admin
Wallace Ruzvidzo in DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
THE 14th Africa Mobile Broadband Forum opened here yesterday, bringing together industry think tanks, African telecommunications regulators, industry organisations and mobile carriers from across the world to discuss expanding mobile coverage, increasing 4G uptake as well as managing Africa’s evolution towards 5G.
Speaking during the forum, Huawei senior vice president and president of the company’s Carrier BG, Mr Li Peng, said Africa had immense digital potential which was untapped, hence Huawei was looking to increase investments on the continent.
It was important that the digital divide was bridged especially as Africa had the youngest population in the world, making it a force to reckon with.
Zimbabwe, under the Second Republic, fully subscribes to pushing digital telecommunications in Africa, as President Mnangagwa continues to stress the need to modernise Zimbabwe through the adoption of digital technologies.
“As the continent with the youngest population in the world, Africa is full of digital potential. Huawei is in Africa, for Africa,” said Mr Li.
“Together with regional carriers and industry partners, we will increase investment in developing innovative solutions to connect the unconnected, help bridge the digital divide, and accelerate the mobile broadband industry in Africa. By doing so, we’ll all be able to better seize the opportunities of digitalisation”.
Mr Li said Africa’s digital transformation process needed to be facilitated through quality mobile broadband.
“As for how this evolution takes place, we believe that Africa can benefit from co-ordinated development of 4G and 5G. Network energy efficiency is critical as Africa takes a more sustainable path forward. Together with customers and partners, we are innovating non-stop to improve energy efficiency and drive green development with greener ICT,” he said.
According to GSMA Intelligence, a source of data and analysis for the mobile industry covering all operators across the globe, at the end of last year only 28 percent of Africa’s population was connected to and using mobile broadband.
Although 3G remains the dominant form of connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa, the mobile industry is expected to expand rapidly and shift towards next-generation technologies over the next few years. GSMA Intelligence predicts that 4G and 5G will account for nearly two thirds of total mobile connections in Africa by the end of 2030. In this same timeframe, the mobile industry is expected to generate US$280 billion in economic growth and become a new engine for socio-economic development on the continent.
Mr Henry Calvert, GSMA’s head of network, said it was encouraging to note that US$961 billion of the world gross domestic product will be attributed to 5G by 2030.
Online Reporter