Communications Africa 2 2015

Afrique

BroadcastThe increasing demand for

video services in Africa

SatelliteInnovative connections supporting

industrial growth

CABSATShowcasing solutions,

services and platforms

TICLe large bande mobile est la

technologie de l'éducation

Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

Mobile solutions that can help citizens in their everyday lives

Africawww.communicationsafrica.com

FEATURES: � Internet � Mobile � InfrastructureREGULAR REPORTS: � Bulletin - Agenda � Equipment - Équipement

Issue 2 2015Édition 2 2015

CAF 2 2015 Cover_Layout 1 21/04/2015 13:25 Page 1

S01 CAF 2 2015 - Start_Layout 1 21/04/2015 13:35 Page 2

Afrique

BroadcastThe increasing demand for

video services in Africa

SatelliteInnovative connections supporting

industrial growth

CABSATShowcasing solutions,

services and platforms

TICLe large bande mobile est la

technologie de l'éducation

Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

Mobile solutions that can help citizens in their everyday lives

Africawww.communicationsafrica.com

FEATURES: � Internet � Mobile � InfrastructureREGULAR REPORTS: � Bulletin - Agenda � Equipment - Équipement

Issue 2 2015Édition 2 2015

C

A note from the EditorTHIS ISSUE OF CommunicationsAfrica/Afrique looks at the challengesfaced by African operators as thecontinent's communications industryevolves. The key theme runningthrough this issue is the impact of thesatellite communications industry onAfrica’s key economic sectors. Thisedition also covers innovativeconnections supporting industrialgrowth.

Main Cover Image: TelevisionBroadcast Gallery_Copyright antbInset: Brian NgyagumaContents: Dish Satellite

Une note du rédacteurDANS CE NUMÉRO deCommunications Afrique/Afrique, il ya un article sur les technologies quisont utilisées pour servir ledéveloppement de l'education.Particulièrement, il y a une solutionpour donner aux habitants les pluspauvres des possibilités d'éducationanalogues. Il y a aussi un article surun organisme spécialisé, avec unestructure de piloter une stratégieenvers les fournisseurs de servicesaux administrationsgouvernementales, les Ong et lesorganismes institutionnels.

Bulletin 4

Events 8

Agenda 10

Solutions 32

FEATURES

CABSAT 14Broadcast, satellite and digital media event, CABSAT 2015, was hailed as a success

Satellite 16The satellite communications industry is leading a ‘revolution’ in Africa’s biggest economic sectors

SATCOMS 20Being able to communicate across the widest expanses of Africa is crucial to enabling social and economic growth

Communications 25 African operators are facing increasingly intense challenges as the continent's communications industry evolves

ICT 26 Young Ugandan entrepreneurs are striving to create solutions that can help people in their everyday lives

Broadcast 30Communication service provider SkyVision will expand its broadcast services across Africa, in a bid to cater togrowing demand for DTH, IPTV and OTT services

ARTICLES

TIC 23La Maroc pays africain le mieux classé dans le baromètre digital des entreprises

Satellite 29Eutelsat Government EMEA répondra aux besoins en capacités satellitaires des marchés gouvernementaux et institutionnels

CONTENTS

www.communicationsafrica.com Communications Africa Issue 2 2015 3

Managing Editor: Andrew Croft - [email protected]

Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Prashanth AP, Sindhuja Balaji, Hiriyti BairuAndrew Croft, Thomas Davies, Ranganath GS, Rhonita Patnaik, Prasad Shankarappa, Lee TelotLouise Waters and Ben Watts

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Subscriptions: [email protected]: Derek FordhamPrinted by: Buxton PressPrinted in: April 2015Communications Africa/Afrique is a bi-monthly magazine ISSN: 0962 3841

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Communications Africa Issue 2 20154

BULLETIN

EMC showcases technologies at Satellite 2015GLOBAL SATELLITE AND terrestrial communications solutions providerEmerging Markets Communications (EMC) has showcased itstechnologies at Satellite 2015 in Washington DC, in the USA - specifically,its SatLink VSAT high-throughput modems, which use TDM/TDMA tooffer instantaneous bandwidth-on-demand with IP data throughputsfrom 128Kbps up to 150Mbps per VSAT. “We are continuing to makeinvestments in technology and new services to meet the ever-changingsatellite communications requirements of our customers in maritime, oiland gas, global enterprise and the NGO community,” said Abel Avellan,CEO of Emerging Markets Communications.

More digital choice for African TV viewersSTRONG MEDIA SAL-OFF-SHORE (SMO) has signed a multi-year contractwith Eutelsat Communications that equips it to take its pay TVoperations in Africa to a new level. SMO has leased capacity on theEutelsat 16A satellite to deploy a diversified range of English, French andArabic-speaking television services over Sub-Saharan Africa, leveragingthe group’s proven distribution capabilities across the region.

Huawei eLTE solution acknowledged for TETRA integrationTHE 'BEST INTEGRATION of Future Broadband with TETRA' award at the2015 International TETRA Awards was presented to Huawei for its eLTESolution, in recognition of its outstanding contribution to thedevelopment and evolution of the trunking industry. Based on 4G LTEstandards, Huawei developed the wireless broadband eLTE solution tomeet industry demands with a focus on catering to multimediaapplications, and supporting interconnections with the TETRA system.

ITU and ETSI agree on network energy efficiencyTHE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS Union (ITU) and theEuropean Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) have agreed anew standard to measure the energy efficiency of mobile radio accessnetworks (RANs), the wireless networks that connect end-userequipment to the core network. The standard is the first to define energy-efficiency metrics and measurement methods for live RANs, providing acommon reference to evaluate their performance, and is set to builduniformity in the methodologies employed by such evaluations, inparallel establishing a common basis for the interpretation of the results.

North Telecom selects MEASAT’s AFRICASAT-1a forVSAT servicesMEASAT SATELLITE SYSTEMS has reached agreement with NorthTelecom for capacity on the AFRICASAT-1a satellite, which will see NorthTelecom use AFRICASAT-1a’s high-powered capacity to provide VSATservices across Africa; “AFRICASAT-1a’s high spectral efficiency enablesNorth Telecom to provide greater value to our customers,” saidMohammad Reza Nazari, director of sales at North Telecom.

Emerging market demand for video contentTHE GROWING INVESTMENT The growing investment in broadbandinfrastrucutre, with the improvement in network speed and performance,has opened up new opportunities to provide video over IP in emergingmarkets, as paid over the top (OTT) video services are gaining tractionwithin hybrid business models - whereby services offer free content toexpand the user base, but at the same time position premiumtransactional video on demand (TVoD) and subscription video ondemand (SVoD) content to generate additional revenue. A report fromindustry experts Pyramid Research - OTT Video in Emerging Markets:Monetisation Strategies and 5-Year Revenue Opportunity - analyses therevenue potential of OTT video services across emerging markets,identifying and mapping key OTT video players from local telcos and pay-TV providers to pure-play OTTs, with best practices for differentiation andOTT video monetisation.

T-Systems South Africa gets the SAP stamp as a‘Partner Centre of Expertise’ICT SYSTEMS OPERATOR T-Systems South Africa has been re-certified bySAP as a ‘Partner Centre of Expertise’ (PCoE) for a further two years,ending 31 March 2017. Shubna Harilal, head of horizontal and futuresolutions at T-Systems South Africa, said, “Our relationship with SAP hasgrown over the years to become multi-dimensional and mutuallybeneficial, and there is significant synergy to be leveraged within ourareas of focus, including analytics, big data and the public and privatehealthcare vertical.”

SES and SkyStream strengthen partnership SATELLITE OPERATOR SES has confirmed that communications servicesprovider SkyStream has renewed capacity on SES's NSS-6 satellite andhas taken on additional capacity on SES's NSS-12 satellite to deployVSAT networks across the Middle East; SkyStream will utilise the Ku-band capacity on NSS-6 at 95 degrees East and NSS-12 at 57 degreesEast to serve the maritime and oil and gas industries.

Cerillion Technologies expands OSS footprint CERILLION TECHNOLOGIES, A leading provider of billing, chargingand customer management systems, has acquired netSolutions, ageospatial location network inventory business, from Ubisense Groupplc for an undisclosed fee. This strategic acquisition will enhanceCerillion’s BSS/OSS portfolio, enabling it to address the end-to-endservice management needs of next generation networks, as well asextending its reach into other industry verticals. “The acquisition ofnetSolutions is a perfect complement to our BSS/OSS product suite andour global customer base,” commented Louis Hall, CEO, CerillionTechnologies.

African B2C E-Commerce set to grow A NEW REPORT by Hamburg-based business intelligence organisationyStats.com entitled Africa B2C E-Commerce Market 2015 shows thatalthough lagging behind other world regions in development of onlineretail, African B2C e-commerce is expected to rise, stimulated byincreasing Internet penetration, improving infrastructure and inparticular the increase in mobile connectivity. While countries of thecontinent vary in advancement of online shopping, each of them haspotential for further growth. B2C E-Commerce sales are forecast to growat high rates to a double-digit number in EUR billions in the next threeyears, according to the report. South Africa and Nigeria are the continent’s leaders in online retail

development. While South Africa is significantly ahead of all othercountries in the continent by indicators such as Internet, smartphoneand payment card penetration, its B2C E-Commerce market potential isstill largely untapped, with online accounting for only slightly more than1 per cent of total retail sales last year.See https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/1930492/.

African B2C E-Commerce ison the rise

www.communicationsafrica.com




BULLETIN

Le lancement de My TV Smart, Ma TELE etShashatee sur le satellite Eutelsat 16ASTRONG MEDIA SAL-OFF-SHORE (SMO) a signé avec EutelsatCommunications un contrat pluriannuel qui va lui permettre de franchirune nouvelle étape dans le développement de ses activités de télévisionpayante en Afrique. A travers des ressources de diffusion louées sur lesatellite Eutelsat 16A, et tout en s’appuyant sur son réseau dedistribution dans la région, SMO proposera en Afrique subsahariennedes services de télévision payante en anglais, français et arabe.Appelés « Ma TELE » et « Shashatee », les nouveaux bouquets

francophone et arabophone de SMO seront lancés en avril. Ils tirerontparti de la forte puissance du faisceau du satellite Eutelsat 16A quicouvre l’Afrique et viendront rejoindre sur ce même satellite le bouquet« My TV », qui a évolué vers une nouvelle version baptisée « My TV Smart». « Ma TELE » ciblera dans un premier temps de potentiels abonnés enCôte d’Ivoire et en République Démocratique du Congo à travers uneoffre de 30 chaînes comprenant les grandes chaînes de Ma TELE pour lemarché africain, le service BIS Africa d’AB Sat, ainsi que plusieurschaînes non-cryptées (diffusées en clair).

Strong est à la fois l’un des principaux et l’un des plus anciensfournisseurs de matériel grand public de réception de télévisionnumérique par satellite. L’entreprise réunit des activités centrées autourde la distribution, du support technique et de l’après-vente de ce type dematériel, réparties dans un certain nombre de pays d’Afriquesubsaharienne. Les nouvelles offres de télévision payante vonts’appuyer sur l’expérience de Strong dans la distribution et vont venircompléter son catalogue complet de matériel destiné à équiper ledomicile du grand public.Samer Mourad, directeur général de SMO, a déclaré : « Nous sommes

heureux d’annoncer le lancement de nos nouveaux bouquets en Afriquesubsaharienne. Nous avons sélectionné Eutelsat 16A compte-tenu del’attractivité de sa position orbitale et de son poids considérable entermes d’audience dans les marchés que nous ciblons. »Michel Azibert, directeur commercial en charge du développement

d’Eutelsat, a ajouté : « Notre position à 16° Est se développe rapidementet devient une référence pour les télédiffuseurs africains etinternationaux. Le talent de Strong qui sait réunir des contenusnumériques de premier plan, associé à sa capacité à s’assurer que lestéléspectateurs bénéficient d’équipements de qualité et à prixcompétitifs, jettent les bases pour de futures perspectives decroissance. L’accès aux contenus numériques en Afrique s’accélèregrâce à notre travail aux côtés de Strong. »

Orange rachète les droits et les parts d'Orascomdans la société Mobinil (ECMS)OTMT (ORASCOM TELECOM Media and Technology) et Orange ontconvenu d'un accord pour le rachat par Orange de toutes les parts etdroits de vote détenus directement et indirectement par OTMT dansECMS (Egyptian Company for Mobile Services), une entreprise cotée enbourse sur le marché égyptien; ECMS, qui offre ses services sous lamarque Mobinil, est l’un des premiers opérateurs télécom égyptiens.

