultra-low-costfeaturephones.
Geo socialisationSynchronica has also entered the new Geo socialisation segment with uChat, partof the Unity family. uChat Geo socialisation allows mobile subscribers to see whoand what’s near them and to build new connections beyond their existing socialcircle. Subscribers opt in to uChat’s Geo socialisation services with their serviceprovider and, using the chat functionality in uChat Geo socialisation, are able to
get involved in one-to-one or group chats based on their current location andspecific interests.
Integration with Ortsbo language technology Integrated with the conversational language platform Ortsbo, Unity provides realtime on-the-fly translation between more than 50 languages, fostering social andIM chat regardless of geographical or language limitations.
Registration, scalability and performance enhancementsUnity guarantees mobile operators and device manufacturers the highestpossible performance levels at any time, regardless of the amount of usersregistered with the service, or the volume of transactions taking place. In orderto maintain its reputation as a stable, carrier-grade messaging platform, Unityalso introduces several performance and scalability enhancements across itsarchitecture, databases and product core. Unity is designed to stimulate useruptake with a simplified and automated registration process, while its newreporting engine provides a range of useful reports, as well as the ability to buildcustom reports, providing mobile operators and device manufacturers with apowerful customer and market intelligence tool.
www.synchronica.com
Synchronica introduces cross-platform unified messaging with Unity
M2M application framework acceleratessolutions for 3G networks
MTN, UN CHEF de file des télécommunicationsprésent actuellement dans 21 pays de l’Afriqueet du Moyen-Orient, a annoncé qu’ilprolongeait son accord de services gérés avecEricsson pour ses opérations au Ghana. Avecune part de marché de 49 %, MTN est lepremier opérateur au Ghana qui est l’un desmarchés africains les plus fleurissants. Cetteannée, sa croissance a atteint environ 18 %avec plus de 10 millions d’abonnés.
Cette annonce représente la prolongationdu premier contrat de services gérés entreEricsson et MTN, signé à l’origine en 2009 pourle déploiement du réseau 3G de MTN auGhana. Au titre de la prolongation de cecontrat, Ericsson est chargé du fonctionnementdu réseau, de la maintenance sur site et del’optimisation.
Jon Hoffmann, le directeur technique deMTN au Ghana, a déclaré : « Nos deuxpremières années de collaboration ont atteintles résultats escomptés : nous avons pu nousconsacrer à la croissance des abonnés, etEricsson a assuré la fiabilité et l’efficacité duréseau. »
MTN conservera l’entière propriété duréseau et la responsabilité de l’orientationstratégique, tandis qu’Ericsson sera chargé du
fonctionnement du réseau, de l’optimisation etde la maintenance des sites 3G de MTN.
« Depuis de nombreuses années, MTN etEricsson collaborent dans de nombreuxdomaines à cet égard et dans d’autres régions.Au Ghana, nous sommes particulièrementravis d’avoir parcouru le chemin menant aux 10millions d’abonnés », selon Valter D’Avino,chef des services gérés d’Ericsson. « Étantdonné qu’Ericsson continuera à s’occuper dufonctionnement du réseau, MTN sera enmesure de consacrer davantage de temps à laconception de produits et services novateurs,adaptés aux besoins de ses clients. »
À l’échelle mondiale, Ericsson a signé plusde 300 contrats de services gérés dansquelques 100 pays. Ericsson gère des réseauxpour le compte des opérateurs, représentantglobalement plus de 850 millions d’abonnésdans le monde. En s’associant avec Ericsson,les opérateurs peuvent renforcer leur avantageconcurrentiel en améliorant la disponibilité etla capacité du réseau, tout en diminuant lescoûts d’exploitation.
En retour, la croissance du marché desservices mobiles augmente, ce qui permetd’améliorer la qualité des services etl’expérience de l’utilisateur final.
