Communications Africa 5 2013

Afrique

Issue 5 2013Édition 5 2013

Rural connectivity

Network support for agricultural businesses

CapacitySubmarine infrastructure for

superior networks

FinanceExtending access to mobile

banking in Côte d’Ivoire

TélévisionDes solutions pour répondre

aux besoins d’accès à

l’internet

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

Managing the post-mobile data revolution

Africa

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

www.communicationsafrica.com

CAF 5 2013 Cover NEW_Layout 1 27/08/2013 10:57 Page 1

S01 CAF 5 2013 Start_Layout 1 23/08/2013 16:18 Page 2

3

Afrique

Issue 5 2013Édition 5 2013

Rural connectivity

Network support for agricultural businesses

CapacitySubmarine infrastructure for

superior networks

FinanceExtending access to mobile

banking in Côte d’Ivoire

TélévisionDes solutions pour répondre

aux besoins d’accès à

l’internet

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

Managing the post-mobile data revolution

Africa

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


A note from the EditorThis issue examines the ways in whichindustry stakeholders can benefit fromthe rural enterprise connectivity. There isalso an evaluation of the effectiveness ofunderwater infrastructure to supportnetworks. Regarding satellite connectivity,this issue represents communication inenergy industries. It offers, also, anassessment of initiatives to create theconditions for social inclusion in themobile banking ecosystem in Ivory Coast.On the issue of trade, the magazinefocuses on the prospects for monetizingdata connectivity. There is also an articleon the challenges and opportunitieshighlighted with respect to capacity.Finally, this review provides anunderstanding of how TV white spacescan travel over long distances at low cost.

Main Cover Image: GSMA Mobile forDevelopment Inset: Flexenclosure

Une note du rédacteurCette édition examine les façons dont les intervenants de l'industrie peuvent bénéficierde la connectivité rurale pour les entreprises africaines. En outre, il s'agit d'uneévaluation de l'efficacité de l'infrastructure sous-marin, à l'appui de l'exploitation desréseaux de télécommunications. En ce qui concerne la connectivité par satellite, cemagazine représente les communications dans les industries de l'énergie. Il offre, enoutre, une évaluation des initiatives visant à créer les conditions d'inclusion socialedans l'écosystème bancaire mobile en Côte d'Ivoire. Sur la question du commerce, lemagazine offre des perspectives de monétisation de la connectivité des données. Iloffre, également, un article sur les principaux opportunités mis en évidence lors decapacité. Enfin, cette étude permet de comprendre comment les espaces blancs detélévision peuvent soutenir la connectivité Internet à faible coût.

Bulletin 4

Events 8

Agenda 12

Equipment 37

FEATURES

Mobile 22How MNOs, NGOs and industry organisations can gain from rural business connectivity

Capacity 26How submarine infrastructure supports network responsiveness, resilience and reliability

Satellite 28Mobile communications to support energy sector operations

Finance 30Societal inclusion in the mobile banking ecosystem in Côte d’Ivoire

Commerce 32Meeting the African data challenge; and connectivity provision for key conferences

Events 34Looking ahead to the key challenges and opportunities highlighted at Capacity Africa

ARTICLES

Internet 36Les espaces blancs de télévision peuvent transiter sur de longuesdistances et fournir une solution à faible coût pour répondre auxbesoins d’accès à l’internet

CONTENTS

Managing Editor: Andrew Croft - [email protected]

Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Prashant AP, Hiriyti Bairu, Lizzie Carroll, David Clancy, Ranganath GS, Kasturi Gupta, Rhonita Patnaik, Genaro Santos, Zsa Tebbit, Nicky Valsamakis and Ben Watts

Publisher: Nick Fordham

Advertising Sales Director: Pallavi Pandey

Magazine Sales Manager: Steve Thomas - Tel: +44 (0) 20 7834 7676, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7973 0076, Email: [email protected]

Country Representative Telephone Fax EmailChina Ying Matthieson (86)10 8472 1899 (86) 10 8472 1900 [email protected] Tanmay Mishra (91) 80 656 84483 (91) 80 40600791 [email protected] Bola Olowo (234) 8034349299 [email protected] Sergei Salov (7495) 540 7564 (7495) 540 7565 [email protected] Africa Annabel Marx (27) 218519017 (27) 46 624 5931 [email protected] Saida Hamad (974) 55745780 [email protected] UAE Camilla Capece (971) 4 448 9260 (971) 4 448 9261 [email protected] Michael Tomashefsky (1) 203 226 2882 (1) 203 226 7447 [email protected]

Head Office: Middle East Regional Office:Alain Charles Publishing Ltd Alain Charles Middle East FZ-LLCUniversity House Office 215, Loft 2A11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place PO Box 502207London SW1W 0EX, United Kingdom Dubai Media City, UAETelephone: +44 20 7834 7676 Telephone: +971 4 448 9260Fax: +44 20 7973 0076 Fax: +971 4 448 9261

Production: Nathanielle Kumar, Donatella Moranelli, Nick Salt and Sophia White Email: [email protected]

Subscriptions: [email protected]: Derek FordhamPrinted by: Wyndeham Grange Ltd Communications Africa/Afrique is bi-monthly magazine ISSN: 0962 3841

Audit Bureau ofCirculations - Business

Magazines



Communications Africa Issue 5 20134 www.communicationsafrica.com

BULLETINHow to drive mobile content for consumersACCORDING TO THE information technology research firm Gartner, by2014 the number of mobile customer relationship management (CRM)apps available for download from app stores will have grown by 500 percent. More and more companies are looking for ways to engage theircustomers through the mobile platform.“Samsung’s reputation as a builder of solid ecosystems in this categoryis the result of the company’s focus on anticipating and proactivelymeeting market needs. We invest a great deal of time and money intocarefully researching the content and services that best satisfy ourconsumers. We are determined to make the user-experience as satisfyingand wide-ranging as possible, and we feel we have achieved thisobjective with the enhanced lifestyle content site offering,” said ThabietAllie, head of content and services at Samsung Electronics Africa.Samsung has developed an integrated and high-end lifestyle contentservice for consumers. This content-rich, micro-site offers free games,weather, news, sports, music, entertainment, videos, animations,wallpapers, ringtones and much more. The lifestyle content facility iscurrently available in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. “However, we arecognisant of the fact that this value-added service has attracted attention

from other African countries and we are currently rolling out the offerings toGhana and Angola. This will be followed by an identification of marketneeds and the launch of the lifestyle content micro-site in other Africancountries where relevant,” said Allie.

Designed and built for African audiencesSamsung has partnered with various companies such as UniversalMusic Group as well as African and international music labels to launcha pan-African mobile music streaming service called the ‘Kleek’. The appis designed and built specifically for Africa, the Kleek will bring music-lovers closer to their favourite artists and also launch African artists to aninternational audience. To help bring better education to schools all overAfrica Samsung has also partnered with various publishers to produceeBooks for rural schools. And sport fans all over Africa can look forwardto learning more about their favourite sport from well knownprofessionals through the Smart Trainer app. Samsung has partnered upwith soccer and rugby legends to give consumers everyday advice onhow to improve their skills on the field.“Integrity and quality of content is critical to our consumers, so we aredriven to seek and supply reliable services that will enhance thecustomer experience,” Allie concluded.

Zimkhitha Sulelo

In South Africa, marketing by messaging means much more than beforeSMS IS MORE relevant than ever as a marketing and communicationschannel in a world where customers are flooded with communicationsacross a wide range of channels, from e-mail and social media to more

traditional media such as post and print. Brent Wantenaar, aggregationproduct manager at Cellfind, says that Internet penetration in SouthAfrica is not yet high enough to make e-mail a viable replacement forSMS as a mechanism to communicate special offers, marketing offersand even bills and invoices.At the same time, SMS is also more reliable and cost-effective than post,especially for low-income consumers who may not have a permanentaddress.“SMS does reach a device the consumer always carries and almost neverswitches off,” says Wantenaar. “Even when a consumer’s landlinenumber and fixed-address changes, they are likely to keep the samecellphone number.”