Samsung lance l’École intelligente au SénégalLE MINISTÈRE DE l’Éducation du Sénégal et Samsung Electronics Africaont lancé une solution d’éducation mobile visant à créer unchangement positif et à fournir une expérience en classe supérieure etinteractive pour les apprenants.Installée à l’école secondaire du plan Jaxaay, l’initiative École

intelligente de Samsung est une plate-forme intégrée qui inclut unefonction de supervision et de contrôle – qui permet aux enseignantsde garder une trace du contenu éducatif sur les écrans de leursapprenants – une fonction de partage d’écran et de questions etréponses en temps réel.« L’avenir de l’éducation est basé sur l’accès à l’information et la

collaboration au niveau local et mondial. Enseigner et apprendre estdevenue social ; c’est devenu possible avec l’émergence d’initiativestelles que l’École intelligente de Samsung, » a déclaré Samba Guisse,Conseiller en TI, Département des ressources humaines au ministèrede l’Éducation nationale au Sénégal.La branche citoyenneté d’entreprise de Samsung a toujours soutenu

le développement de l’éducation en vue d’avoir un impact sur lasociété et l’économie. Samsung estime que l’accès à la technologiepeut créer de nouvelles possibilités d’apprentissage pour lesétudiants, leur ouvrant la voie vers la formation continue et ledéveloppement personnel afin d’acquérir les connaissances et lescompétences nécessaires dans la société d’aujourd’hui.Lancées dans le pays en partenariat avec Millennium Connect

Africa, les Écoles intelligente de Samsung font partie du programme del’entreprise à grande échelle de citoyenneté africaine, conçu pour avoirun impact positif sur la vie des Africains.Les Écoles intelligentes ont également été installés dans les pays

comme le Mali, l’Afrique du Sud, le Kenya, le Rwanda, la Républiquedémocratique du Congo et le Soudan.

MTN Côte d’Ivoire signe avec SUMMVIEW pourdiffuser des chaînes live et des VOD sur mobileMTN CÔTE D’IVOIRE a signé un partenariat stratégique avecSUMMVIEW qui a permis le lancement d’un nouveau service dénommé« MTN TV » et accessible sur mobile; avec ce service, MTN Côte d’Ivoireoffre à ses utilisateurs la possibilité d’accéder depuis leurssmartphones et tablettes, à un ensemble de chaînes de TV diffuséesen direct ainsi qu’à des contenus à la demande. Les utilisateurspeuvent télécharger gratuitement l’application MTN TV sur le site webde MTN CI ou sur Google Play Store et ont la possibilité de souscrirepour une journée, une semaine ou un mois.La mise à disposition de vidéos sur les smartphones et tablettes

repose sur la plateforme développée par SUMMVIEW. En quelquesclics, l’utilisateur accède, depuis son terminal, à un catalogue dechaines live et à des vidéos à la demande.« Avec MTN TV, MTN Côte d’Ivoire enrichit son offre de services et

d’applications mobiles et met à la disposition de ses abonnés, uneoffre innovante de qualité de contenus sur mobile tant en informationqu’en divertissement. L’offre « one stop shop » de SUMMVIEW apermis de maitriser les coûts et de sécuriser les délais. En déployantce nouveau service, MTN poursuit ses actions pour offrir à ses clientsun nouveau monde numérique et contribue à l’émergence d’une Côted’Ivoire digitale», a expliqué Monsieur Wim VANHELLEPUTTE, DirecteurGénéral de MTN Côte d’Ivoire.Pour Monsieur Denis PAGNAC, CEO de SUMMVIEW, «SUMMVIEW

est heureux de fournir le service MTN TV. La solution SUMMVIEWContent Delivery Solution (S-CDS), plateforme SaaS en marqueblanche, est conçue pour répondre aux besoins spécifiques dechaque client et permet ainsi à MTN CI de proposer son propreservice de vidéo sur mobile en bénéficiant de l’expertise deSUMMVIEW dans le domaine de la distribution de contenus vidéo surtéléphone portable. »

Eutelsat 16A



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S02 CAF 2 2015 - Agenda_Layout 1 21/04/2015 13:37 Page 7


AGENDA

8 www.communicationsafrica.com

ALL AMBER, WHICH organises technology conferences across sub-SaharanAfrica, secured a wide-ranging selection of international and local partners forthe fifth edition of Mobile West Africa, recently held in Lagos, Nigeria.

The sponsors and exhibitors atthe event included: MTN Nigeria,Airtel Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria,Eskimi, VConnect, Gidi Mobile, OperaSoftware, MoboFree, Uber, MyMusic,Basebone, Mozilla, Jovago, WikoMobile and MTech Communications.All Amber founder Matthew Dawescommented, “The amount of industrysupport we’ve received isunprecedented and it’s anillustration of how far the event hasdeveloped since it started in 2011. Tosecure MTN, Airtel and Etisalat - aswell as international players likeMozilla, Opera and Basebone – and

then have the support of key local stakeholders such as Eskimi, Gidi Mobile,MTech and MoboFree, reflects the will within the industry to keep it movingforwards.”

Since 2011, Mobile West Africa hasgrown in both numbers andreputation. Each year, theconference brings together the bestbrains in the mobile ecosystem andcovers the evolution of mobile data,products and services in West Africa.The Mobile West Africa 2015 agendawas split into distinct sessions overtwo days, and included presentationsby leader representatives in mobile,gaming, access, entertainment, appsand content. For the first time, therewas also a session on the debatesurrounding the future of mobilemoney.

Mobile West Africa leads with industry-wide support

MAY/MAI6-7 East Africa Com Nairobi, Kenya eaafrica.comworldseries.com

12-13 Ecommerce Show Middle East Dubai, UAE www.terrapinn.com

12-14 DISTREE Middle East Abu Dhabi, UAE www.distree-me.com

13-14 Banking & Mobile Money Uganda Kampala, Uganda aitecafrica.com

19-21 Critical Communications World Barcelona, Spain criticalcommunicationsworld.com

19-21 Mobile Money & Digital Payments Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.mobile-money-africa.com

20-22 eLearning Africa Addis Ababa, Ethiopia www.elearning-africa.com

25-26 Carriers World Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

25-26 World Rural Telecoms Congress Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

26-27 Connected Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

26-27 Satcom Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

JUNE/JUIN8-12 IEEE International Conference on Communications London, UK icc2015.ieee-icc.org

9-10 Connecting West Africa Dakar, Senegal westafrica.comworldseries.com

10-12 DISTREE Africa Nairobi, Kenya cms.event-catalyst.com/dafrica

17-19 Convergence Africa World Nairobi, Kenya convergenceafricaworld.com

23-24 Digital Home World Summit London, UK smarthomeworld2015.com

23-25 LTE World Summit Amsterdam, The Netherlands lteworldsummit.com

24-25 Cloud World Forum London, UK cloudwf.com

24-25 MVNOs Industry Summit Johannesburg, South Africa mvnosworldcongress.com

30-1 July VAS Africa Johannesburg, South Africa vasafrica.comworldseries.com

JULY/JUILLET6-8 PACT 2015 Kampala, Uganda ib2com.org/PACT

15-17 5Mediatech Africa Johannesburg, South Africa mediatech.co.za

Events/Événements 2015

The fifth edition of Mobile West Africawas held in Lagos, Nigeria



ACCENTURE AND THE Accenture Foundations haveissued Amref Health Africa with a further US$3mngrant to help the organisation improve its mobilehealth training programme aimed at 3,000community health workers in Kenya.

According to Accenture, the grant brings the firm’sfunding efforts to Amref Health Africa to more thanUS$7.3mn since 2005.

This grant is a part of Accenture’s initiative, Skillsto Succeed, which is training more than 700,000people across the globe with the skills to get a job orset up a business. The MPESA Foundation has offeredan extra US$1.5mn in funding.

Community health workers provide a key role inproviding healthcare services to communities,

however do not provide training and support todeliver them effectively. Accenture’s two year grantwill enable Amref Health Africa to grow its HealthEnablement and Learning Platform (HELP) – whichprovides community health workers with flexible,mobile access to skills training and support toolsacross Africa.

HELP, which was piloted in 2013, is a mobile healthlearning platform created in partnership withVodacom Mezzanine’s Helium platform, andSafaricom – a Vodafone affiliate in Kenya. HELP isworking in line with Vodafone’s mhealth portfolio,which has developed a network of globalpartnerships, creating better access to healthcareservices through its customer reach and scalablemobile health solutions. Vodafone and Safaricom willcontinue to offer scalability and mobile solutionexpertise with technology partner Mezzanine.

“Through this collaborative partnership, we areleveraging technology and delivering measurablesolutions that will make a profound impact acrosssub-Saharan Africa,” said Jill Huntley, managingdirector, Global Corporate Citizenship, Accenture.

“By harnessing the power of mobile, Amref HealthAfrica is delivering job and medical skills training atspeed and scale – a critical component in improvingthe health as well as the long-term economicsustainability of communities in Africa.”


AGENDA

10

ERICSSON HAS COLLABORATEDwith Unitel to offer LTE-A carrieraggregation, enabling operatorsto use spectrum more efficientlyto deliver better userexperience.The two companies will developthe end-to-end LTE-Advanced(LTE-A) Carrier Aggregation (CA)solution capable of supportingdata speeds up to 450 Mbps.According to Ericsson, this willbe the first time 450 Mbps speedhas been rolled out on acommercial LTE network in Africaand is also one of the firstdemonstrations of its kind in theworld. “The 450Mbps demo in Unitel’sLTE commercial networkascertains our leading positionin technological innovation notonly in Angola, but globally,”stated Amilcar Safeca, boardmember and deputy CEO, Unitel.

MEASAT SATELLITE SYSTEMS has announced it has entered intopartnership with iSAT Africa Ltd. Fzc. for capacity on the AFRICASAT-1a satellite.

Under the new deal, iSAT, provider of satellite solutions fortransmission of video, data and voice services, will use the capacityon AFRICASAT-1a for its new managed services platform launched inMarch 2015.

The platform implements the latest DVB-S2x technology whichwhen used in combination with AFRICASAT-1a’s powerful beams,delivers higher spectral efficiency. This enables iSAT to offer morecost-effective and competitive managed s ervices to its customers.

“iSAT’s years of experience and proven managed serviceplatforms has taken a leap forward by taking advantage ofAFRICASAT-1a’s high bandwidth efficiency across the Africancontinent,” said Rakesh Kukreja, managing director, iSAT Africa.

Kukreja added that “MEASAT’s understanding of the market andcustomer centric approach has made us choose AFRICASAT-1a foriSAT to grow our services across Pan-African region.”

“MEASAT is delighted that a reputable and fast-growingcompany such as iSAT has once again chosen AFRICASAT-1a, whichreaffirms it as the preferred satellite to serve the pan-Africanmarket,” said Raj Malik, senior vice president – sales andmarketing, MEASAT. According to Malik, AFRICASAT-1a will play avital role in meeting Africa’s rising demand for managed services.

This new agreement represents iSAT’s and MEASAT’srelationship in each other and AFRICASAT-1a, following an initialcapacity commitment in October 2014, to provide VSAT servicesacross Africa.