ALCATEL-LUCENT ET ETISALAT, principal opérateur mobile des Émirats arabes unis,viennent d’achever un projet pilote avec le portefeuille de produitsrévolutionnaires lightRadio, mettant ainsi en lumière sa capacité à absorber latrès forte croissance de la demande en services haut débit mobile. Première aux Émirats arabes unis, les deux acteurs ont établi une connexion hautdébit mobile sur un réseau 4G LTE opérationnel grâce à l’architecture lightRadiod’Alcatel-Lucent.Alcatel-Lucent a révélé toute lapuissance de son nouveau produitlightRadio MRO (Metro RadioOutdoor) au siège d’Etisalat à AbuDhabi, en établissant une connexionde données ultrarapide sur leréseau commercial 4G LTE del’opérateur, déployé par le Groupel’an dernier. Cette nouvelle offreconçue sur la base du ‘cube’lightRadio fait partie de la famille desolutions micro-cellulaires (« smallcells ») lightRadio d’Alcatel-Lucent,leaders sur le marché. Enprolongeant le réseau LTE d’unfournisseur de services, ces solutions assurent la couverture des points d’accèssitués dans des zones très fréquentées telles que les centres commerciaux, lesaéroports ou les stades.Aux Émirats arabes unis, l’adoption massive des smartphones, des tablettes etautres terminaux mobiles a généré des besoins de connexions à haute vitessepour accéder à des services haut débit mobile comme la visioconférence et latélévision à la demande. En octobre 2011, Alcatel-Lucent et Etisalat ont signé unaccord pour développer ensemble un moyen de satisfaire cette demande le plusdurablement et le plus efficacement possible, en s’appuyant sur les produits
révolutionnaires du portefeuille lightRadio. Avec l’essai concluant de ces toutesdernières technologies, la promesse lightRadio est en passe de devenir réalité.Les tests effectués avant le projet pilote ont montré que les fournisseurs de
services déployant le MRO dans leur réseau LTE pourraient en améliorer la capacitéet la performance, et réduire leur coûts jusqu’à 40 %, tout en fournissant à leursabonnés des services de données 4G LTE ultrarapides et de haute qualité.
Son excellence Ahmad Abdul KarimJulfar, PDG d’Etisalat, a déclaré : «Etisalat est fier de participer à ceprogramme et d’être de la partie pourfaçonner les futurs réseaux hautdébit mobile qui sauront répondre àla demande croissante des abonnés.Avec lightRadio, nous serons enmesure non seulement d’absorbercette croissance du trafic, maiségalement d’offrir à nos abonnés dessolutions de pointe pour leurpermettre d’accéder facilement auxapplications de données mobiles lesplus modernes et les plus génialessur le terminal mobile de leur choix. »
Et Stephen Carter, président de la région Europe, Moyen-Orient & Afrique d’Alcatel-Lucent, d’ajouter : « Nous sommes heureux d’avoir l’opportunité de travailler avecEtisalat pour tirer le meilleur parti de nos produits lightRadio, et pour l’aider àtrouver des solutions à ses besoins. Les informations précieuses que nous avonspu tirer du travail réalisé dans le cadre de ce projet pilote réussi indiquent que lesfournisseurs de services tels qu’Etisalat peuvent très facilement déployer lescellules métro d’Alcatel-Lucent pour enrichir l’expérience haut débit mobile deleurs clients, tout en réduisant leur consommation d’énergie, leurs coûts et la taillede leurs équipements. »
H.E. Ahmad Abdul Karim Julfar, Etisalat Group, avec des cadres d’Etisalat, etd’Alcatel-Lucent: Ben Verwaayen, Stephen Carter, et Amr El Leihty
Alcatel-Lucent et Etisalat réalisent la connexion haut débit mobile 4G LTE avec lightRadio
MTN prolonge son partenariat de services gérés
MOBILY, OPÉRATEUR SAOUDIEN deréseaux mobiles, a choisi les Modulesd’Identification de Machine (MIM) deGemalto pour le déploiement deservices M2M (Machine-to-Machine).