Making consumer communication more personalSMS messages are more likely to actually be received, read and acted onthan email messages, he adds. Legitimate marketing messages oftenstruggle to find their way through spam filters at internet serviceproviders and on users’ computers, and even when they reach the inbox,they are often deleted without a second thought.Most consumers still read each SMS because the cellphone is a trustedand personal channel, Wantenaar says. They’ll usually read each SMS assoon as the alert is delivered because the volumes of SMS messagesmost people receive are more manageable than the amount of emailsreceived and because they get time-sensitive messages such as bankingnotifications by SMS.SMS is a particularly good channel for focused, call-to-action marketing.Marketers are forced to hone their messages because of its 160-characterlimit, which means that the call to action can be sharp, precise andpunchy. SMS is also bi-directional – customers can respond immediatelywith a request for more information by a return message. What’s more, anSMS marketing database can be segmented to ensure that messages arepersonalised to clients’ needs and interest. Companies can leverage theirCRM databases to craft messages that directly appeal to their customersand interact with them directly wherever they are, he adds.“Another benefit of SMS is its immediacy. It gives companies theflexibility to deliver personalised messages in a mass-scale at rapidspeed – so they can quickly put together a campaign if they have awarehouse of goods they want to clear ahead of a shipment of newproducts, for example,” Wantenaar says.They don’t need to worry about design or media placements – they canget a simple text message out almost immediately.“SMS is one of the few marketing channels that cuts across demographicsin South Africa,” says Wantenaar.“It allows for simple automation of communications for users from thelowest to the highest LSMs.”Wantenaar says that SMS is one of the most effective forms of marketing,with a return on investment which outpaces most other forms of directmarketing. But to enjoy its full benefits, companies should follow bestpractices such as interacting only with people who are already customersor who have opted-in to receive SMS communications from them. Theyshould make it easy for people to opt out, as well.Companies should partner with bulk messaging partners who aremembers of WASPA – the organisation that regulates value-added mobilecontent and services in Africa – to be sure that their messaging partnersadhere to best practices in how they manage customer databases forSMS marketing.

Samsung Electronics offered a foretaste of thefuture of connectivity recently in Cape Town

LOCAL SOUTH AFRICAN Internet service provider XDSL is presenting mid- tolarge-sized organisations with a South African first: a hosted, fully managed,enterprise grade PABX running on a Diginet line, at a fraction of standardcosts; users do not pay for the PBX platform or per extension, but may onlypay for physical access - thereby achieving savings on infrastructure and callcosts, as well as monthly operating costs.

XDSL’s free hosted PBX solution


Follow the Charge »

When Facebook set out to be one of the most energy effi cient data center operators in the world, we embraced their bold vision. The challenge of a world demanding more and more digital information combined with the power-hungry nature of data centers, truly inspired us.

Facebook’s new 300,000 square foot facility in Forest City, NC presented the opportunity to help power their ever-expanding network of over one billion users with critical reliability and exceptional effi ciency.

Building on our prior success with Facebook, our expertise in energy effi ciency and back-up power protection, we helped design a unique solution. Facebook optimized their data center effi ciency with our Power Xpert® 9395 and 9390 UPSs with Energy Saver System technology.

Today, Facebook commands a power usage effectiveness rating that’s well below the industry average of 1.83. Next stop? Facebook’s Luleå, Sweden facility.

eaton.eu/followthecharge/m3

©2013 Eaton. All rights reserved.

Energizing Facebook’s data center

to power the next generation

of social networking.


Communications Africa Issue 5 20136

BULLETIN

Telecom Italia Sparkle sets world’s first LTE roaming peering with Tata CommunicationsThe implementation of the world’s first LTE roaming peering betweentwo IPX providers has been confirmed by Tata Communications andTelecom Italia Sparkle, extending the global community ofinterconnected LTE-enabled mobile network operators (MNOs) as 4Gadoption continues to grow; With 4G LTE revenues projected to exceedUS$100bn globally in 2014, LTE roaming enablement is critical tomaximising revenue growth - and this peering will enable the exchangeof LTE roaming traffic between Tata Communications and TelecomItalia Sparkle’s networks, creating an interconnected infrastructurethat combines the quality and security of the respective IPX networks.

Isenzo’s cloud digital signageIsenzo Broadcasting, which provides digital signage software inSouthern Africa, has launched Piqomi, a cloud-based platform thatintegrates digital signage, customer engagement and retail analytics;"With the inclusion of audience measurement, customer behaviourtracking and information collaboration, we're bringing businessintelligence to digital signage and closing the loop on retailcommunication," said Isenzo CEO, Peter Robson.

Reclaiming control of corporate e-mail on Android3CX, developer of the Windows VoIP PBX 3CX phone system, offers 3CXMobile Device Manager version 6.3, which allows administrators toremotely configure corporate e-mail, and retain control of the sensitivestored attachments and emails - and, with 3CX DroidDesktopintegrated, the ability to remote control Android smartphones andtablets; "Up until now, Android has lacked the management featuresto control and secure email. Hampered by Android's inability tomanage corporate email, that mantle has traditionally fallen toBlackberry," said Nick Galea, 3CX CEO.

FiberStore enhances DWDM solutions for new optical networksFiberStore's 100G technology supports both 10G/40G Muxpondermode and 100G transponder mode on the same platform hardware,enabling smooth migration between 10G, 40G and 100G technologieswhile utilising a single device, making it possible for both 00G DWDMMUX DEMUX and new rare 50G DWDM technologies and operationmodes to operate over existing 10G networks and seamlessly increasetheir capacity to 100G; managed networks services provider to globalcarriers and multinational companies Internet Solutons has chosenFiberStore for its new long-haul DWDM network across South Africa.

Inmarsat launchesAlphaSatInmarsat, which providesglobal mobile satellitecommunications services, haslaunched Alphasat - designatedI-4A F4 - on an Ariane 5 ECA fromthe Guiana Space Centre inKourou, French Guiana; RupertPearce, CEO of Inmarsat, said,“The launch demonstratesInmarsat’s long-termcommitment to L-band services,and marks a significantmilestone in the evolution ofInmarsat’s flagship satellitefleet, bringing new capabilitiesboth in terms of performanceand resource availability.”

Intersec rejoint la MMA!Intersec a fait partie de la Mobile Marketing Association! Cenouveau partenariat permet à Intersec d'apporter son expertisedans le domaine du marketing mobile aux quelques 700 membresde l'association et de bénéficier du partage des ressources etconnaissances de ce grand réseau.

Orange Tunisie lance un programme de fidélitéOrange Tunisie a lancé son premier programme de fidélitéconvergent : mobile, fixe et internet; insi, l’opérateur offre despoints cadeaux sur la consommation de tous les produits Orange :Mobile, Clé 3G, Flybox, ADSL et Livebox.

Xpress Money signe un protocole d'entente avec Money ExpressXpress Money, l'une des marques de virements d'argent les plusfiables au monde, a signé un protocole d'entente avec MoneyExpress en vue de lancer ses activités en Afrique occidentale etcentrale dans un avenir proche; Xpress Money lancera ses servicesau Sénégal, en Côte d'Ivoire, au Bénin, au Togo, au Burkina Faso, auMali et au Niger en Afrique occidentale, ainsi qu'au Cameroun, auTchad, en République démocratique du Congo et au Congo-Brazzaville en Afrique centrale.

Les médias traditionnels conservent une longueur d'avance sur les nouveaux médiasLa dernière édition de l'indice de viabilité des médias (MSI) pourl'Afrique publié par IREX a démontré que les médias traditionnelsdemeurent la principale source d'information; les nombreuxavantages que représente l'utilisation des médias numériques nesont toutefois pas encore à la portée de la plupart des citoyens des42 pays de l'Afrique subsaharienne soumis à l'analyse.

Le redéploiement de satellites consécutif

Le satellite Eutelsat 3D est entré en service après le transfert dutrafic exploité à cette position orbitale sur le satellite Eutelsat 3C;doté de 33 répéteurs opérationnels (32 en bande Ku dont 15 de 72MHz et 1 en bande Ka de 108 MHz), Eutelsat 3D vientsignificativement accroître les ressources de la position 3° Est surEurope et ouvrir une nouvelle zone de service sur l'Afrique afin derépondre à la demande des marchés vidéo, de données et de hautdébit de ces régions.

Le satellite Eutelsat 3D


With a US$350mn investment fromInmarsat, Alphasat complementsthe company’s award-winning L-band satellite fleet, which has beenpowering global broadbandconnectivity for government andcommercial customers on land, seaand in the air since 2009


S02 CAF 5 2013 Events_Layout 1 23/08/2013 16:32 Page 7


AGENDA

8

OCTOBER2-4 Contact West Africa Accra, Ghana www.exhibitionsafrica.com

15-17 Broadband World Forum Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.broadbandworldforum.com

21-25 Internet Governance Forum Bali, Indonesia www.intgovforum.org

23-24 Southern Africa ICT Summit Maputo, Mozambique www.aitecafrica.com

27-28 East Africa ICT Summit Nairobi, Kenya www.aitecafrica.com

29-30 Big Data World Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

29-30 The Enterprise Technology Show Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

29-30 The Internet Show Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

29-30 Loyalty World Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

29-30 The Marketing Technology Show Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

29-30 The Mobile Show Africa Johannesburg, South Africa www.terrapinn.com

NOVEMBER4-6 MVNO Networking Congress London, UK www.mvnoevent.com

12-14 Africa Com Cape Town, South Africa www.africa.comworldseries.com

12-14 Enterprise ICT Africa Cape Town, South Africa www.cloudworldseries.com

19-21 Med-IT Casabanca, Morocco www.med-it.com

26 TMT Finance & Investment East Africa Nairobi, Kenya www.tmtfinance.com

28-29 East Africa IT and Cyber Security Connvention Nairobi, Kenya www.cybersecurityafrica.com