The grant from Accenture will be used to support amobile health training programme for 3,000 communityhealth workers in Kenya

iSAT Africa launches managed serviceson Africsat-1a PAN-AFRICAN SERVICE PROVIDER Gondwana International Networks

(GIN), parent company to the Internet service provider Africa Online, ispreparing to expand its VSAT services in Tanzania in addition tolaunching a managed infrastructure and services solution callediManage. Africa Online was acquired by GIN in December 2013.

"With the iManage suite of value-added services, Africa Online haspackaged an excellent combination of software and infrastructure as aservice, which compliments its connectivity solutions as well as servingcustomers on other access networks. This means that customers don’tprocure hardware, and as a result have no upfront cost. This givescustomers the best of the cloud with essential managed services on theground,” said Kenneth Munyi, managing director of Africa Online.

Winston Smith, general manager, terrestrial services for GIN andAfrica Online, commented that the group sees tremendous potential inthe East African territories and, alongside its subsidiaries in Kenya andUganda, views Tanzania as a key growth sector. He said, “We have alicensed terrestrial wireless and VSAT networks in Dar es Salaam andhave significant plans to grow and expand it.”

The Tanzania business will utilise group capabilities and synergies intechnology, networks and skills to drive expansion.

“Africa Online is very excited about the VSAT expansion in Tanzania inboth the consumer and enterprise markets. VSAT offers easy to deployconnectivity solutions, which compete very favourably with otherterrestrial offerings like DSL and fibre. The extensive reach and coverageof multiple satellites operated by GIN provides connectivity in bothmetropolitan and rural markets across the extent of Tanzania. Thecompany has rolled out a 'free equipment' promotion to aid customersservice uptake by bringing the service within the reach of many users.

Smith said, “There is significant demand for level three managedservices support as cloud simply cannot deliver on its own.”

Ericsson partners withUnitel on commercialLTE network

Accenture and Amref Health Africa join forces to improve

healthcare services across Africa

Africa Online to launch new services in Tanzania




NEC CORPORATION SHARED its vision for 5G next generation mobilenetworks at Mobile World Congress 2015, held 2–5 March inBarcelona, Spain. The firm issued three white papers focusing on the “Network

evolution toward 2020 and beyond”, which outlines the latesttechnologies that will be rolled out as companies look to using 5Gtechnology. Firstly, “Reinventing Transport Networks for theFuture”, which explores mobile backhaul; secondly“MassiveElement Antenna for Small Cell solutions in 5G”, whichlooks at Massive MIMO, one of the advanced technology elementsof 5G; finally “Massive Element Antenna for Small Cell solutions in5G” looks at Radio Access Network (RAN) technology and how toimplement 5G technologies. According to NEC, the future of mobile networks with ICT enabled

urban and industrial infrastructure will bring various benefits tocustomers and businesses in a diversity of vertical sectors. Usingadvanced technologies will enable the world to better supportgrowing, ageing and more urban populations. This includesultralow latency connectivity for driverless cars, kilobits per secondconnectivity for M2M sensor networks for health and environmentalmonitoring, and up to a hundred megabits per second for ultra highdefinition video broadcasting to mobiles.

“Network evolution towards 2020 and beyond”NEC’s white paper lists key enabling technologies in the Network2020, such as more intelligent transport systems that use sensorinformation and video from connected cars and road infrastructure.The white paper also explores how big data analytics can help

people drive more safely, lower congestion and reduce greenhousegas emissions. New personal entertainment services, including 4Kultra high definition video, will enable consumers to turn on“metadata labels” relating to content. The NEC stated that the network will need to support improved

logistics visualization, which integrates the location informationrelating to individual items within a cargo shipment that variouscompanies will be held responsible for, with the operationalinformation relating to the transportation system.


AGENDA

12

THIS YEAR’S LTE MENA, held in Dubai, UAE, 11-13 May 2015, bringstogether the entire regional LTE ecosystem to celebrate MENA’ssignificant LTE growth over the last 12 months and to exploreadvanced technologies including SDN, NFV, 5G and LTE-A. The keyemphasis is on digital innovation and integrating technology toimprove the daily lives of subscribers.

MENA is an extremely diverse region of 23 countries made up ofleading innovators driving the mobile broadband market, andemerging players beginning to harness the potential of LTE togenerate revenues from new services. Leading operators, such asEtisalat and du, are working towards increased network capacity asthey steer towards LTE-A, VoLTE, Carrier-aggregation, Wi-Fi and 5G,while the emerging markets enjoy successful LTE rollouts andexpansions.

As a future Smart City, Dubai provides the perfect location for LTEMENA. Major regional operator, du has been selected as the OfficialSmart City Wi-Fi provider in Dubai, successfully expanding its Wi-Finetwork to major landmarks in the UAE. Ayman Elnashar, the seniordirector for wireless broadband, terminals & performance operationsat du, will join the conference to discuss du’s Wi-Fi rollout. He said,“LTE is increasing exponentially in MENA so the next major evolutionof LTE is the introduction of VoLTE with eSRVCC to maintain the userexperience. LTE MENA is the only venue in the MENA region that isdedicated to LTE and therefore it’s the right forum to discuss all LTErelevant topics and also the evolution to LTE-A including CA, HetNet,eICIC, CoMP and eMBMS.”

http://mena.lteconference.com @LTEWorldSeries

Mobile World Congress 2015 took place between 2–5 March in Barcelona,Spain

LTE MENA celebrates growth withadvanced technologies

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND media company Millicom haslaunched Rwanda's first mobile-based savings product through its Tigooperation. Tigo Sugira - with Tigo Cash - has been launched in partnershipwith Urwego Opportunity Bank.

Tigo’s 2.5mn customers can sign up and open an account for free andwithin minutes, directly from their mobile by dialing *200*11# andselecting Tigo Sugira. All they need is a Tigo Cash account and a NationalID. Customers can then instantly deposit and withdraw money from theirsavings account through Tigo Cash.

Tigo Sugira is the most convenient way to save, with an interest rate ofseven per cent annually - the best in the market. Whether deposits,withdrawals or opening an account, the service is offered free of charge.Customers earn seven per cent interest based on daily average balance, nomatter what their balance is, and this interest is paid quarterly.

With Tigo Cash’s large customer base and the biggest mobile moneyagent network in Rwanda, Tigo Sugira reaches people who have previouslybeen excluded from the formal financial sector.

Commenting on the new service, Tongai Maramba, CEO of Tigo Rwanda,said, “Once again, Tigo is proud to launch an innovative product. TigoSugira is setting new standards for simple and user-friendly financialproducts. We are very excited to empower our customers even further.”

Tineyi Mawocha, CEO of Urwego Opportunity Bank, added, “We arecommitted to bringing secure, convenient and affordable financial servicesto Rwandans who have traditionally been excluded from the formalfinancial sector, and we believe that Tigo Sugira aligns perfectly with thismission by enabling us to provide a secure and accessible savings productto all Tigo Cash customers in Rwanda."

Millicom has 9.5mn mobile money customers in its six Tigo operationsin Africa, offering mobile, financial, cable and satellite services to morethan 56mn customers in fourteen countries.

NEC outlines vision for mobile networks at MWC 2015

Millicom launches Rwanda’s first mobile-based savings product with Tigo Cash



S03 CAF 2 2015 - Report 01_Layout 1 21/04/2015 13:42 Page 13

Broadcast, satellite and digital media event, CABSAT 2015, was hailed as a success, welcomingmore than 900 exhibitors from 60 countries to the World Trade Centre in Dubai

ATG reports positive business climate at CABSAT

COMMUNICATIONS Broadcast

COMMUNICATIONS AND BROADCASTsystems integrator ATG Middle Easthas reported a healthy and positiveCABSAT 2015, held at the World

Trade Centre in Dubai, UAE, in March.Representatives attending CABSAT 2015included ATG’s managing director, Dr FaresLubbadeh, with sales & support engineerRaed Gotta - and colleagues from UK-basedATG Danmon: Christoffer Kay, managingdirector; Russell Peirson-Hagger, commercialdirector; and Jonathan Hughes, head ofsystems integration.

Dr Fares Lubbadeh commented, "CABSAT isa highly focused event, well supported bysenior management from right across theindustry. "The big international shows are tosome extent the victim of their own success asthere is so much to see in a very shorttimeframe. We experienced a good level ofvisitor traffic on all three days of the exhibition.

Some very useful meetings were held withexisting clients and potential customers in theMiddle East and with visitors from as far afieldas South Africa and India. We co-exhibited withHiltron, a sister company within the DanTechnologies group, which promoted itsproducts and supporting services in thesatellite communications sector. It proved agood synergy as Hiltron's capabilities closelycomplement our own and those of our UK-based affiliate, ATG Danmon.

All three companies worked closely on arecent and highly successful project for aMiddle East broadcast regulatoryorganisation. The show also proved a usefulopportunity for in-depth discussions withmajor third-party equipment and softwaredevelopers, many of whom were willing toshare their product launch plans for theupcoming NAB Convention in Las Vegas.There was a lot of talk at CABSAT about 4K,given the rapid advances that have beenachieved by domestic television displaymanufacturers. 4K home receivers are nowvery affordable, as indeed are lot of latest-generation 4K cameras. Competitionbetween subscription-based channels will bea major driver for 4K as companies seek todifferentiate themselves from theircompetitors. Beyond that, the wheel is likelyto turn to 8K. We are in a dynamic industry.Long may it remain so." �

ATG Middle East presented its portfolio formedia, broadcast, terrestrial and satellite

transmission systems and onsite client training

There was a lot of talk atCABSAT about 4K, given therapid advances that havebeen achieved by domestictelevision displaymanufacturers

Communications Africa Issue 2 201514 www.communicationsafrica.com



The satellite communications industry is leading a ‘revolution’ in Africa’s keyeconomic sectors

Innovative connections supportingindustrial growth in Africa

SATELLITE Infrastructure

OVER THE PAST decade, thedevelopment of Africa’s satellitecommunications infrastructure hasbecome inextricably linked to the

continent’s wider economic growth. Information communication technology (ICT)

using satellites are providing the backbone forAfrica’s much heralded communicationsrevolution.

In the past, telephone calls from urbancentres in neighbouring African countries wereoften routed through Europe, and internet trafficconsistently ground to a halt as oversubscribedsatellite networks struggled to cope. Bettersatellite communication is now helping Africa totransform, not only its mobile telephony, butalso its entire retail, banking, finance, defence,aviation and other economic sectors.

For example, e-commerce is beginning totake off in Africa and it is starting to challengethe continent’s more traditional businessmodels. A retail study conducted on behalf ofthe South African Council of Shopping Centres(SACSC) estimates that Africa and the MiddleEast’s share of global e-commerce in 2015 willbe two per cent. However, Google Researchpredicts that the market will expand by 2017.And a report by McKinsey & Company predictsthat by 2025 e-commerce will account for 10 percent of retail sales in Africa’s largest economies.

Nowhere, though, will the benefits of asubstantial leap forward in Africa’s satellitecommunications infrastructure, be more keenly

felt than in Africa’s rural banking sector.Banking requires connectivity but in Africaconnectivity through Mobile Telephony orBroadband in the rural areas is limited. Usingsatellite communications in the form of verysmall aperture terminals (VSATs) is proving tobe a boon for banks operating in rural Africa.

A VSAT setup comprises a hub and a satellitethat is orbiting in a geosynchronous orbitaround 23,000 miles above the sky. Andalthough more reliable medium Earth orbit(MEO) satellites are now coming on to themarket, the equipment to track these satellitesand maintain a connection is more expensive.

Financial concernsIn all instances, the information that is fed tothe satellite enables remote bank branches tobe connected back to their primary centre. Thisenables Africa’s rural customers to benefit fromATM services, loan applications and otherbanking and business functions that werepreviously the preserve of the city, includingreal-time applications such as voice and video.