Les modules MIM répondent auxexigences de longévité et de fiabilitédes environnements industriels,notamment où les conditionsclimatiques sont rudes.
« Les tests de qualité que nousavons réalisés sur les modulesGemalto n’ont fait que confirmer leurrobustesse exceptionnelle, unecaractéristique à la réussite et à lapérennité de tout projet deconnectivité M2M. Ce partenariat nouspermettra de lancer des services M2Mavec la qualité exceptionnelle qui afait notre renommée. Il profiteraégalement à nos clients quirecherchent des solutions fiables etdurables », déclare Mr Marwan AlAhmadi, Directeur BusinessDéveloppement chez Mobily.
FRANCE TELECOM-ORANGE ET Visa Inc. ontannoncé que les clients Orange Moneypourront bientôt bénéficier des services descomptes prépayés Visa.Orange Money est le service de paiement partéléphone mobile conçu par Orange pourrépondre aux besoins de ses clients en Afriqueet au Moyen-Orient. Il propose aux abonnésOrange des fonctions telles que les transfertsd’argent de mobile à mobile, les règlements defactures, les services de retrait et de dépôtsd’argent auprès de réseaux d’agents agrées.Lancé en coopération avec des banquespartenaires locales en 2008, ce service estactuellement disponible dans huit paysd’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient. Orange prévoitd’introduire le paiement auprès des réseauxVisa pour les abonnés Orange Money sur unesélection de pays d’ici fin 2012.Visa Mobile Prépayé, un nouveau produit deVisa lancé en octobre 2011, permetd’augmenter la sécurité, l’ampleur etl’interopérabilité des programmes de paiementmobile comme Orange Money, en permettantaux détenteurs de compte d’effectuer despaiements de particulier à particulier, de fairedes achats en magasin ou sur Internet auprès
des commerçants qui acceptent les paiementsVisa, ou bien de retirer de l’argent auxdistributeurs automatiques de billets Visa.« La technologie mobile est l’un des principauxmodes d’inclusion financière. Sonomniprésence permet aux opérateurs deréseaux mobiles, aux établissementsfinanciers et à Visa de relier financièrement desclients ayant peu accès à ce genre de servicesentre eux et avec l’économie mondiale », aajouté John Partridge, Président de Visa Inc.
Les services Visa avec Orange MoneyEn réunissant les comptes prépayés Visa et lescomptes Orange Money, Orange connecte lesabonnés au paiement mobile actuels àVisaNet, le réseau de paiement de Visa. Orangeet Visa travaillent ensemble au niveauinternational afin de permettre aux filialesd’Orange et aux établissements financierspartenaires locaux de proposer toutes lesfonctionnalités des comptes mobiles prépayésVisa à leurs clients, dont :• Mode de paiement Visa – Que ce soit pour
régler des transactions en magasin ou surInternet, Visa mobile prépayé ajoutera unmode de paiement aux comptes actuels des
utilisateurs d’Orange Money. Lesconsommateurs pourront également avoir lapossibilité de recevoir une carte prépayée.
• Autorisation de transaction, services decompensation et de règlement bancaires –Visa proposera une gamme complète deservices de traitement des paiements et degestion des comptes s’appuyant sur le plusgrand réseau de paiement au monde, VisaNet.
• Paiements sécurisées de qualité Visa – Visamobile prépayé réunit des technologies depointe dans le traitement du risque avec lescapacités de sécurisation etd’authentification des appareils mobiles,permettant aux consommateurs des pays endéveloppement de faire des achats l’esprittranquille. De plus, les capacités de contrôlede la fraude de Visa aident à prévenir et àréduire les risques de fraude.
Les pays en développement d’Afrique et duMoyen-Orient sont parmi les premiers marchésciblés par Orange et Visa pour déployer leursproduits et services prépayés conjoints, quipermettront de stimuler la croissanceéconomique et l’inclusion financière en faisantmigrer les dépenses en argent liquide vers lepaiement électronique.
Des services mobiles prépayés en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient
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