Events 2013


DR NII QUAYNOR, often referred to as the ‘Father of the Internet in Africa’,joined ICANN CEO and president Fadi Chehadé, Board Chair Dr Stephen Crocker,and vice president of Stakeholder Engagement for Africa Pierre Dandjinou tohighlight a key concern represented at ICANN’s 47th public meeting in Durban,South Africa.A recent inductee into the Internet Hall of Fame, Dr Quaynor has spent twodecades promoting the Internet’s growth across the African continent. Heanswered questions about the expansion of the Internet in Africa and howincreased online access is expanding business potential and informationaccess across the region. Dr Quaynor, Mr Chehadé, Dr Crocker and MrDandjinou also addressed ICANN’s role in Internet growth and its increasedefforts to internationalise the organisation - including the expansion ofdomain names to ICANN’s plans to increase its presence in Africa.At the Durban meeting, the first group of Internet Registries and Registrarssigned new agreements with ICANN, bringing new generic Top-Level Domains(gTLDs) into the home stretch of going live online.“This is a huge accomplishment,” said Fadi Chehadé. “We can see the last milebefore the first new TLD is activated in the Internet’s root.”Three companies signed the registry agreement (RA) while five others signedthe registrar accreditation agreement (RAA) - including Registrars fromSenegal, Australia, France and the USA.Registries operate Top-Level Domains. Registrars are the entities throughwhich domain names are registered. The three registries applied for top-leveldomain Names using language characters in Arabic, Chinese and Cyrillic.Chehadé also acknowledged Nelson Mandela, the renowned former SouthAfrican leader who has been hospitalised. Chehadé said Mandela’sphilosophies should act as guiding principles in the Internet ecosystem.“We must realise we are inherently interdependent and thus must learn to be

conciliatory and Africa defines that, as does Madiba [Mandela’s clan name],”said Chehadé. “We need to maintain that Madiba spirit.”Dr Elham Ibrahim, the African Union’s Commissioner for Infrastructure andEnergy, told the Durban attendees, “The Internet is one of the greatest publicgifts of the 20th century. African domain names will bring financial, economicand sociocultural benefits to Africa.”In referring to ICANN during a video address, Dr Hamadoun Touré, the secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union, said thereneeds to be a “goal of working together by cultivating a relationship based oncollaboration and cooperation”.Dr Touré added, “In a fast moving, rapidly evolving environment there are notpermanent or even long term solutions. What works today will not necessarilywork tomorrow. We need open on-going dialogue.”

ICANN highlighted the growth of Internet in Africa at its Durban event

ICANN meeting highlights Internet growth in Africa

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Satellite Highlights

www.absatel l i te.com

S03 CAF 5 2013 Agenda 1_Layout 1 23/08/2013 16:40 Page 15



6836-Comm-Africa_Broadband.indd 1 8/8/2013 3:13:37 PM

THE MOST WIDELY traded virtual commodity in Africa is prepaid mobileservice. By 2015 there will be one billion mobile subscribers in Africaeach spending an average of over US$85 per year.

At present, prepaid distribution is achieved via trade in physicalscratch cards because they are easy to use and relatively quick todistribute. However, their production is costly and they effectivelyexclude informal entrepreneurs from the process of sales anddistribution. Nomanini works to transform the trade in scratch cards bymaking the process more efficient and cost effective, putting theinformal entrepreneur at the heart of the process, enablingwider access to prepaid services for the unbanked masses.

Since being founded in 2011 Nomanini has developedand refined a prepaid vending platform whichcombines hardware, software and firmware to offer aunique solution to the problems inherent intrading prepaid via scratch cards. Nomanini'shardware enables traders in the informaleconomy to sell prepaid mobile services intheir communities by utilising a portablepoint of sale terminal which is easy to use onthe go, and which has been specifically designedfor this African context.

Sitting behind the front end hardware however, thecomplexity of the solution resides in Nomanini's development ofsupporting software and firmware components. Nomanini builds itsbackend services using Google's Cloud based data services. In this way,Nomanini provides interfaces accessible via web portal to managevoucher procurement, distribution and credit management, providingall the tools necessary for local enterprises to manage their prepaidbusiness.

In addition to using this technology to empower grassrootsentrepreneurs in informal business, Nomanini enables local enterpriseslike Bambakenya to customise and operate its technology for theirregions.

Like many African countries at the forefront of the mobilerevolution, Kenya's mobile market is ripe for development.According to the latest statistics published by the CommunicationsCommission of Kenya in April 2013, Kenya has 30.7mn subscribersand has a 78 per cent mobile penetration.

Bambakenya is an innovator in the distribution of airtime inKenya: Bambakenya's mission is to lead distribution of prepaid forthe unbanked and underbanked in Kenya.

Nomanini and Bambakenya began discussions in January2013 to provide Bambakenya with customised

terminals and access to its softwaresolutions. Bambakenya procured 20terminals this month to be deployed as apilot and plan to submit findings after 1.5months of trading.

Bambakenya has been distributingairtime for nearly two years and is

confident that partnering with Nomaniniwill provide access to the vital technology

necessary to accelerate Bambakenya's impact.In short, the union of grass roots expertise and high

end technology, customised and operated by Nomanini,will facilitate the distribution of mobile services in an

efficient and scalable way.The scratchcard market in Africa is enormous and the latent

demand to improve on it is clear. Nomanini has already capitalisedon this by developing terminals that can be customised to meet theoperational demands of local enterprises across the continent.

The partnership between Nomanini and Bambakenya marks thebeginning of Nomanini's international expansion, providing its'device as a service' solution to local enterprises which stand tobenefit hugely from this technology. Discussions with providers inZambia, Nigeria and Tanzania suggest that from Kenya, Africanexpansion will only accelerate.


AGENDA

12

THE ENHANCED VOICE Quality Testing Software with Perceptual ObjectiveListening Quality Analysis (POLQA) standard, developed by GL CommunicationsInc, serves network testing operations across the globe. The company’senhanced VQuad and stand-alone Voice Quality Testing (VQT) software bothsupport advanced voice quality testing for fixed, mobile and IP-based networksusing POLQA (Ref: ITU-T P.863). The VQT supports other international standardvoice quality test methods including PESQ (ITU-TP.862), PESQ LQ / LQO (P.862.1), PESQ WB (P.862.2),PAMS (ITU-T P.800), and PSQM/PSQM+ (ITU-TP.861). This is the first time Voice Quality (POLQA)is added directly to the VQuadTM as an option.POLQA, Perceptual Objective Listening QualityAnalysis, based on ITU standard, ITU-T P.863, isthe successor of PESQ (ITU-T P.862) analysis.POLQA supports the latest HD-quality speechcoding and network transport technology withhigher accuracy for 3G, 4G/LTE and VoIPnetworks.Similar to PESQ, POLQA is a Full Reference (FR)algorithm that rates a degraded or processedspeech signal in relation to the original(reference) signal. POLQA analyzes the degradedspeech signal sample-by-sample after a temporal alignment of the reference testsignal. Perceptual differences between both signals are scored as differences. The

perceptual psycho-acoustic model is based on similar models of humanperception. Basically, the signals are analysed in the frequency domain (in criticalbands) after applying masking functions. Unmasked differences between the twosignal representations will be counted as distortions. Finally, the accumulateddistortions in the speech file are mapped into a 1 to 5 quality scale in accordancewith MOS (Mean Opinion Score) tests.

The VQuad can be configured to automaticallytransfer the recorded speech file to the VQTcentral location. The VQT software can beconfigured to automa tically analyse the voicefiles while sending the results (POLQA, PESQ,PAMS, PSQM) to the central database. Resultsassociated with the POLQA analysis includePOLQA MOS, E-Model, Signal Level, SNR, andJitter measurements.The results can be queried and displayed eitherin tabular or graphical format using the web-based WebViewer client. Also, optionally POLQA can be added directly toVQuad software with support for automatedtesting within the VQuad script. In this scenario,the degraded voice files remain at the VQuadnode for analysis and are displayed within the

VQuad software. Results can still be sent to the central database where VQTWebViewer can query and display either in tabular or graphic format.

GL’s enhanced voice quality testing solutions

Nomanini expands into East Africa



Reliable broadband comes down to a simple equation. Intelsat has always been

forward thinking when it comes to broadband. Our unrivaled satellite fl eet combined with

the IntelsatOneSM ground infrastructure already allows service providers to establish networks

with ease and speed. And, now we’re introducing Intelsat EpicNG, our next generation satellite

platform, which enables higher data rate applications and smaller terminals. Whether it’s

providing the higher throughputs needed to support the backhaul of 3G/4G traffi c or mission-

critical corporate applications, Intelsat EpicNG unthrottles your network and provides for

growth. In addition, Intelsat EpicNG enables cost-effective solutions that allow you to

penetrate new markets and push the outer edge of your network. That’s intelligent design.