Africa’s stock exchanges are also beginningto benefit from improvements incommunication provided by satellites, albeitslowly. For example, the Nairobi StockExchange (NSE) is one of the fastest growingstock markets in the world. Yet despite its primeposition in sub-Saharan Africa, accessibility tothe NSE has been hamstrung by poorcommunications and impeded by the lack of

mobile applications.In a presentation to the Exchange on the

'Challenges facing African SecuritiesExchanges' as it upgrades its informationtechnology, Chris Mwebesa, chief executive ofthe NSE, described access to information andcommunications infrastructure as “abysmal tosay the least”.

He continued, “Achieving some form of‘universal access’ is critical to Africa in order tomake the information economy effective. Awide variety of information infrastructurepossibilities exist such as multi-purpose infocentres (MPCICs), global mobile personalcommunications via satellite (GMPCS)…couldbe considered by African stock exchanges toleap frog the technological divide.”

And, he warned, “Securities exchanges thatdo not invest in information technologyinfrastructure, do so at the own peril.”

Taking advantage of growthMeanwhile, the growth in satellitecommunications in Africa is spurring a rash ofmergers and acquisition (M&A) activity in thesector as the various satellite companies vie totake advantage of the growth. In February 2015,global network and satellite communicationsservice provider SpeedCast announced theacquisition of Geolink Satellite Services.Geolink is a provider of satellitecommunications solutions in the African region,and the acquisition is expected to strengthenSpeedCast’s portfolio of mobile satellitesolutions, and bolster its capabilities in Africa.Geolink is particularly strong in Africa’s oil andgas, mining, media, NGO and maritime sectors.

Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast saidthat there are “interesting synergies” betweenthe two companies. “With this acquisition,SpeedCast significantly enhances itscapabilities to serve and support its customersin the African market, a key area of operationsfor the energy sector,” he said. By joiningSpeedCast, Geolink will be able to offer itscustomers a wider portfolio of products andservices and better serve its customers’ needsworldwide.

Also in February 2015, Orbital Tracking Corp,an American provider of satellite based trackingservices, finalised the takeover of GlobalTelesat Communications Limited, a privately-

Information communication technology(ICT) using satellites are providing thebackbone for Africa’s much heraldedcommunications revolution




held UK corporation. The acquisition will enablethe company, which already operates various e-commerce retail and tracking portalsworldwide, to expand into Africa’s burgeoninge-commerce sector.

The company's new CEO and chairman,David Phipps, said, "By combining Global intoOrbital Tracking Corp. we have created anenterprise...which will be the key to expandingour new business units within the rapidlygrowing Mobile Satellite Services marketplace.”

An Asian example for African applicationIn March 2015, Intelsat and Azercosmos, thenational satellite operator of Azerbaijan,teamed up to deliver a newtelecommunications satellite. The Azerspace2/Intelsat 38 satellite, which is currentlyscheduled for a 2017 launch, is expected tobenefit Africa as well as Central Asia and thePacific. Intelsat vice president of corporatestrategy Bruno Fromont said that in combiningefforts and sharing spectrum, Intelsat will gain acustomised payload for direct-to-home (DTH)applications for the areas that Azercosmos firsttelecommunications satellite, Azerspace1/Africasat 1, already covers. The new satellitewill also allow Intelsat to provide connectivityfor network and government applications inAfrica.

Azercosmos' chief technical officer WesleyWong told Via Satellite, “Azerspace 2 willbasically augment our existing Ku-bandcoverage over those same regions as well asexpand into Africa in Ku band, as opposed to Cband, to meet customer’s demands that we’reseeing there.”

He continued, “It is an education process - alot of people start with the terrestrialsystems...but then as they mature and developin their own economies and infrastructure...theystart looking at satellite services...forgovernment services, their militaries, their ownnational securities start to look at it and whenthey start to see more and more examples ofthat, it certainly has that snowball effect and westart to see more requests.”

While the two companies may have differing

reasons for the partnership, as they begin theprocess of building and developing their newsatellite, they agree that partnerships such asthis are less common than they should be in theindustry.

Information through the airMeanwhile, satellite communications are alsoplaying a significant and important role inAfrican aviation. A recent deal involving Aireon,a subsidiary of Iridium Communications Inc, isexpected to lead to improvements in the airtraffic control (ATC) of up to 17 African states. Amemorandum of agreement (MOA) was signedwith the Agency for the Security of AviationNavigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA),which provides the ATC for Africa.

Under the terms of the accord, ASECNA willcollaborate with Aireon to assess therequirements and benefits of space-basedautomatic dependent surveillance - broadcast(ADS-B) services in their airspace. The airspacecovers six flight information regions (FIR)including the important Dakar oceanic FIR thatconnects Western Africa and Europe to SouthAmerica and the Caribbean.

Amadou Ousmane Guitteye, director generalof ASECNA said, “We’re particularly interestedin surveillance coverage over remote terrestrialroutes within Niamey, Ndjamena andBrazzaville, as well as the oceanic routes inDakar and Madagascar and expect thatenhanced surveillance in the ASECNA FIR willnot only generate efficiencies for the airlines butwill also generate significant safetyimprovements for Africa while reducing thecosts of infrastructure for ASECNA.”

Aireon plans to provide the first opportunityfor global air traffic surveillance as early as2017.

But even as satellite communication ishelping banking and commerce in rural Africa,so too is it starting to help bring healthcare tothe tens of millions of Africans in ruralcommunities that were previously denied it. Atthe 2015 African Healthcare Summit in London,in the UK, global mobile satellitecommunications services provider Inmarsat

showcased solutions designed to supporteHealth initiatives in Africa’s rural areas thatcurrently have no access to reliable terrestrial ormobile communications.

From telemedicine to teachingThe technologies included telemedicine viaInmarsat’s BGAN, through the Inmarsat-4 (I-4)satellite network. The company also unveiled itslatest IsatPhone2 handheld satellite phone andIsatHub - Inmarsat’s recently-launched smartdevice connectivity service. Satellite voice anddata communications services is enablingremote diagnosis, treatment, monitoring,sharing vital health statistics and telemedicineconferences with doctors based elsewhere - inreal time.

In the realm of education, meanwhile,Inmarsat, is participating at 'eLearning Africa' -an educational symposium, which will be heldin Windhoek, Namibia, at the end of May 2015.The company will again showcase BGAN andalso the upcoming Global Xpress superfastbroadband service.

Describing the benefits of eLearning, Nada ElMarji, lead sector development at Inmarsat,said, “Virtual tutoring, e-content, e-assessmentand e-administration are all areas that areapplicable to education and will bring manybenefits to students in remote areas, closingthe gap between urban and rural educationlevels.”

In a continent, much of whose landlineinfrastructure suffers from chronic undercapacity, poor maintenance and a lack ofinterconnectivity - both within the region andexternally - the benefits of satellitecommunications can hardly be overestimated.

Prior to European colonisation, Africa’sborders were unstructured and fluid, allowingfor comparative ease of communication. It isironic, though perhaps unsurprising, thereforethat many African countries now look outwardto space for the solution to the recentlyimposed logistical and infrastructural hurdles ofcommunicating with their near neighbours. �

Nnamdi Anyadike


SATELLITE Infrastructure

The growth in satellite communications in Africa is spurring a rash ofmergers and acquisition activity in the sector as the various satellitecompanies vie to take advantage of the growth




Being able to communicate across the widest expanses of Africa is crucial toenabling social and economic growth, and satellite communications areimproving the picture, Tim Guest reports

As satcoms evolve, Africa Grows

SATELLITES Communications

SATCOMS INFRASTRUCTURE ANDtechnology have evolved in recentyears and now offer mobileoperators in Africa more viable ways

of delivering profitable services to usersegments and communities, which wouldpreviously have been neglected.

One company, using a vendor and operator-neutral business model to further satcomsunderpinning of communications advancesacross Africa is iDirect. The company partnerswith operators at all levels, whethermultinational mobile firms or single-countryoperators, as well as local integrators workingacross Africa. Communications Africa spoke tothe company whose director of marketdevelopment Richard Deasington said thatSatcoms infrastructure had, indeed, made“steady progress in the past years”.

He cited achievements such as iDirect’sDVB-S2 — designed to improve bandwidthefficiency and service quality — and thecompany’s efforts to reduce roll-off down tofive per cent and to avoid adjacent channelinterference, signals transmitted to a satelliteare run through a filter and roll-off determines“how gradually or abruptly” the transmittedsignal drops off after being filtered. The higherthe roll-off factor the more gradual the drop off,and by improving the roll-off factor from 20 percent to five per cent, service providers are ableto either transmit more Mbps over the sameamount of leased bandwidth, or lease less MHzfrom a satellite operator while still offering thesame Mbps to their customers.

As another recent advance Deasington alsomentioned is iDirect’s 2D 16-State inboundcoding, which provides greater efficiency dueto its average 1dB gain and payload sizechoices. He then went on to say, “Theintroduction of high throughput satellites(HTS), which offer the promise of higherthroughputs and lower costs, will likely lead tothe biggest economic change. However, keychanges have also happened in the cellularmobile industry with the introduction of lowercost, less power-hungry small cells. Whencombined with HTS carrier-class satellitebackhaul, these changes help bring down thepoint of entry for communities sized from 50–300 people.”

This last point has always been a bugbearfrom African operators, whether to spend vastamounts of money to deliver unprofitableservices to just a few hundred people with verylow ARPUs, or to wait until technology willmake such efforts more viable. Well, thetechnology has arrived so such obstacles arebeing removed, he added.

As for Deasington’s views on the technicalchallenges, which remain for satcomsinfrastructure providers if they are to supportAfrican mobile operators better, he told CA,“The key challenge is power efficiency. Youwant to be in a position where the satelliteterminal and the cell base station are bothefficient enough to be powered from smallsolar/wind plus battery solutions. This goes

hand-in-hand with solar charging stations forlocal devices, such as mobile phones. Wehave seen some interesting work fromcompanies like Ericsson to combine the solarrequirements of a base station with that of avillage shop, or even a solar-powered waterpump.”

From challenges to solutions, he added that“most people will not have laptop or desktopcomputers and as the data-centric worldmakes its way to the most remote parts of thecontinent, the low-cost smart phone will be thekey enabler for the digital revolution”. With thisin mind, iDirect’s Deasington had this advicefor new mobile entrants in Africa. “This meansthat the best option for most new networks willbe a leap straight to 4G LTE, leapfrogging 3G. Itprovides higher speeds, better efficiency andwider coverage for the same power budget.Until recently, the cost of handsets has been ahandicap, but this concern is being reduceddue to the fact that newer phones are now builtwith multi-standard chips.”

As to how increasing demand for high-bandwidth services in rural regions hasimpacted satcoms providers, he said that thearrival of higher bandwidth demands, driven bythe move to 4G and the data revolution, has

Satcoms can now offer a range ofprofitable services to user segments

and communities, which wouldotherwise have been neglected

The introduction of highthroughput satellites (HTS),which offer the promise ofhigher throughputs andlower costs, will likely leadto the biggest economicchange in the continent




Communications


SATELLITES

coincided with the deployment of newgeneration HTS satellites that can deliver anorder of magnitude more bandwidth foressentially the same costs as older broad-beam satellites.

When it comes to the geo-political andbusiness challenges that face companiestrying to conduct business in regions of Africain need of satellite-based telecoms services,Deasington noted, “Many of the mosteconomical HTS services are provided bysatellites that land their traffic in a differentcountry, or even continent, from the originatingcountry and then return it via fibre. At times,regulators have demonstrated a reluctance topermit this topology for ‘security reasons’. Thistype of setup is common in Europe and, in anycase, end-to-end encryption can be applied tothe traffic.” He added that it is, however, nowtime for regulators to take a new look at thissituation.

Playing its part in AfricaAs for iDirect’s involvement in deliveringsatcoms-based communications in Africa,Deasington said this is one of his company’sfastest growing markets, with manyestablished networks deployed – some ofwhich have been quietly operating for manyyears providing GSM communications incountries such as Cameroon and Senegal. Thecompany is also currently working with newernetworks being deployed in South Africa, Beninand DR Congo.