Good for your operations and your bottom line.

Meet with Intelsat during AfricaCom 2013 at Stand E08.

Learn how Intelsat can help expand your market opportunities.

Visit www.intelsat.com/ForwardThinking for details.

Designed for 2030. Launching in 2015.

6836-Comm-Africa_Broadband.indd 1 8/8/2013 3:13:37 PM


TWO CAPACITY RENEWAL deals signed by SES andPortugal Telecom are intended to meet growingconnectivity demands across the Archipelago of theAzores and the Portuguese-speaking Africancountries.

The agreements will see the largesttelecommunications service provider in Portugalutilise over 100 MHz of capacity aboard NSS-7 andSES-4 to connect the island communities of Floresand Corvo on the Portuguese archipelago in theAtlantic Ocean. It will also enable Portugal Telecom toimprove its positioning as an integrated provider forconnectivity to the African continent, meetingincreasing demand for bandwidth and coverage for services such as mobile backhaul and corporate

networks in African countries such as Angola,Mozambique, and São Tomé, amongst others.

“The latest renewals with Portugal Telecomillustrate our ongoing commitment to providecommunication services in all corners of the world.The utilisation of satellite capacity in Africa enablesPortugal Telecom to respond promptly to theconnectivity needs of corporations which needconstant connectivity between Africa and Portugal,”said Deepak Mathur, senior vice president for Asiawho is also responsible for European data andmobility services, at SES.


AGENDA

14

KSS FUELS OFFERS a mobilefuels pricing application, KSSFuels Mobile, for downloadfrom the iTunes App Store andGoogle’s Play store.

KSS Fuels Mobile allowsusers to price retail fuelproducts easier, faster andsmarter, in the office or on theroad, in minutes.

Operating on any iOS orAndroid device, KSS FuelsMobile can capture competitorprices and automaticallygenerate new prices withinseconds, allowing for rapidresponse to competitor moves.

“Recent market researchhighlights mobile pricingcapabilities as a top priority forfuels retailers, which partlyexplains the overwhelmingresponse we’ve received fromour clients so far to the KSSFuels Mobile application,”stated Bob Stein, president andCEO of KSS Fuels.

NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIALISTSiemon has expanded its fibreconnectivity offering with low lossversions of its standard loss plug-and-play cable assemblies and modules,designed to help data centremanagers contend with shrinkingoptical loss budgets and to supportmultiple mated pairs for flexible 10, 40and 100 gigabit applications.The low loss plug-and-play fibreassemblies are available on SiemonMTP to MTP reels and extenders, LC toMTP, SC to MTP plug-and-play modulesand LC to MTP trunks. Using Siemon’sXGLO OM3 and OM4 multimode opticalfibre, they improve insertion loss to amaximum of 0.20 dB for MTP matedpairs and 0.15 dB for LC or SC matedpairs; below the industry standard of0.75 dB per mated pair. Siemon’s lowloss plug-and-play MTP to LC or SCmodules now offer a combined loss of0.35 dB and 0.20 dB for MTP to MTPpass-through adapter plates.“As data centre applications migratefrom 10 to 40 and 100 gigabit speeds,loss budgets for fibre channels havebecome tighter than ever before,”said Charlie Maynard, fibre opticproduct manager at Siemon. “At the

same time, data centre managers arelooking for ways to flatten theirarchitecture, whilst maintainingmanageability and flexibility of fibrelinks. This often calls for the use ofmultiple mated pairs within thechannel to support convenientpatching areas that enable easiermoves, adds and changes.“With optical loss budgets being a topconcern in today’s data centreenvironments, Siemon’s low loss plugand play fibre solutions can give datacentre managers the loss headroomthey need for complete peace of mindand flexibility when deploying thelatest high speed applications,”concluded Maynard.Using elite ferrule technology andSiemon’s manufacturing excellence,combined with the improved opticalperformance of the MTP connector,the new low loss plug-and-playsolutions provide an easier migrationto 40 and 100 gigabit applications.They also offer flexible patchingoptions over a wide range ofdistances and infrastructureconfigurations, plus true plug-and-play capability without the limitationsof exceeding optical loss budgets.

SES-4 wil connect Portuguese-speaking communities

Siemon’s low loss plug-and-play fibre

THE FIRST FOUR satellites launched for O3b Networks havesuccessfully cleared in-orbit testing (IOT). The company has now takenover control and operation of the satellites from their manufacturerThales Alenia Space.

The O3b system will combine the global reach of satellite with thespeed of a fiber optic network providing billions of consumers andbusinesses in nearly 180 countries with low cost, high speed, lowlatency Internet and mobile connectivity. The Ka-band satellites are in aunique medium earth orbit of 8062km above the earth, in order tominimize latency. O3b is scheduled to launch its next four satellites onSeptember 30. The company will formally launch its commercial servicelater in the year. A third four-satellite launch is planned for 2014.

Jean Loic Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, said, "We are very pleasedto celebrate the in orbit acceptance of the first four O3b satellites. Withthe upcoming four additional satellites to be launched at the end ofSeptember, we wish great success to O3b Networks in the developmentof its business. This major milestone confirms our expertise inconstellations and reinforces Thales Alenia Space's world leadingposition for telecom constellations in medium and low Earth orbit."

Brian Holz, O3b CTO, said, "The handover was successfullycompleted ahead of schedule. Performance of all four spacecraft hasbeen outstanding with all link parameters at or above specification.Thanks to the great work of the O3b and Thales teams, we can nowlook forward to our second launch with great confidence."

Pricing fuels by appSES and Portugal Telecom set to serve African connectivitydemands in Portuguese-speaking African countries

O3b moves closer to in orbit operation


“The utilisation of satellitecapacity in Africa enables

Portugal Telecom to respondpromptly to the connectivity

needs of corporations which needconstant connectivity between

Africa and Portugal” - Deepak Mathur, senior vice president for Asia, SES

“Performance of all four spacecraft hasbeen outstanding with all link

parameters at or above specification” - Brian Holz, O3b CTO


Satellite Highlights

www.absatel l i te.com


ARABIC FREE-TO-AIR SATELLITE broadcastingcompany MBC Group, which operates 12television channels, recently engaged MediaGroup International (MGI) to install asophisticated news facility in Cairo, Egypt.

Raed Bacho, broadcast manager at MBCGroup, said, “MGI’s reputation for deliveringworld-class broadcast solutions was a keyfactor in our decision to award the company thecontract. Our Cairo news facility is a majorinvestment and one that required carefulplanning. We were delighted by the efficiencyand timely results.”

MGI’s brief was to provide MBC Group withan entire news facility consisting of a broadcastcontrol room/gallery, a central apparatus room,an audio studio, a broadcast studio, a mastercontrol room, a newsroom and various editingand production facilities. The company wasalso responsible for the entire IT infrastructureand the installation of all power requirements.

“MBC’s on-air requirements meant that wewere up against extremely tight deadlines,”says Paul Wallis, MGI’s sales director. “We alsoundertook this project during the recentpolitical unrest, which created its own set ofissues. On at least one occasion our team couldnot leave the facility overnight because

demonstrators were protesting outside.”At a time when many companies are

avoiding outlay in Egypt, MBC’s decision tobuild this new facility – and its equipmentchoices – reflect its determination to invest inthe very latest technology in order to bring highquality news coverage to the people of Egypt.

“In consultation with MGI’s experiencedtechnical team, MBC selected some of the latestground breaking equipment, including cutting-edge Grass Valley LDX-80 studio cameras thatadopt cmos technology as opposed totraditional CCD,” says Wallis. “At the heart of thesystem is a full Avid Newsvision productionsystem, complemented by the latest Viztr on airgraphics. Other technical highlights include apowerful Ross live production switcher, a Trilogy

Broadcast communications system, a state ofthe art video wall and a Studer All-In-One Vistaaudio mixing console, the first of its kind to beinstalled in Egypt.”

Wallis adds that the project was not withoutits challenges, but thanks to MGI’s excellentrelationships with the various manufacturersinvolved, these were quickly overcome.

“We were faced with some tough technologychanges that could have delayed the on-airdeadline, but fortunately we had chosenmanufacturers who helped us work around thisproblem and enabled us to keep ourcommitment to MBC,” he says.

MBC’s news facility in Cairo is now up andrunning, delivering news to the broadcaster’sEgyptian viewers.


AGENDA

16

EAST AFRICAN PAY-TV broadcaster Zuku TV hascompleted its migration on the SES fleet and hascommitted to growth capacity on the new SESsatellite, SES-5.

Zuku TV, part of Wananchi Group Holdings, isEast Africa’s leading home entertainment operator,with a substantial and growing customer base inEast Africa, principally Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The migration of Zuku TV from the SES satelliteNSS-12 to the newer SES-5 began in February 2013.SES-5 was launched last year and is positioned at 5° East, one of the company’s flagship orbital slots,which supports customers across the continent to

grow Africa’s Direct-to-Home and broadcastservices. Wananchi Group has contracted seventransponders on SES-5; four have migrated to SES-5 whilst three transponders are additional growthcapacity.

“The demand of Wananchi clearly shows theattractiveness of SES-5 for African broadcasters,”says Ferdinand Kayser, chief commercial officer ofSES. “With customers like Wananchi, we are able tocreate a high quality and high value DTHneighborhood on SES-5, applying our corecompetence in the Direct-to-Home (DTH) businessto an important growth region.”

“We are extremely satisfied with theperformance of SES-5,” says Richard Bell, CEO,Wananchi Group. “We depend on satellite capacityand services to ensure excellent service andpicture quality for our viewers and to grow ourbusiness in the market.”

ZUKU TV completes migration to SES-5

ORANGE MADAGASCAR AND MFS Africa have launched an online moneytransfer service - Orange Money Transfert International - whereby Orangecustomers in Madagascar can receive international remittances directlyto their Orange Money accounts. Orange Money was launched inMadagascar in 2010 to facilitate domestic transfers and currently servesover one million customers.

International customers simply register on the website, proceed topay with most major bank cards, and remit funds to Madagascar withseamless delivery within minutes to beneficiaries of Orange Moneyaccounts at attractive price levels. The highly secure and convenient webportal is provided and operated by MFS Africa and is connected to theOrange Money platform in Madagascar. The international remittanceservice is a first step in a growing partnership between OrangeMadagascar and MFS Africa to introduce simple and relevant financialservices to Orange Money customers.

“Our intention with Orange Money Transfert International is to lowerthe cost of sending money back to Madagascar while making it moreconvenient for both senders and receivers. We believe this ultimatelybenefits Madagascar Diaspora members and their families back home”said Jean-Luc Bohe, Chief Executive Officer of Orange Madagascar. “Ourpartnership with MFS Africa gives us access to a pipeline of excitingservices that we will be bringing to the Orange Money customers in thenear future,” added Mr Bohe.

“The launch of Orange Money Transfert International today inMadagascar is a key milestone for MFS Africa in our journey to bringsimple and relevant financial services to mobile users across Africa.Orange Madagascar has been recognised internationally for theexcellence of its Mobile Money service and it is only natural that wepartner with them to add more value to their customers,” said DareOkoudjou, CEO of MFS Africa.

A new facility for news in Cairo

Orange Money And MFS Africa enable international money transfer to Madagascar


SES-5 was launched in July 2012


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ASIA BROADCAST SATELLITE (ABS) has confirmed thatABS-2A, a multi-beam 48 transponder Ku- satellite,will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2015 to ABS’prime 75°E location. ABS-2A - covering the growingmarkets of Russia, India, Middle East, Africa, SouthEast Asia and the Indian Ocean region - is to followABS-2, the largest satellite to be launched over Asia,which itself is scheduled to launch late in 2013. With2.6 GHz of Ku-band spectrum, ABS-2A nearly doublesthe available Ku-band frequencies available at 75°E.Together with ABS-2, ABS-2A will deliver a total of 100x 54MHz Ku-band capacity to 75°E to a growing list ofpremium DTH customers, VSAT operators andMaritime & Mobility customers.

ABS-2A with 7.5kW of payload power is the secondof the four Boeing 702SP all electric satellites thatABS is purchasing from Boeing Satellite SystemsInternational in partnership with Satmex. ABS-2A,along with ABS-3A, is part of the 702SP productionline, an all electric propulsion satellite that minimizesthe spacecraft’s mass and maximizes availablepayload. It will be dual launched with its co-passenger Satmex-9, on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, inthe fourth quarter of 2015.

“We are very excited to confirm ABS-2A, our second702SP Boeing satellite which carries the industryinnovating, all-electric propulsion system. We areextremely pleased that we are able to partner again with

Satmex to launch ABS-2A along with Satmex-9 in thefourth quarter of 2015,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS.

“The next three years will be very exciting for ABSas we are completing a US$750M satellite expansionprogramme delivering three new satellites over thenext 36 months with ABS-2 to 75°E, ABS-3A to 3°Wand ABS-2A to 75°E. ABS already has over US$800Mof backlog and we anticipate this to grow over US$1bn this year. When we deliver ABS-2A to orbit in 2015,we anticipate our annual revenue will more than triplefrom 2013. The majority of the customers who haveconfirmed contracts on ABS-2 have alreadycommitted to ABS-2A. It’s truly exciting and pleasingto see the boldness of our plans being matched bythe commitment of our anchor customers.”


AGENDA

18

EQUITY BANK AND Airtel Kenyahave entered into a partnershipto offer mobile commercesolutions to their customers inKenya, through Airtel Money.The service enables customersfrom Airtel and Equity Bank toaccess mobile bankingplatforms, perform agency cashtransactions and withdrawmoney at Equity Bankbranches.

Airtel Money will also enablecustomers to pay their utilitybills, receive bank transactionalerts, check account balanceand receive mini statements,among other services. EquityBank Group CEO Dr JamesMwangi said, “We shallcontinue to strengthen ourbusiness model throughinnovation, enhanced use oftechnology, automation for abetter customer experience andcollaborations with industrystakeholders such as Airtel.”

SUDAN RADIO HAS upgraded its operations to NETIA’sRadio-Assist 8.1 range of digital audio automationsoftware. Sudan Radio first launched Radio-Assist in2005, after working closely with NETIA to migrate itstape-based archives to digital. With this upgrade toversion 8.1, the North African broadcaster will takeadvantage of the NETIA solution's newly enhancedtools for broadcasting, editing, and music scheduling."We chose to upgrade our current NETIA installationnot only because we wish to remain at the forefrontof new broadcast technology, but also because wehave found the company's Radio-Assist software to bea reliable and efficient system," said Hassan Mostafa,IT and digital archive manager at Sudan Radio. "Staffmembers across Sudan Radio are already familiarwith this NETIA solution, so it will take them very littletime to get a grip on the new functionalities offeredby the latest software release."NETIA's Radio-Assist family of digital audio softwareprograms covers each part of the production andbroadcast workflow, allowing users to record, edit, orprepare a playlist. In addition to new browse andpublishing tools for full multimedia functionality, thesoftware features tools for acquisition, sound-fileediting, commercial and music production, newsroomsystems, scheduling, multicasting, and administration. With the upgrade to Radio-Assist 8.1, Sudan Radio willenjoy the benefit of built-in music schedulingfunctionality. With music management toolsintegrated into the software's Feder-All playlistpreparation module, users will be able to automate

playlist generation according to preset criteria,business policies, and a wide range of intelligentoptions for sequencing music. To ensure a smoothtransition to the new software release, NETIA hastrained Sudan Radio's 40 Radio-Assist users on thesolution's enhanced AIR DDO broadcasting module.

"Sudan Radio is a longstanding NETIA client, and weshare a history of collaboration in establishing highlyefficient radio broadcast workflows," said MarcBawol, MEA sales manager at NETIA. "We're pleasedthat through this relationship, we have been able tointroduce further efficiencies."

ABS-2A will serve Russia, India, the Middle East, Africa,South East Asia and the Indian Ocean

Sudan Radio upgrades with automation software

Mobile with EquityA second satellite from ABS, to serve emerging markets


NETIA’s Radio-Assist 8.1 Music Scheduling



ALCATEL-LUCENT AND QUALCOMM Technologies havebegun planning for collaboration on the developmentof small cell base stations that enhance 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi networks to improve wireless connectivity inresidential and enterprise environments. This nextgeneration of small cells would combine Alcatel-Lucent’s proven expertise and innovation in developingsmall cell solutions with Qualcomm Technologies’mobile and networking technologies, to enable ultra-broadband wireless communications.

The planned collaboration brings the two industryleaders in wireless communications together in thedevelopment of small cells to enhance wirelessnetwork reception in environments such as urbanareas, shopping malls and other enterprise venues.

With the growing popularity of smartphones,tablets and other mobile devices using high-bandwidth video and gaming applications, wirelessnetwork operators and service providers are lookingto small cells to meet the rapidly expanding demandfor mobile data capacity and network coverage. Byworking together, Alcatel-Lucent and QualcommTechnologies intend to accelerate the adoption ofsmall cells and alleviate the impact of mobile data onwireless networks.

To facilitate this acceleration, the two companiesplan to jointly invest in a strategic R&D program todevelop the next generation of Alcatel-Lucent

lightRadio Small Cell products featuring QualcommTechnologies’ FSM9900 family of Small Cell chipsets.The investment would be shared by Alcatel-Lucentand Qualcomm Technologies.

Commenting on the collaboration, Alcatel-LucentCEO Michel Combes said, “This initiative perfectlyillustrates The Shift Plan we announced last month,which will see Alcatel-Lucent focus on growthtechnologies, including those facilitating ultra-broadband access.