“We are involved in just about every countryin Africa, delivering services to enterprises andcarriers through a range of different operatorsand service providers. These services rangefrom Internet cafes to bank branches and ATMmachines, and remote oil and gasinstallations. The company also providesconnectivity to remote and rural cellular sites,which range from high bandwidth 3G systems,installed in South Africa, to voice-only GSMsystems in Ghana.

“We have a fairly large number of 3G basestations from Huawei installed across SouthAfrica; originally, customers in this region triedto deploy base stations using a consumerInternet satellite system, only to find that thisdidn’t work. Once we persuaded them to try oursystem they found that a carrier-class 3Gsystem works fine — and that it wasn’t aproblem intrinsic to satellite that had stoppedtheir original trial.”

As for some of the technologicaldifferentiators that come into play, Deasingtonsaid, “The iDirect system provides carrier-classservices and allows operators to meet theirservice level agreements (SLAs) for varioustechnical parameters. This can make thedifference between a service working well, ornot at all. Our systems are built to work in atelco environment; for example, the X1 Outdoor

remote is commonly used for cell backhaul.The fact that it is outdoor-mounted (IP67 rated,-40 to +60 degrees operation) and alsoavailable with -48v DC and +24v DC (as well asAC) power supplies makes it an ideal choice forthese environments. This makes it easy tointegrate with modern cellular equipment, andwith either telco or solar power supplies.”

Last year, the company absorbed some ofthe pioneering technology from former remotecommunity communications specialistAltobridge into its portfolio. Until now, little ofhow this acquisition has gone has beenrevealed. With several deployments and usersin Africa, understanding the future for thosestakeholders is important and Deasingtondecided to reveal to Communications Africawhat exactly is being done with the technology

and IP acquired.“Altobridge had the most efficient 2G and 3G

base stations on the market, as well as othersuitable technology for optimising all kinds ofbackhaul — not just cellular. However, iDirectdidn’t acquire the hardware aspects of theirbusiness, preferring to maintain a vendor-neutral position in the market. We’re now readyto release the first fruits of this integration workcalled iDirect Sathaul™. Initial focus will be onmaking the 4G experience more economic, aswell as providing a better user experience oversatellite. Due to the fact that 4G typically useslarger links, this is where the biggest savings areto be made in the short term. This will befollowed with software to optimise 3G smallcells. The 2G and 3G optimisation that waspreviously sold bundled with the Altobridgeproprietary base stations has now been licensedto other firms. This will enable previous users ofAltobridge equipment to move forward and growtheir networks or to build new networks whereultra-high bandwidth efficiency and low powerconsumption are key.”

The futureAs to what’s next for Africa in terms ofsatcoms delivering personalcommunications to remote regions,Deasington said, “The combination of smallcells and satellite means that a singlesatellite link can be shared by hundreds ofusers, each with their own access device.When you couple this with HTS capacity andthe new iDirect SatHaul™ optimisationsoftware being released, the economics andthe user experience are greatly enhanced.” �

Richard Deasington said that Satcomsinfrastructure had, indeed, made“steady progress in the past years”

The arrival of higherbandwidth demands, drivenby the move to 4G and thedata revolution, hascoincided with thedeployment of newgeneration HTS satellitesthat can deliver an order ofmagnitude more bandwidthfor essentially the samecosts as older broad-beamsatellites



Une solution pour donner aux habitants les plus pauvres de la planète des possibilitésd'éducation analogues à celles dont bénéficient ceux des pays développés

Le large bande et les possibilitésd'éducation

TICCommunications

AVEC LES TÉLÉPHONES mobiles, lestablettes et les liseuses connectésau large bande, la longue quêtevisant à donner à tous, en

particulier aux habitants de la planète lesplus défavorisés ou les plus isolés, leschances de recevoir une éducation de qualitédans de multiples disciplines, a peut-êtreenfin abouti. Telle est l'une des conclusionsde la Commission des Nations Unies "Lelarge bande au service du développementnumérique", qui tient aujourd'hui sa onzièmeréunion au siège de l'UNESCO à Paris, France.

Selon un rapport du Groupe de travail de laCommission sur l'éducation, placé sous ladirection de l'UNESCO, dans le monde entier,plus de 60 millions d'enfants à l'âge de l'écoleprimaire ne sont actuellement pas scolarisés,et une trentaine de millions ne le seront jamais.La situation s'aggrave à mesure que les enfantsgrandissent, puisque plus de 70 millionsd'enfants ne sont pas scolarisés dans lesecondaire. Même si les ordinateurs en classesont une aide appréciable, l'absence deressources reste un point critique. Si enmoyenne huit enfants se partagent unordinateur à l'école dans les pays de l'OCDE,en Afrique il arrive que les enseignants doiventse débrouiller pour qu'un même ordinateur soitutilisé par 150 élèves, voire plus. Toutefois,avec des appareils mobiles de plus en plusperfectionnés et ayant une puissance de calculsupérieure à celle des fameux"superordinateurs" de la fin des années 90, la

Commission est convaincue que les dispositifssans fil individuels connectés au large bandepourraient constituer la solution.

Des abonnements actifs au large bandemobileIl apparaît, d'après les chiffres de l'UIT, que lelarge bande mobile est la technologie quiconnaît la croissance la plus rapide dansl'histoire de l'humanité. On compteaujourd'hui davantage d'abonnements autéléphone mobile que d'habitants de laplanète – soit quelque sept milliards. Lenombre d'abonnements actifs au large bandemobile est supérieur à 2,1 milliards – soit troisfois le nombre de connexions filaires au largebande (700 millions).

Surtout, et c'est là le plus encourageant, laplupart de ces progrès sont à mettre au comptedes pays en développement, qui abritent 90%des nouveaux abonnés au cellulaire mobile et82% des nouveaux internautes, parcomparaison avec les chiffres du début de2010.

"L'éducation est l'une des applications lesplus puissantes de la connectivité largebande" a déclaré le Secrétaire général de l'UITHoulin Zhao. "Pour la première fois dansl'histoire, le large bande mobile nous offre lapossibilité de mettre véritablement l'éducation

à la portée de tous, indépendamment del'endroit où l'on vit, des contextes culturel etlinguistique, ou des facilités d'accès à desinfrastructures telles que les établissementsscolaires ou les transports. L'éducation sera lemoteur de l'esprit d'entreprise, notammentparmi les jeunes. C'est pourquoi nous devonsintensifier nos efforts pour mettre en place, àdes conditions financièrement abordables, desréseaux large bande pouvant servir àl'éducation des enfants et des adultes," a ditM. Zhao.

Créée en 2010, la Commission sur le largebande est un organe de haut niveau axé sur ladéfense de stratégies destinées à rendre lelarge bande plus accessible, y compris sur leplan économique, dans le monde entier. Elleest présidée conjointement par M. PaulKagame, Président du Rwanda, et par M. CarlosSlim Helú, du Mexique, la vice-présidenceétant assurée conjointement par M. HoulinZhao, Secrétaire général de l'UIT, et par MmeIrina Bokova, Directrice générale de l'UNESCO.Alors qu'approche à grands pas l'échéancefixée pour la réalisation des Objectifs duMillénaire pour le développement, lesmembres de la Commission s'attachentaujourd'hui à obtenir la reconnaissance dularge bande en tant que l'un des principauxpiliers des Objectifs de développementdurable fixés par les Nations Unies, qui serontadoptés par le prochain Sommet sur ledéveloppement durable, lequel se tiendra àNew York en septembre.�

UIT large bande éducation

L'absence de ressourcesreste un point critique

Communications Africa Issue 2 2015 23www.communicationsafrica.com


The new service is membership-based and meets the need ofmobile operators’ subscribers

ONEm’s new platform enables dataexchange without internet

PROFILE Communications

UK-BASED ONEM has developed a global membership-basedmobile platform for its customers to send and receiveadvanced messages and voice services without the use ofInternet.

According to the company, the platform allows SMS to getdelivered in the same way as Internet-based messaging services, yetdoes not require Internet and is delivered over the core network.ONEm CEO Christopher Richardson said, “ONEm sees an enormouspool of talent when looking at the Internet. There are many wellestablished and new companies as well as individuals who will beelated to discover that there is a platform that will allow them to reach4.5bn users.

“Mobile operators stand a lot to gain from this pool of talent as theyare the same people who will love the opportunity to experience a

completely new delivery mechanism based on true voice and SMSportion of their mobile operator.”

ONEm is able to revitalise the capabilities of SMS and can alsomonetise this service in a new way, noted the CEO.

“A plethora of applications can be triggered and delivered via SMS.The capabilities are endless and there will be a continuous flow ofinnovative services. These will continue to grow generating furtherdemand for an operator’s ONEm subscription while returning multiplerevenue streams,” added Richardson.

According to the company, many operators across a variety of regionshave expressed their keen interest in connecting to ONEm’s platform torevitalise and monetise their service offerings.

The CEO said, “ONEm is a neutral enabler that allows everyone withinthe chain of players to benefit. The operator and developer incentiveswill develop as the capabilities and services grow exponentially.

“The company presents new revenues for mobile operators from theirexisting SMS and voice networks. These markets reach for Internet-based service providers and developers to create demand from mobileusers, enterprises, mobile-to-mobile community, governments andNGOs.”

The company is also planning to partner with a number of valueadded service (VAS) companies, developers and Internet serviceproviders, including Wikipedia to deliver advanced and smart servicesusing Internet and private data to reach new audiences. �

The platform will reach out to 4.5bn subscribers

With no investment nor infrastructurechanges, mobile operators will enjoy newrevenues from SMS and voice whileproviding a variety of innovative andexciting mobile services for theirsubscribers



African operators are facing increasingly intense challenges asthe continent's communications industry evolves

Managing services tomanage opportunities

COMMUNICATIONSBSS/ OSS

THERE ARE THREE core challengesfacing communications serviceproviders (CSPs) today. CSPs mustmeet end-users’ ever-changing

demands for more personalised and moreinnovative services, and meet fasterresponse times. CSPs need to achieveefficiencies, reducing expenditure whilstimproving productivity. CSPs must alsomaintain a competitive edge in a cost-effective way, keeping unique differentiatorsand increasing customer loyalty.

Routes to achievementContemporary business support system (BSS),operational support system (OSS) andmanaged security solution (MSS) providersmust deliver a managed service solution thatencompasses end-to-end informationtechnology outsourcing (ITO), businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) and transformationservice offerings, which can be tailored to meettelecom operators’ requirements. Huaweiprovides one-stop managed services thataddress operators’ outsourcing needs intoday’s climate.

Specifically, proactive operators arelooking to deploy end-to-end online chargingsolutions, to gain a faster time to market for

new revenue generation, to deploy a flexiblecharging regime to grow market sharethrough personalised marketing activities,and to improve loyalty with a real-timeservice experience for end-users.

Moreover, CSPs need at all times to belooking to improve contact centre operations,and solutions are available to reinforcecontact centre resources with computertelephony integration (CTI) technology,Internet and voice over IP (VoIP) architecture,stored program control (SPC) switchingtechnology, and network and databasesolutions. Such a portfolio must handle callagent management, inbound and outboundcall handling, office facilities management,infrastructure and application management,service performance management andprocess optimisation. It must allow for agentrecruitment, training and team building,career development, and daily operationsmanagement. It must enable efficient officespace and office supplies management, andvehicle leasing. It must addressinfrastructure and application issues throughactive monitoring, problem interrogation,

system upgrades and patch deployment.There must also be capability for customeracquisition through marketing and sales,

service provision in response to inquiries,and in delivering solutions and associatedmarketing and customer retention initiatives.

Critically, managed services solutions mustact as a holistic telecommunicationsbackbone, making possible sophisticatedmanagement of the customer base to improvecustomer loyalty, raise profitability, and reducecapital expenditure (CAPEX) as well asoperational expenditure (OPEX).Comprehensive vendors such as Huawei willdeliver on BSS, OSS, MSS, corporate ITfunctionality and associated servicesmanagement on behalf of telecom operators,acting as an outsourced chief informationofficer (CIO), so that operators can concentratepurely on core telecom service delivery, andstructure, control and reduce costs in ever-more efficient ways.