“We also said we would actively seek collaborationwith key industry players. In working together withQualcomm Technologies - a world leader in advancedwireless platform solutions such as its small cellchipsets - Alcatel-Lucent will continue to bepositioned at the forefront of innovation in the smallcells market.”

“Small cells greatly increase capacity by bringing thenetwork closer to the user, thus enabling operators toserve the anticipated 1000x growth in mobile datatraffic and dramatically improving the experience forwireless subscribers,” said Dr Paul E Jacobs, chairmanand CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated.

“Working together with industry leaders likeAlcatel-Lucent, we can accelerate the densedeployment of small cells globally, driving anothersignificant leap in advanced wireless broadbandtechnology and services.”


AGENDA

20

EXTREMELY COMPREHENSIVETESTING of mobile voice coreservices running in the TelcoCloud shows that NokiaSiemens Networks cloudtechnology is on the brink ofcommercial deployment. Thecompany successfullydemonstrated an exhaustiveset of use cases coveringVoice over LTE (VoLTE) andother IP MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) basedservices in the Telco Cloud.

During 2012, NokiaSiemens Networksdemonstrated the reliability ofcore virtualisation in several‘proof of concept’ projects.These projects provided thetechnology foundation for corenetwork element softwarerunning on top of a virtualisedinfrastructure. In addition, theprojects helped identify telco-specific requirements forcloud computing.

INMARSAT PLC, WHICH provides mobilesatellite communications services,and RigNet, Inc, which providesmanaged remote communicationssolutions to the oil and gas industry,have committed to a strategic dealwhereby RigNet distributes Inmarsat’sGlobal Xpress and L-band services tothe energy sector, and by whichInmarsat’s retail energy business hasbeen sold to RigNet.RigNet becomes a key Global Xpressdistribution partner for the globalenergy sector and will offer GlobalXpress and L-band services to RigNet’sgrowing customer base. In connectionwith the appointment, RigNet hasentered into to a significant four-yearGlobal Xpress capacity pre-purchase. To enhance the strategic value of thepartnership furthher, Inmarsat hasagreed to sell to RigNet its retailenergy operations, currentlymanaged within the InmarsatSolutions Enterprise business unit, fora total consideration of US$25mn. Thesale will include Inmarsat’s microwaveand WiMAX networks in the US Gulf ofMexico serving drillers, producers andenergy vessel owners; its VSATinterests in Russia, the UK, the US and

Canada, its telecommunicationssystems integration businessoperating worldwide, and its retail L-band energy satcoms business. Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s chiefexecutive officer, said, "RigNet is theperfect partner for Inmarsat,supporting a large customer base ofoil and gas VSAT customers, whom weexpect to be at the forefront of thetransition to Global Xpress services.We also welcome the opportunity towork with RigNet’s management teamwith its extensive knowledge of VSAToperations and customers. Thispartnership prepares the way for afast and successful take up of GlobalXpress services in the global energysector.’’Mark Slaughter, RigNet’s chiefexecutive officer and president, said,“As the two companies came togetherfor discussions over a number ofmonths – with RigNet evaluating high-throughput satellite providers andInmarsat seeking a strong distributionchannel into the energy market for itsGlobal Xpress offering – it quicklybecame clear that this dealrepresented the best path forward forboth companies.”

Inmarsat sets to work with RigNet on energy

THE OXYGEN8 GROUP plans to go global with the rollout of its mobilemoney transfer hub, the Bridge, which will help facilitate mobiletransactions between Europe and other countries globally. The Bridgewill connect even more mobile network operators to additional mobilewallet markets around the world. The rollout marks the beginning of asignificant investment in 2013 that will drive the company further intothe innovative mobile payments space.

“Our aim is to get solutions that work here with the resourcesavailable in this region. There are 500,000 transactions through Visacards every day, compared with a million mobile money transactionsa day in Kenya, said Brian Waluchio, CEO of Oxygen8 East Africa.

“The great thing about our product is that you do not need a bankaccount to transfer money. People in rural Kenya can send or receivemoney anytime” he added.

In East Africa, Oxygen8, in partnership with Safaricom, a leadingmobile network operator in Kenya Payment Solutions enablesconsumers to pay for goods and services using their mobile phones.Through M-Pesa, a mobile phone-based money transfer system, morepeople in Kenya can send and receive money more easily and fasterwithout an internet connection. There are more than 10.5mn active M-Pesa active users and the number is growing. According to iHubResearch Kenya has over 30mn mobile phone users, from apopulation of more than 44mn, compared to just over three millioncredit cards active in the market in Kenya.

“Credit card penetration in Kenya is very low and we do not see thatnumber rising fast, and this is why mobile base technology is the bestoption. We want to be the go to guys when it comes to mobile moneytransactions and play a key role a key role in development of tradewithin East Africa, ” said Brian Waluchio.

Zimkhitha Sulelo

NSN tests the cloudSmall cells planned for ultra-broadband development

Oxygen8 Group plans for East Africa



Communications Africa Issue 5 2013 21

PEARLTREES, UNE BIBLIOTHÈQUE visuelle etcollaborative qui permet à chacun d’avoir toutce qu’il aime sous la main, annonce aujourd’huile lancement de son application pour Android.Pearltrees profite au maximum des capacitésd’Android et devient maintenant accessible surle web et sur les principales plateformes poursmartphones et tablettes.

Patrice Lamothe, PDG et co-fondateur dePearltrees, précise : « Nous sommes fiers depermettre aux utilisateurs d’Android d’avoirtoute la puissance de Pearltrees dans leurpoche, où qu’ils soient. Cette appli Android estremarquable parce qu’il s’agit d’un véritablegestionnaire de fichiers développé pour lemonde post-PC. Le design visuel permet aux

c o n t r i b u t e u r sd’organiser et der e t r o u v e r

naturellement tout ce qu’ils ajoutent, tout enoffrant une expérience identique sur toutes lesplateformes. Et bien sûr, chaque utilisateur peutprofiter de la puissance de toute lacommunauté Pearltrees.»

Cette nouvelle version est un puissantgestionnaire de fichiers pour Android.Construite pour tirer parti de la capacité decommunication, de navigation et dedéplacement d’infomations inter appsd’Android, cette nouvelle app simplifiel’organisation de contenu et la navigation entreles applications. Cette fonctionnalité clé fait dePearltrees l’une des applis les plus complètes etpolyvalentes de la plateforme Android.

Pour compléter ces fonctionnalités,Pearltrees propose un magnifique designuniversel, qui s’adapte au comportement dechaque contributeur. L’application est belle et

facile à utiliser ; avecdes fonctionnalités quine s’affichent quelorsqu’elles sont utiles.

ORANGE ET TOTAL ont signé un partenariatpermettant aux clients d’Orange d’accéder auxservices Orange Money dans toutes lesstations-service Total des pays d’Afrique et duMoyen-Orient où les deux groupes sontprésents et où Orange Money est disponible,soit 13 pays aujourd’hui - Botswana,Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinée, Jordanie,Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Maroc, Ile Maurice,Niger, Sénégal et Ouganda.

Ce service est disponibleOrange Money est le service de paiement et detransfert d’argent d’Orange en Afrique et auMoyen-Orient. Il permet aux clients d’Orangede transférer de l’argent de mobile à mobile,de régler des factures ou encore de retirer et dedéposer de l’argent auprès d’un réseaud’agents agréés.

Autour de proximité et de confort d‘utilisationCe partenariat entre Orange et Total permettrad’étendre le réseau de distribution d’OrangeMoney à l’ensemble des stations Total dans les13 pays où ce service est disponible, afind’améliorer encore le service proposé auxclients des deux groupes tant en termes deproximité que de confort d‘utilisation. Ceux-cibénéficieront en effet de la densité du réseau dedistribution Total, dont les stations sontouvertes sur une large amplitude horaire 7 jourssur 7 : ils pourront y ouvrir un compte OrangeMoney et effectuer des opérations de versementet de retrait d’argent sur leur compte.

Ce premier volet du partenariat est déjàopérationnel au Sénégal et au Cameroun etle deviendra à partir du second semestre2013, dans les 11 autres pays où les deuxgroupes sont présents, soit dans plus de 1300 stations. Il sera suivi d’un second voletqui devrait permettre aux clients OrangeMoney de régler les achats réalisés dans lesstations Total à l’aide de leur compte mobile.

Les besoins des clientsMarc Rennard, directeur exécutif en chargede la zone Afrique et Moyen-Orientd’Orange, a déclaré : « Nous sommes fiersde présenter ce partenariat avec Total : ilpermet de créer des synergies entre deuxgrands groupes présents en Afrique et auMoyen-Orient au bénéfice desconsommateurs. Cet accord va donner unetoute nouvelle envergure au réseau dedistribution Orange Money. » « Je me réjouis de ce partenariat qui permetà Total d’élargir encore la gamme desproduits et services que nous proposonsdans tout notre réseau de distribution. C’estun nouvel exemple de notre capacité àinnover et à anticiper les besoins de nosclients, » a pour sa part déclaré MomarNguer, directeur Afrique/Moyen-Orient dela branche Marketing & Services de Total. «Aujourd’hui, notre objectif est trèsclairement de devenir l’un des leaders de ladistribution du paiement mobile en Afrique», a-t-il ajouté.