Reengineering the businessSuch BSS/OSS transformation requires acommitted partner, a services manager withthe knowledge and capabilities to deliver thelatest technologies and instill operational bestpractices. Think of it as business processreengineering - aligning operations withstrategies, people and technology, managingdata to ensure organisational clarity, accuracy,consistency, accessibility, and security,running the IT architecture required to ensureoptimal performance for streamlined customerservice, and improved quality of experience. �

Huawei will deliver on BSS, OSS,MSS, corporate IT functionality andassociated services management

Huawei provides one-stop managed services that addressoperators’ outsourcing needs in today’s climate



Young Ugandan entrepreneurs are striving to create solutions that can help people intheir everyday lives

Youth assist country’s progress viamobile services

UGANDA Communications

UGANDA IS MOVING fast into themobile era. It is very visible inKampala where everyone is on thego with ‘bodabodas’ or local

motorbike taxis being the quickest way oftransportation. Another visible proof is thedense usage of mobile phones. Mobileservices are now affordable for everyone.

Young entrepreneurs are eager to leap intothis social, economic and culturaltransformation. But differently from theirwestern fellows, their interest is not restrictedto games and entertainment. It is morepractical, more human like the initiative beingdeveloped by Thin Void. It is a group of tech-enthusiasts analysing masses of dataaccumulated in everyday life, trying to figureout how it can be used for serving people.

Joseph Kaizzi, one of the entrepreneurs atThin Void, explained, “What we do is we wantto cut the gaps, to empty the technology void.”

Out of that came Tambula — which means‘movement’� in Ugandan. Tambula is a trackingdevice and anti-theft service for bodabodas.

Within a little more than half a year from thelaunch of the commercial tracker, it had beeninstalled in about 500 motorcycles and thenumber is steadily growing.

In a case of theft, the driver can call ThinVoid who locate the vehicle with the help ofsafety service companies, or in some caseseven with the police.

According to Kaizzi, four of the bikesregistered with Tambula had been stolen duringthe first seven to eight months. Three of themwere discovered and returned to their owners.

“We also know where the fourth is. Butunfortunately, it is located in a closed areawhere it is not wise to go, not for the value of amotorbike anyway,” he added.

Especially in the three million population atKampala, there are masses of bodabodadrivers. They are mainly young men with lowawareness of safety issues and traffic rules andwith small personal finances to invest insolving these shortages.

In response, Thin Void has developed a“premium model” of Tambula service, which isnow being tested. It includes training in bestpractises. After that the drivers are givenhelmets and smartphones. The phone enablesthem to join in a mobile application that candeliver orders from customers.

“All this is to help them enhance theirrevenues. With the investment on safety andmarketing, it makes them trusted in the eyes oftheir customers,” noted Kaizzi.

Doctor’s appointment via SMSAccess.Mobile has another compelling story totell. Working in a sector different from ThinVoid, this group of young entrepreneurs work inhealthcare.

General manager for Access.Mobile UgandaJane Mukulu said, “There have beencommunication systems for hospitals but theyhave not included the possibility of accessingthe patients directly.”

According to Mukulu, “It is not just thatdoctors need an application for keeping trackof the healthcare history for their patients butalso the patients that are in need of easy tools

for making appointments and being remindedof them.”

The solution is called Clinic Communicator,a technology combining the healthcareinformation systems with a mobile application.Most Ugandans have a portable phone in theirpocket, but it is important that the system caneasily be used with even very basic portablephone models. Smartphones are on the rise,but still not affordable for the majority of thepeople.

At the end of 2014, the solution was undertrial in several local health stations. At thesame time, the team of eight was working onthe smart phone version which gives thepatients a possibility of obtaining theappointment calendar themselves. Thisreduces further the time the personnel need tobe involved in making appointments.

Mukulu commented, “Feedback from boththe healthcare personnel and patients havebeen encouraging. It reduces waiting times.”

There is also an extra benefit coming frompaper forms being replaced by digital files inevery step of the service chain. Electronicarchives help the healthcare personnel toalways find the up-to-date record of eachpatient.

“This is also space-saving, compared tokeeping large storage rooms just for the files.This is very important on many small healthstations where space is a valuable asset,”Mukulu noted.

Ugandans are using Tambula softwareto detect their stolen bikes

The World Bank estimates that only 13 per cent of Ugandanswere using 3G or 4G connections at the beginning of 2015.Yet, the numbers are also growing fast, by 69 per cent,annually



Communications Africa Issue 2 2015 27

UGANDACommunications

Mobile loans and savings for farmersBoth road and telecommunicationsinfrastructure are of poor quality in many partsof rural Uganda. Most of the financial servicesin ‘saccos’ or rural cooperative banks are stillrun manually. Normally the courier, in thiscase a local sacco officer, drives to villageswith a motorcycle to collect the money andconsult with the clients.

In the healthcare sector this too results inlong service times and a high risk ofimportant documents being lost. As a result,the rural clients, most of whom are poorfarmers with small holdings, also end uppaying higher than average interest for theirservices.

The use of manual records also increasesthe risk of malpractice.

According to Gerald Otim, founder and COOof Ensibuuko, “Fraud is so common that manyfarmers have lost their confidence in banks.Together with the high transaction costs, theywould rather keep their savings at home.”

For these reasons, mobile money hasbecome popular in Uganda as elsewhere inAfrica.

“But people know mobile money only forpaying remittances, not as a tool for accessinga loan or remitting their savings,” Otim noted.

As a solution, Ensibuuko has combined amobile wallet with a locally-made bankingsoftware that is customised to the needs ofrural saccos. After the current test-out phase, itis to be taken in use by two saccos in northernUganda during this year. The banks havearound 35,000 farmers as their members in 14local districts.

Ensibuuko won a national hackathon andthen also a regional competition for IT start-ups in ten eastern African countries in late2013. The success provided the start-up withvisibility and contacts. The mobile bankingsystem is now ranked so promising thatEnsibuuko has made a contract with the pan-African banker MercyCorps.

Yet, Otim is most enthusiastic in the real lifeexperiences, “The most important lessonwithin our two year journey, after all, is how toengage the user. We pride ourselves indeveloping this solution not for, but incooperation with, the rural poor — the farmerswho need it.”

Other initiativesThere are two major innovation hubs fosteringentrepreneurship in Kampala — Hive Colaband Outbox.

Both provide open space as well asorganised events for young professionals fromdifferent backgrounds to get together withtheir ideas. Training, mentoring and help inmaking contacts with teleoperators and otherinvestors are provided for promising projects.Start-ups can also rent work space in the hub.

News in the pocketWith Africa abandoning analogue television,the TV stations turn to broadcasting straightonto the palm of the growing middle class.

Like various African countries, Uganda is inthe phase of changing its televisionbroadcasting system from analogue to digitalthis year. However, the transformation is notrunning as smoothly as planned by thegovernment. According to Simon Kaheru,Ugandan media-analyst and entrepreneur, thecountry should have a quasi-national coverageby mid-June this year.

”But because not everyone will have boughtset-top boxes by then, we will have to runanalogue alongside digital for a while longer.”

Despite the fact that the standard of living inUganda is on the rise, not everyone can afforda new digital television set or a set-top box totranscode the broadcasts. At the same time,the mobile generation of young middle-classadults is growing rapidly. As a solution, thebiggest commercial station NTV Ugandalaunched a mobile app called NTV mobi lastautumn.

The first application of its kind in Ugandawas created by the Finnish company Neonellaand the Finnish-Ugandan partner Somocon.Jussi Myllylä, CEO of Neonella, sees hugeopportunities in African mobile development.

”It seems the whole Africa is skipping thedigital television and jumping straight fromanalogue to mobile television instead,” Myllyläadded.

Cheaper rates with a telecom networkMichael Muganwa, network administrator ofNTV, revealed that the company tried somelocal solutions earlier. ”But the Finns alreadyhad the very technique we were longing for.”

The difference between NTV Mobi and theprevious applications is crucial for the user. Asother applications pick up materialdownloaded in Youtube, NTV Mobi streams livebroadcast straight onto the palm of the user,Muganwa added.

“We have co-operation with all telecoms inUganda and have placed our servers on theirpremises. They can offer the service for theirusers at cheaper rates, as they don’t have topay themselves for connecting to the Internet.”

Another option for NTV is a VOD (video ondemand) service on their website. According toDavid Sembatya, NTV Mobi project manager,people in Uganda still want to watch theirbroadcast live.

The price of a fixed line broadbandconnection is still out of reach for mostUgandans, but the number of mobile internetusers is growing drastically.

The World Bank estimates that only 13 percent of the Ugandans were using 3G or 4Gconnections at the beginning of 2015. Yet, thenumbers are also growing fast, by 69 per cent,annually.

It is no wonder Sembatya considers this asthe moment of breakthrough. “With NTV Mobi,we are looking to increase televisionpenetration and getting millions of newviewers.”

Other East African countries followingWithin the first month, some 20,000 peopledownloaded NTV mobi. After that, the numberof the users has increased with approximately10,000 downloads a month. As a result, theNeonella-Somocon -duo has been offered pilotprojects also in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania andZambia.

Jussi Myllylä regards this as an opportunityfor aggressive growth for the Finnish start-up.

“We were looking for growth in Finland, butthe market was already quite saturated.Whereas in Africa, there is both space anddemand for innovations that are already partsof everyday living in Europe.”

Intercontinental co-operation is likely tobenefit both sides. The economically strugglingEurope can widen its export market, andsimultaneously, the African economies withgrowing middle classes can achieve lucrativenew business models. �Kaijaleena Runsten and Juho Paavola

Joseph Kaizzi, one of the founders of Thin Void andmakers of Tambula

With Africa abandoning analogue television, the TV stationsturn to broadcasting straight onto the palm of the growingmiddle class



On premise vs. the cloud – what to consider before migrating contact centres

Cloud versus on premise

ICT Communication

THE ‘CLOUD’ IS currently one of thebiggest buzzwords in the IT space,and is also the topic of many businessdiscussions around the contact

centre. The benefits of moving to the cloudseem clear: it enables organisations to set upwhat is essentially a virtual contact centre,giving their employees the flexibility ofconnecting to their office anywhere, at anytime, with the ability to scale up and down asneeded. In addition, the cloud allowsorganisations to shed the burden of assetownership by renting fully managedinfrastructure that is housed in a cloudservice provider’s data centre. These cloudservice providers are well equipped withenough storage space, UPS, backupgenerators as well as fail over optionsensuring high availability of theinfrastructure. They place huge emphasis onsecurity measures to ensure confidentiality,integrity and availability of data. However,despite the numerous benefits of migratingthe contact centre to the cloud, this is notnecessarily the best choice for all businessesand all applications. Organisations need toassess their individual situation andcircumstances, address a number of factors,and then make an informed decision as towhich option, cloud or premise-based, will bethe most cost effective. Ultimately thisdecision should be based on which modelwill deliver the best returns.

Migrating to the cloud offers the ability toovercome these two major challenges. Fromthe customers’ perspective, spend is based onusage and is usually a subscription modelwhile providers can achieve economies ofscale, reducing the need for multiple supportteams� and customers can eliminate the needfor support teams altogether. For manyorganisations, moving the contact centre intothe cloud is a solution that will deliverenormous benefit over and above thosealready mentioned. For organisations withexisting IT personnel, this includes the abilityto focus those resources on maintainingsystems that are core and critical to thebusiness’s success. The cloud is also

beneficial for organisations that do not havelarge IT budgets or teams.