Le premier gestionnaire de fichiers pour le monde post-PC

Un partenariat pour distribuer d’argent dans des stations-serviceen Afrique et au Moyen-Orient


AGENDA


There is a wonderful opportunity for MNOs, NGOs andindustry organisations to explore a range of mobileagriculture initiatives that will support, benefit andfurther the aspirations of rural businesses – whilstprofiting service providers

An applicationof agricultural merit

Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the EarthInstitute at New York’s ColumbiaUniversity, has described the mobilephone as the ‘single most

transformative tool for development’, andin the realm of agriculture in developingregions this statement is now being borneout in abundance. Future food security is acritical issue, globally, and is a challengebeing addressed in many ways across theworld, often through the use of newtechnologies. It should come as nosurprise, then, that in the digital age themobile phone is set to play a major role inthe future of the developing world’sagricultural productivity. It’s actuallysomething we are already seeing, withincreasingly rapid uptake of mobileagriculture information services by ruralfarmers and their communities in emergingmarkets. Previously, with no timely, up-to-date information, smallholder farmershave fallen victim to adverse weather andperils such as uncontrolled pests, plantdiseases and fluctuating prices at market.

One study looking at the potential ofmobile agriculture initiatives in emergingregions was conducted by managementconsultants, Accenture, in 2011, on behalfof Vodafone, (almost two years after theGSM Association had already begun itsown mFarmer/mAgri initiative). With animpassioned plea, Vittorio Colao,Vodafone Group CEO impressed on themobile and agricultural sectors that with

‘one third of humanity’ fed as a result ofthe efforts of an estimated 500 millionsmallholder farms, focus was needed onthis group to improve their productivityand ensure their success and why thecompany had commissioned the study.Along with the likes of the GSMA, Oxfam,USAID and others, Vodafone sees mobilecommunications playing a critical part inhelping to feed the world by the middle ofthe century.

With its vast mobile footprint acrossmuch of Africa, and its communicationsservices already provided to a wide rangeof major agricultural businesses, it madesense for Vodafone to set Accenture thetask of researching the potential for mobiletechnology to improve agriculturalefficiency and productivity. In general,what the study found was that by givingfarmers access to basic agri-informationand market services, supported,importantly, by relevant mobile financialservices, it would lead to farmersimproving their crops and yields, securingimproved prices for their crops and makinghigher returns on their investments. As aresult of ever improving incomes, harvest-by-harvest, they would also be able toinvest in better seeds, fertilisers,pesticides and agro-chemicals to facilitatea process of ongoing improvement – andacquire more disposable income withwhich to use additional mobile services.Indeed, the study actually said that

financial payment services and access toagricultural information via mobile, wouldtogether account for ‘75 per cent of thetotal increase in agricultural income’ forthese farmers.

Not only will mobile comms benefit thefarmer, but also those involved in thefarming/food supply chain such as: foodgrowers, buyers, distributors andexporters, enabling them to trade moreeasily and efficiently with each other, andhelp them track the movements ofagricultural inputs and food items, andimprove transport efficiency.

One of the most important benefits, thereport suggested, that could be achievedthrough the use of mobile and the deliveryand uptake of widespread mobileagricultural services is the potential majorsaving on water consumption foragricultural purposes. The DemocraticRepublic of Congo, Egypt, Mozambique


For its part, agricultural development is one of thelargest initiatives of the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, which has so far dedicated over US$2billion to such efforts, with Sub-Saharan Africaone of the regions of chief focus. The Foundationsees mobile and emerging digital technologies ascrucial in empowering small hold farmers with thelatest information to help them make informeddecisions about their agricultural practices, henceits active partnerships with USAID and the GSMA’smAgri programme.

Photo: GSMA Mobile for Development

MOBILE

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MOBILE Agriculture

and Lesotho were all said to have thepotential of achieving over 10% watersavings as a result of effective mobileweather information services by 2020,preventing such things as unnecessaryirrigation when rains are predicted.

The GSMA’s mAgri programmeStarted back in 2009, the association’smFarmer Initiative and its mAgriprogramme have nurtured the growing useof commercially viable mobile services toimprove the productivity and incomes ofsmallholder farmers in the developingworld – effectively the exact same targetgroup recognised by Vodafone in theAccenture research.

Growing mobile penetration in emergingcountries, now more than 70 per cent,shows mobile to be the overarchingtechnology that can make a real differenceand the GSMA is confident this growth willunderpin the delivery and uptake of mobileservices by Africa’s small-hold farmers,helping them to make better decisionsabout how, what and when they farm, inorder to maximise their returns.

Its mFarmer initiative involves theGSMA’s mAgri programme team workingwith the development community, mobileoperators, and agricultural organisations,as well as leading NGOs like the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation (*see box 1) andgovernment aid agencies, such as USAID,in order to create what it says need to be‘scalable, replicable and commerciallysustainable’ mobile agri-information andadvisory services, such as weather reportsand forecasts.

Fiona Smith, mAgri Director at theGSMA, said in Q1 2013 at the Mobile WorldCongress that overall, 40% of people indeveloping countries are involved inagriculture in one form or another,equating to some one billion people theworld over. By 2050, she added, the worldwill need 20 per cent more food to sustainan ever growing global population than iscurrently produced. Smith told an audienceof mobile industry professionals that if theviability of a farmer’s business can beimproved through mobile agriVAS (ValueAdded Services) then farmers are morelikely, in turn, to spend more on additionalmobile services that will add further totheir improving situation, that of theircommunities, and wider food security.

In Q1 this year, the GSMA’s mFarmerInitiative supported four projects, three ofwhich are in Africa. These are: TigoTanzania, Airtel Kenya, and Orange Mali,services, which use SMS, USSD and/orvoice to give small-hold farmers access toweather forecasts, market prices,

agronomy tips and pest/disease advice. Ahelpline so they can speak person-to-person with an agricultural expert is alsoavailable to them.

But, as the GSMA’s Smith said that thisyear’s MWC, these were certainly not theonly mobile agriculture projects ongoingand that more than 100 mAgri serviceswere now available and in use across thedeveloping world. She said that theAssociation was now gaining greaterinsight into how farmers use their phonesand what kind of information they want tohelp them in their farming practices. Forexample, last year, 70 per cent of farmersin developing regions wanted moreinformation about pest and disease controlthan other kinds of information and theservices on offer need to be fluid enough torespond to that kind of analysis andprovide that kind of information if it is notalready readily available.

Speaking on the same platform at the2013 MWC, the GSMA’s BusinessDevelopment Manager for the mAgriProgramme, Natalie Pshenichinaya,referenced mobile operator Tigo’s Kilimo(meaning agriculture in Swahili) service,which uses USSD/SMS, IVR and a helplineto deliver weather, agronomy and marketprice information services to farmers inTanzania. She said it provides both maleand female farmers with accessibility tothese services and aims to reach half amillion users by early 2014.

The Tigo service started by offeringinformation on five basic crops, but oncecertain issues and challenges wereidentified by analyzing, in detail, farmerinteraction with the service, changes andtweaks were made to improve it. One factor

that has been highlighted by both TigoKilimo and other such services around theworld is the importance of education as afactor in not only determining whatinformation to disseminate but also inwhat form to disseminate it. Indeed, eventhe basic use of standard mobile handsetshas needed to be part of a generaleducation programme. However, in mostdeveloping regions the experience hasbeen that once farmers are shown how touse a handset they are comfortable doingso early on. Tigo actually trains itsdistributors to train the end user, whichhas met with good success.

Registration and subscription to Tigo’sKilimo service is free, as is access to theTigo Kilimo menu, which is done using asimple dialing code *148*14#. It’s also aninteractive service in that customerfeedback is encouraged with the onlystipulations Tigo makes being thatanyone wanting to access and sign up tothe Kilimo service ‘must have a sufficientbalance on their main account’, and ifthat’s in place then it will cost a user100Tsh per item of content (approx 4 UKpence or six US cents) to accessinformation on the service.

One of the important issues highlightedby both the GSMA and operator studies likethe Vodafone Accenture study, as well asrecognition by regional operators like Tigo,


It was reported earlier this year that the NigerianGovernment was donating some 10 million phonesto farmers across the country in a ‘bid to boostagricultural production in the country’. Thosewith handsets would have access to agriculturalinformation on such things as farming seasons,fertilisers and prices.


Communications Africa Issue 5 2013 25

is the need to support effective mobileagricultural services with the availability ofmobile financial services as without thesepeople on the ground will be unable totrade and exchange monies, effectively.