However, the cloud is not necessarily themost appropriate solution for all businesses,particularly with regard to the contact centre.When it comes to making the decision as towhether to adopt premise or cloud basedcontact centres, organisations should alwaysconsider the features and functions of thesolution as well as the costs, includingimplementation, customisation and training.Cloud solutions often include maintenanceand support in the monthly subscription fee,which can save large capital outlays onexpensive software updates and platformoverhauls. In addition, integration can be acostly exercise for both premise and cloudbased implementations, and should becarefully considered. The bottom line is thatwhile the cloud model may result in morespecialised integration and training, theburden of premise based models often incurshidden costs due to the liability of assetownership, which is not present with clouddeployment models.

Size is another important factor to consider.The rule of thumb is that a cloud contact centreis the best fit anywhere from 250 seats andbelow. In situations where contact centresrequire more than 250 seats, it is generally

more cost-effective to opt for the traditionalpremise based contact centre. This is notnecessarily only due to the cost per user of acloud-based model, but the fact thatcompanies requiring over 250 seats often havetheir own in-house dedicated IT personnel,making leveraging these skills a cost effectiveoption. Generally, three conditions willdetermine that a premise based contact centresolution will provide the best fit: when thenumber of users exceeds 250, when thecontact centre is the company’s core business,and when the IT team is not able to berepositioned into another function to addvalue. However, there are exceptions to everyrule so it is important to conduct a thoroughtotal cost of ownership (TCO) exercise todetermine the best solution for yourorganisation.

Security should always be a key concern.With regard to premise based solutions, asecure data centre environment is essentialto mitigate risk. When adopting a cloudbased model, the risk lies in the fact that thiscontrol is in the hands of the cloud provider.The cloud service provider should ensure alllayers are secure, including the network,storage, server, hypervisor, application anddata layers.

Both cloud and premise based solutionshave the potential for hidden costs that need tobe calculated into the TCO. If a cloudsubscription includes maintenance andsupport, the hidden costs are implementation,integration, customisation and training. Withregard to premise based solutions, the hiddencosts tend to come from implementation,integration, customisation, hardware, ITpersonnel, maintenance and training.Ultimately, organisations need to assess theirspecific situation, their existing investmentand their IT teams to determine the feasibilityof migrating the contact centre to the cloud.Partnering with an expert service provider, whocan conduct an accurate audit and provide thenecessary recommendation and roadmap, willensure that cloud contact centre migrationsand deployments deliver on the expectedbenefits. �

By Pippa Wilson, manager: Cloud Solutionsfor Jasco Enterprise, The Jasco Group

Pippa Wilson

Both cloud and premise based solutions have the potentialfor hidden costs that need to be calculated into the TCO



Eutelsat Government EMEA répondra aux besoins en capacités satellitaires des marchésgouvernementaux et institutionnels

Une branche dédié aux administrations

SATELLITEServices

EUTELSAT COMMUNICATIONS A crééune nouvelle branche baptiséeEutelsat Government EMEA.Implantée au Royaume-Uni, cette

structure aura pour mission de piloter lastratégie du Groupe en Europe, au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique envers les fournisseursde services destinés aux administrationsgouvernementales, les ONG et lesorganismes institutionnels.

Un organisme spécialiséEutelsat Government EMEA ouvrira ses portes àHarwell, près d'Oxford, dans des locauxdisposant d’habilitations de sécurité. Cesderniers seront situés en plein cœur d’un pôlequi accueille un nombre croissantd’entreprises et d’organismes spécialisés dansle spatial. Le nouveau site de l’Agence spatialeeuropéenne (ESA) - le Centre européen desapplications spatiales et destélécommunications, ou ECSAT - s’y estd’ailleurs installé. Le campus hébergeégalement le centre « Satellite ApplicationsCatapult », qui est venu remplacer le Centreinternational d’innovation spatiale.La nouvelle branche d’Eutelsat sera

pilotée par Matt Child, ancien directeurgénéral de Solaris Mobile. Son arrivée chezEutelsat en 2014 correspond à une volonté

d’adopter une vision de long termestructurée sur le segment de marché dédiéaux administrations gouvernementales. Cesegment comprend notamment les servicesde location de bande passante satellitaire,l’exploitation conjointe de satellites et lescharges utiles hébergées.

Le travail et les servicesEutelsat peut s’appuyer sur une solideexpérience en matière de services destinés auxadministrations gouvernementales. En 2001, lacréation d’Eutelsat Inc. à Washington DC estvenue renforcer l’expertise d’Eutelsat dans cedomaine. Une nouvelle impulsion a été donnéeen 2006 avec la naissance d’Eutelsat AmericaCorp. qui travaille avec des sociétés offrantleurs services dans le monde entier auxministères américains, ainsi qu’à des clientsdu secteur commercial.En complément d’Eutelsat America

Corp.,Eutelsat Government EMEA offrira desressources sur l’Europe, le Moyen-Orient etl’Afrique, aux fournisseurs de services auprèsdes administrations gouvernementales ainsiqu’aux organismes réalisant des opérations derétablissement de communications en cas dedésastre ou de crise humanitaire. Cettestructure proposera la location de capacitéssatellitaires offrant une couverture globale,

sous forme d’un ou plusieurs répéteurs enbandes C, Ku et Ka.Elle tirera parti de l'expérience d'Eutelsat en

matière d’exploitation conjointe deprogrammes ainsi qu’en matière de chargesutiles hébergées (comprenant la charge utileRaytheon hébergée sur le satellite EUTELSAT117 West B pour le compte de l’agencegouvernementale de l'aviation civile aux États-Unis (« Federal Aviation Administration ») et lacharge utile EDRS - relais de données pour lesystème européen de satellites - hébergée surEUTELSAT 9B pour le compte de l'ESA).

Aux besoins gouvernementauxElle s’appuiera également sur le satelliteEutelsat Quantum, qui sera lancé en 2018 etqui est particulièrement bien adapté auxbesoins gouvernementaux compte-tenu de saconfiguration en termes de couverture, depuissance et de fréquences et compte-tenu deson haut degré de flexibilité et de résilience.Michel de Rosen, président-directeur

général d’Eutelsat, a déclaré : « La création decette nouvelle branche est un atoutsupplémentaire sur le segment de marché desservices gouvernementaux, en complémentdes activités que mène déjà Eutelsat AmericaCorp. Cette structure apportera la stratégie, lesoutien et l’expertise nécessaires pouraccompagner les entreprises opérant auprèsdes administrations gouvernementales et desorganismes institutionnels en Europe, enAfrique et au Moyen-Orient. »�

En 2001, la création d’Eutelsat Inc. à Washington DC estvenue renforcer l’expertise d’Eutelsat dans ce domaine



Communication service provider SkyVision will expand its broadcast services acrossAfrica, in a bid to cater to growing demand for DTH, IPTV and OTT services

Sky’s the limit in Africa for SkyVision

BROADCAST Services

LEADING COMMUNICATION SERVICE provider SkyVision GlobalNetworks Ltd., has added broadcast services and engineeringsolutions to its IP connectivity services and solutions portfolio.The company’s decision to do so is to support the demand for

demand for DTH, IPTV and OTT services in the markets it serves.Following the market demand for a range of broadcast services,

the company has employed Eyal Maimon, a senior director who iswell experienced in the field of broadcast. Maimon is SkyVision’sbroadcast and engineering solutions director, who brings morethan 17 years of hands on technical and sales experience inbroadcast services. The increasing demand in Africa and the Middle East for DTH

and IPTV services is overwhelming. Over the past several years,there has been a growing demand for reliable video solutionsacross many segments including governments and broadcasterswanting to cover national and international events such as theAfrica Cup of Nations, the World Cup, African U20 Championshipand more. “Adding global TV satellite distribution and contentmanagement fields to our current portfolio of services andsolutions seemed only natural, as we have the provenexperience, infrastructure and local presence and support torespond to broadcasters’ and service providers’ needs, whereverthey are,” said Ori Watermann, CEO of SkyVision.

Leveraging on its global MPLS network, extensive points of presenceand vast teleport operations in the USA, Europe, the Middle East andAfrica, and the comprehensive satellite coverage under its command,SkyVision offers broadcasters and any client that needs to deliver videoservices a one-stop-shop for contribution, distribution, IPTV, OTT,turnaround and occasional use services.

In addition to the broadcast services, SkyVision has also launchedits engineering solutions specifically suited to satellite operators,such as TT&C, CSM, Satellite co-locations and hosting services.“SkyVision’s dominance in delivering corporate grade services inAfrica, the Middle East, Europe, the US and Asia, backed by its vastfootprint through multiple satellites and PoPs, enables it to act as anestablished broadcasting arm to the region,” added Maimon. “Weare proud to have launched these top class solutions suited tobroadcasters and satellite operators alike and believe that ourextensive know-how in the communications arena will offercustomers the added value they deserve.”�

In Africa and the Middle East, there are patrons of internationalsporting events and general entertainment, leading to the rise indemand for enhanced broadcast services

SkyVision has also launched its engineeringsolutions specifically suited to satelliteoperators such as TT&C and CSM



The landlocked Southeast African nation is all set to make the transition from analogueto digital television broadcasting, as the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs iskeen to generate awareness through a public awareness campaign

Malawi gears up for digital televisionbroadcasting

BROADCASTDigital television

MALAWIANS ARE BEING made ofaware of how to migrate fromanalogue to digital televisionbroadcasting, with the Ministry

of Justice and Constitutional Affairsestablishing the significance of a publicawareness campaign on the same. Samuel Tembenu, minister of justice and

constitutional affairs said a nationwidepublic awareness campaign will helpcitizens to be aware of how to migrate fromanalogue to digital television broadcasting.Tembenu said, "There is little knowledge

among the citizens on digital broadcasting,therefore the Ministry of Information,Tourism and Culture will embark on anintensive, efficient and effectivenationwide public awareness campaign tomake the public aware of how to migrate

from analogue to digital televisionbroadcasting."The Malawian government was

committed to ensure that the public haveadequate relevant and accurateinformation necessary for them tounderstand, appreciate and be ready andwilling to migrate to digital broadcastingsmoothly.Digital broadcasting will bring better

pictures and good sound quality. It will alsoallow the opportunity to select localprogrammes or television stations of one'schoice without hassles.In addition, the migration will also

provide job opportunities for the Malawianyouth as they will be engaged in productionof television content for broadcast, addedTembenu.

Principal secretary in the Ministry ofInformation, Tourism and CultureChimwemwe Banda said the publicawareness underscores the important rolegovernment attaches to communicationand the crucial role it plays in helpingpeople to make informed choices anddecisions on issues that affect them. Thenationwide awareness campaign will makethe masses have a clear understanding sothat they are ready to adopt and embracethe new technology.Digital migration is the process of

moving from analogue to digitalbroadcasting using digital technology, andthis entails segmentation of broadcastingservices into content production and signaldistribution.On 17 June , members of the Southern

Africa Development Community (SADC)including Malawi will migrate to digitaltelevision broadcasting as a result of theInternational Telecommunications Union(ITU) resolution. �

Digital broadcasting allows for high qualityimages, and sound, and a larger pool ofprogrammes to watch

On 17 June, members of the SADC will migrate to digitaltelevision broadcasting as a result of the ITU resolution




BROADCAST

32

SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY FIRM Cinegy, which developsand produces solutions for digital video processing,asset management, video compression, automationand playout, demonstrated Version 10 of its productportfolio at NAB 2015, which was held from 11-16 Aprilat the Las Vegas Convention Centre, Las Vegas,Nevada. In recent months Cinegy has rolled out Version 10

to its global clients and the industry at large, but atNAB 2015, visitors were able to see first-hand thebenefits and new features of version 10 of Cinegy’sproduct portfolio including:• 4K IP-Based Broadcast Solutions; CinegyMultiviewer and Cinegy Route

• Automation, Playout and CG Solutions; CinegyAir PRO and Cinegy Type

• Media Asset Management, Archive and CaptureSolutions; Cinegy Archive, Cinegy Desktop, CinegyWorkspace, and Cinegy CaptureCinegy also hosted presentations on booth SL11116

highlighting “Software Defined Television” to helpdelegates identify the operational and cost benefitsof moving to software-based solutions.Cinegy’s range of software solutions offers IP

Tools, ingest, editing to playout, all connected to anactive archive with full Digital Asset Management. The HCHD300, which was displayed at the show, is

an adaptable dockingstyle camera that representsIkegami's first inexpensive HD studio camera system.It features a newly developed 1/3inch 3CMOS opticalblock design, in line with the high quality imagery. Designed for broadcast TV stations, as well as

educational, corporate and house of worshipapplications, the Ikegami HCHD300 can be used incombination with a newly developed camera controlsystem featuring the FA300 fibre adapter andBSF300 base station, utilising Optical CON DUOconnectors for its fibre camera cable connection.

This connector accepts either a mating OpticalCONDuo connector for SMPTE hybrid camera cable(maximum distance: 250m/820ft), or commonoptical LC connectors for duplex singlemode fibrecable (maximum distance: 10km/32,800ft). Thesystem provides affordable and flexible integrationfor a number of applications.According to the firm, using standard IT

hardware and non-proprietary storagetechnology, Cinegy provides reliable, affordable,scalable, easily deployable and intuitive products.Cinegy also hosted a wide array of local languageworkshops at the event.Japanese manufacturer of professional and

broadcast television equipment, Ikegami, was also atthe NAB 2015 Show. The company displayed a widerange of advanced systems and technologies at the

event on booth C7725.. The company specialises inHD cameras and production equipment for TVbroadcasters, networks, and other HD contentcreators. Ikegami displayed The new HDK65C is the latest addition to

Ikegami's Unicam HD range. The product offersmultiformat 2.5mn pixel 2/3 inch CMOS sensors andis available as a singleformat system and can beupgraded to extra HD formats. It also features a lowprofile docking camera head for fiber, triax, orwireless applications. The product is equipped withCMOS sensors, which are constantly proving toprovide better performance than CCDs in sensitivity,signal-to-noise ratio, and resolution. They offer lowpower consumption, no vertical smear, and a highlevel of format adaptability. Following furtherresearch and development in this new technology,the adoption of CMOS for broadcast camera use hasrisen. After the success of its 2014 presentation at the

show, Ikegami unveiled a 8K UHDTV camera, to keepevent attendees in the loop on the latestdevelopments in the extremely high resolution SuperHi Vision format. A 4K Technology Exhibit includinga new 2/3inch CMOS 4K camera and a new 4K basestation, which can be used with existing IkegamiUnicam cameras, was also presented. The 4Kexhibit featured Hibino Corporation's realdot full4K 293 inch LED display.Ikegami's advanced imaging technologies

combined with Hibino's high resolution displaytechnologies will be used together to explore thepotential of the 4K solution. Both Ikegami USA andHibino Corporation had the opportunity to solicit thepotential of 4K/8K technology from broadcastprofessionals at NAB 2015. Within the Ikegami booth,visitors experienced products that provide highquality HD pictures, powerful CMOS technology,excellent performance, and easily accessiblefeatures.

2/3-inch CMOS 4k camera

The 2015 NAB Show took place at The Las Vegas Convention Centre, Las Vegas, Nevada

NAB 2015 showcases advanced technology


NAB

S07 CAF 2 2015 - Solutions_Layout 1 21/04/2015 14:04 Page 32


ICT

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HOLIDAYS ARE MADE for families to spend timewith each other, bonding and making specialmemories. With the long Easter weekendcoming up in April, South Africans of allreligions and beliefs have the perfectopportunity to make the most of the warmerweather before winter sets in. However, afterthe holidays are over, many of us are left with asense of nostalgia and sentimentality thatmakes us want to relive the good times wehave shared.

Thankfully in this day and age, we have theability to take practically limitless digitalphotographs and videos that help keep ourmemories alive. The problem, however, lies notonly in storing and preserving these specialmemories so that we can continue to accessthem in years to come, but in being able toeasily share them with friends and family tokeep nostalgia at bay.

Consumers need robust, reliable and highcapacity portable storage solutions that letthem keep their precious memories safe, witheasy access and sharing. WD understands thisneed, and offers a number of solutions that areperfect for preventing holiday nostalgia byenabling you to save, access and sharefavourite photos and home videos fromanywhere, letting you reminisce and recapture

the good times whenever the mood strikes.The WD My Passport Wireless is the perfect

portable storage solution for families on aroad trip, frequent travellers and creativeprofessionals working in the field. This easyto use Wi-Fi enabled storage drive allows youto save, access and share stored contentwirelessly with any smartphone, tablet,computer or other device. It offers a simpleway to connect all computing and mobiledevices to content without any wires orInternet connection. It also features ahighspeed USB 3.0 connection for fasttransfer of large files.

The drive broadcasts its own secure wirelessnetwork, enabling up to eight devices toconnect simultaneously to save content to andaccess content from the drive. It is available in500GB, 1TB and 2TB models for hundreds ofphotos and hours of movies and music. Byproviding wireless storage, it solves thecommon problem of too many devices withlimited storage capacity and no way to offloadcontent on the go. This makes it perfect forpreserving holiday memories when you maynot have access to a computer or even anInternet connection.

In addition, My Passport Wireless allowsusers to access the award winning WD My

Cloud mobile app for iOS or Android mobiledevices. This app offers easy navigation,sharing and playback of the drive's content, aswell as centralised access and sharing ofcontent on public cloud storage solutions likeDropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive, andaccess to content on the WD My Cloud family ofpersonal cloud storage.

The My Cloud family is an innovativestorage and content sharing solution thatenables users to save everything in oneplace and access it from anywhere, withdirect upload from mobile devices, in yourown personal cloud. This means you canhave all of the benefits of cloud storage,without any of the drawbacks – access tomore capacity, without monthly fees, andthe peace of mind of knowing exactly whereyour data is being kept. You can easily storeand organise all of your photos, videos,music and important documents on yourhome network, and access this contentfrom anywhere with an Internet connectionon a computer, tablet or smartphone, usingWD’s file management app.

Anamika Budree, sales manager, BrandedProducts at WD South Africa

DETECTION SOLUTION COMPANY, 51Degrees and open source software specialist,The Away Foundation have joined forces to roll out its ‘Digital Globe’ project atMWC 2015. 51Degrees will analyse the relative strength of mobile handsetcompanies in every country across the globe via a graphics rich image of theworld. This 3D-mobile world can be seen from any mobile device, includingsmartphones and tablets, through a web browser.

51Degrees plays a key role in finding information on more than three billionmobile handsets connected to the web across more than 1.5mn websites everymonth. Information noted includes size of screen, browser and manufacturer.

51Degrees is working together with The Away Foundation to deliver thisinformation graphically.

The data is displayed as a cone for companies at the geographicallocation the information was gathered. Viewers can then look at the volumeof web browsing sessions that each manufacturer has at this location to findout the estimated installation base of the handsets and relative strength ofthe brand in any country.

WebGL technology is fast becoming a graphics standard for many web-enabled devices such as the latest iOS and Android smartphones. Using WebGL,The Away Foundation has created fast graphical rendering in a browser, withcompatibility across all devices from PCs to mobile phones. By using WebGL ina browser, 51Degrees and The Away Foundation have made real-time datavisualisations of huge data sets a reality.

James Rosewell, CEO of 51Degrees says: “51Degrees has been looking for away to visualise big data sets, to help illustrate the billions of data points thatwe collect. Having seen the work that The Away Foundation has been doing ingaming and other industries, there was an opportunity to create a uniquevisualisation of big data. The resultant browser-based experience shows that,even on a mobile handset, large datasets can be aggregated and deliveredquickly and effectively.”

Rob Bateman, founder of The Away Foundation commented, “Thesmartphone has become our preferred way to consume information. In thisproject we wanted to demonstrate that huge sets of data could beillustrated on small screens. The result shows the volume of web browsingcoming from mobile handset manufacturers in any country of the world andcan be displayed on any browser-based device. The size of the data set andthe size of the screen are no longer limitations to elegantly displayingcomplex data.”

51Degrees and The Away Foundation’s Digital Globe was demonstratedat MWC 2015

51Degrees unveils Digital Globe at MWC

Keep nostalgia at bay and those holiday memories alive with digitalstorage solutions from WD


Digita



TIC

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LA MONTÉE DU cloud, de la virtualisation des réseaux et des standardsouverts suscite une nouvelle dynamique « Web Scale » qui modifieaujourd’hui profondément l’évolution des architectures réseau. Pourrépondre à ce phénomène, Ciena, spécialiste des réseaux ettélécommunications, lance de nouvelles fonctionnalités permettant auxopérateurs, fournisseurs de contenus Web et fournisseurs de cloud deproposer à leurs clients des expériences applicatives enrichies et deconnecter encore plus d’utilisateurs aux contenus. Ces innovations adoptentla philosophie du Web Scale IT, augmentant la bande passante et apportantdes bénéfices économiques à travers une efficacité, une automatisationréseau et une agilité accrues. Parmi les autres bénéfices de ces innovations,

nous retrouverons également l’extension de la portée et de la capacité desréseaux sous-marins, la simplification des réseaux métropolitains etrégionaux ou encore l’accélération du déploiement de la collecte des petitescellules en vue d’améliorer la couverture dans un monde donnant de plus enplus la priorité aux mobiles.En appliquant les concepts du Web Scale IT dans les réseaux, Ciena

prépare les opérateurs et exploitants de réseaux à tirer parti des tendancesliées à cette nouvelle dynamique. S’appuyant sur le rang de leader de Cienadans le domaine des réseaux et logiciels de transport optique de paquetsainsi que sur son architecture OPn, les capacités ajoutées comprennent denouveaux jeux de composants.

ASTELLIA, LEADER MONDIAL des solutionsd’analyse de la performance des réseaux detéléphonie mobile et de l'expérience desabonnés, a lancé de Nova RAN Optimizer. Ledernier-né de la solution Nova aide les équipesen charge de l’optimisation du réseau d’accèsen automatisant les analyses récurrentes.

L’usage intensif des abonnés et lacomplexité des infrastructures mettent leréseau d’accès (RAN) sous pression. Près de 80% des événements ayant une incidence surl’expérience client se produisent sur le réseaud’accès. Pour offrir une expérience utilisateuroptimale, il est essentiel que les opérateurs

concentrent leurs efforts d'optimisation sur lacouverture radio.

Nova RAN Optimizer résulte del'intégration de l'expertise d’IngeniaTelecom au savoir-faire d’Astellia. Sesfonctionnalités de géo-localisation et deSON centrées sur l’abonné en font l’outilidéal pour les équipes d’ingénierie radio.

Cette solution couvre les différentestechnologies mobiles et équipementierstélécoms. Nova RAN Optimizer analyse etcorrèle les traces d’appel issues deséquipements réseau ainsi que les donnéesd’activité des abonnés. Afin d’améliorer

l’expérience utilisateur, Nova RAN Optimizerdétecte automatiquement les problèmes decouverture radio, préconise de nouveauxparamètres, et fournit des informations géo-localisées. Par ailleurs, Nova RAN Optimizer est« C-SON ready », ce qui signifie que la solutionest à même d’implémenter directement cesrecommandations à l'infrastructure réseau.

En automatisant la détection de problèmeset la reconfiguration de paramètres radio, lesopérateurs mobiles ont désormais lesmoyens d’améliorer leur efficacité et dediminuer de 90% le recours aux campagnesde drive tests.

Ciena lance de nouvelles capacités pour le Web Scale IT

Astellia a dévoilé Nova RAN Optimizer: C-SON & géo-localisation

Company .................................................................................... page

ACE Cable Consortium ......................................................................2

Amos Spacecom ..............................................................................17

ArabSat ............................................................................................36

F G Wilson Engineering Ltd ................................................................7

Gazprom Space Systems, JSC..........................................................19

Intelsat ..............................................................................................21

Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. ..................................................................5

Liquid Telecommunications ..............................................................9

MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd ................................................13

RSCC (Russian Satellite Communications Company) ....................15

WIOCC................................................................................................11

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Communications Africa 2 2015