Tigo Tanzania is expected to be the first,later this year, to include location-basedservices to its Kilimo service using cell IDto provide subscribing farmers with verylocalised details.

Nokia LifeIn 2010, Nokia Life came to Nigeria

following its trial launch in India in 2009.Primarily a phone-based push servicesending info to users on a daily basis,Nokia Life Agriculture, just one of manyNokia Life services (others include healthand education), sends agricultureinformation on local weather, generalagriculture and crop advice, as well aslatest market pricing via SMS to farmersusing any of Nokia’s Series 30 or 40phones, as well as its Asha smartphones.The application is already pre-loaded whena handset is purchased, and by selectingagriculture from the Nokia Life menu theuser can personalise the service to meettheir specific needs by entering theirdetails and farming activities. Fromspecific regional languages to farmlocation, such details enable the service todeliver relevant information to each user,as well as enabling them to be billedappropriately, which in Nigeria will costNGN250 a month (approximately US$1.5).

Having up-to-date price information ontheir phones was something, illustratedduring the pilot, which farmers said gavethem more confidence in price negotiationand reduced the need for them to rely oninformation from agents.

Some 18 mobile operators in four majormarkets (China, India, Indonesia andNigeria - see box text), with a potential toreach some 1.5bn subscribers across allthese markets are cooperating with Nokiato bring its solution and vision to life, todeliver essential information services tothe most in-need segments of thepopulation in these developing markets.Small hold farmers are just one segmentof this overall total but a segmentstanding to benefit hugely from Nokia LifeAgriculture services.

The futureFiona Smith, mAgri Director at the GSMA,told Communications Africa/Afrique that,“Since February 2013 we have seen thelaunch of ‘Sauti ya Mkulima’, a mobileinformation and advisory servicedeveloped by Airtel Kenya in partnershipwith CABI and Kilimo Media.” She addedthat Orange was getting ready to launch apilot of their mobile information andadvisory service for farmers in Mali in lateJuly, and that both these services are beingactively supported by the GSMA mAgri

team through the mFarmer Initiative.Of the near future, Smith said that the

UK Government will be joining USAID, theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation and theGSMA to expand the mFarmer Initiative tomore countries in Africa and South Asia.“The initiative will develop mobileservices targeted at two million smallholders across six to seven countries andwe’ll announce this publicly in October2013,” Smith told CommunicationsAfrica/Afrique, adding that the bestpractice and lessons from the currentmFarmer projects in Kenya, Tanzania, Maliand India will continue to be shared withthe mAgri industry. ✆

Tim Guest


Mobile services are being developed to servemillions of agricultural entrepreneurs across Africa(Photo: GSMA Mobile for Development)

One very important side benefit of mobileagriculture solutions is that they are set to have amajor impact on the lives of women, who, in someof these emerging markets account for up to 70%of all those involved in agriculture. By makingtheir lives easier and more efficient it will freemillions of women up to participate in a widerrange of family and other activities.

MOBILEAgriculture


Chris Wood, CEO at WIOCC, explains how international capacity purchasing has evolved tomeet the heightened expectations of business and domestic customers

Meeting the demandfor 24/7 connectivity

NETWORK Capacity

THE WAYS IN which businesses operate and many Africans go about their daily lives have been transformed by recent dramatic increases in the availability, reachand affordability of high-speed international connectivity

into, out of and within Africa.The submarine cable landscape has changed dramatically since

the beginning of 2009, when only one international cable servedsub-Saharan Africa – the SAT3/SAFE cable, which went live in 2003.

Since then the total design capacity of international submarinecables into and out of sub-Saharan Africa has jumped to more than22 Tbps, as a result of no less than nine new cables coming onstream with landing points in the region.

Apart from price, telcos typically take into account three majorconsiderations in purchasing high-quality internationalconnectivity:

Cable reliabilityThe reliability of the cable itself is key, both in terms of where it islaid and also how well protected it is against accidental cuts.

The 10,000km EASSy cable, for example, which runs the length ofAfrica’s eastern seaboard, has a very good performance history withcomparatively few instances of service interruption. This is due, inpart, to an end-to-end network design that is unique to Africa andbased on a ‘collapsed ring’ structure, which provides automaticprotection against the most common types of cuts and equipmentfailures.

Network diversityResilience and reliability are clearly important considerations whencomparing individual cables, but purchasing capacity on a singleroute leaves a carrier extremely vulnerable to an extended serviceinterruption in the event of an outage affecting their only route.

In the most competitive markets, the discussion within anoperator purchasing capacity is no longer simply about whether ornot to invest in diversity. The focus now is on ensuring that theyhave sufficient capacity and enough diversity across the rightnetworks - those that will best serve them and their customers interms of service continuity, network resilience and networkmanagement.

Buying capacity on multiple systemsPartly as a result of improving communications infrastructure, Africawas home to six of the world’s 10 fastest growing global economiesduring 2001 to 2010. The recent significant improvements in Africa’sinternational connectivity referred to earlier will also contribute tothe expected rise in this figure for the period 2011 to 2015, when itis predicted that no less than seven of the world’s ten fastestgrowing countries will be in Africa.

The financial rewards available to those businesses able to meetthe burgeoning demand associated with such rapidly growingeconomies are high, and unsurprisingly, purchasing thinking andpractice continues to evolve in Africa’s international capacitymarket.

ISPs, telcos and carriers wishing to implement an internationalnetwork that is truly capable of supporting the current and futuredemands of Africa’s consumers and businesses need to purchaseincreasing amounts of capacity on multiple systems and networks.

Simplifying the complexities of multiple system capacityThe good news is that it is possible to achieve high levels of reliabilitythrough multiple submarine cable systems and terrestrial networks,whilst minimising the complexities associated with such a solution.

At WIOCC we offer a one-stop-shop, managed end-to-end service,taking care of all aspects of procurement, commissioning andoperational management - from conducting multiple pricingnegotiations and circuit commissioning, through to managingconnections on multiple networks and all the related relationship,service and network management challenges. Importantly, we canalso quickly and efficiently manage any necessary re-routing in theevent of a service interruption.

Securing success through service continuityAs the end-user market becomes increasingly sophisticated,demanding and competitive, the potential rewards for successfuloperators are high. Building highly reliable, diverse networks thatdeliver the highest levels of service continuity comes at a price, butthose who choose to ignore the requirements of an increasinglysophisticated and demanding customer base may end up payingthe ultimate price, business failure. ✆

Chris Wood, CEO of WIOCC


S06 CAF 5 2013 Report - BA BB BC_Layout 1 23/08/2013 16:47 Page 26


How the latest advances in mobile satellite communications can help the energysector realise the development value of green-field sites more quickly

Giving green-field sites the green light

SATELLITE Energy

WHILE OIL, GAS andother hydrocarbonscontinue as themainstays of the

world’s energy market, all arebecoming increasingly difficultand expensive to exploit asmany of the world’s proven,untapped reserves lie in remoteand inaccessible regions.Despite the growing popularityof alternative energy sources,

demand for crude oil andnatural gas has never beengreater and whether onshore oroffshore, new fielddevelopments bring their ownset of challenges, and equally,opportunities.

As the search for new findsdrives operators into ever moreremote conditions, companiesseeking to develop these fieldsmust overcome the many

technical and logisticalproblems presented by localgeography and climate, andnone more so than thepressing need for reliablecommunications.

Within the energy sector,satellite communicationscontinues to meet the needs fordata connectivity acrossmultidisciplinary teams.Meeting this challenge, mobile

Inmarsat’s services have been deployed by many oil and gas companies in order to bring oil and gas fields on-stream faster and at a lower cost



SATELLITEEnergy

Communications Africa Issue 5 2013 29www.communicationsafrica.com

satellite services lend themselves to use inareas where traditional fixed line or GSMtelecoms infrastructure is either ‘thin onthe ground’ or non-existent, particularly ongreen-field exploration sites.

Rapid deploymentMobile satellite services have long beenan established part of thecommunications mix for energy sectorpersonnel operating in areas that areremote from fixed-line and wirelessnetworks. From exploration through todevelopment and production, newsolutions are required to help them workmore efficiently and cost-effectively.Supporting large-scale field operations,Inmarsat’s services have been deployedby many oil and gas companies in order tobring oil and gas fields on-stream fasterand at a lower cost. With many green-fieldoperations typically found in remote andinhospitable regions – from swamps toequatorial forests and deserts to deep-water fields – and in all sorts of climate,the equipment needs to be not onlylightweight and portable, but rugged too.

In new ventures, it is often the case thatinfrastructure must be created fromscratch and, with limited support, thisrequires meticulous planning and a highdegree of onsite co-ordination. Difficultieswith terrain, climate and communicationscan often lead to delays and over-runs,putting pressure on budgets andschedules, but today’s mobile satelliteequipment and services can makecommunicating from a remote sitecomparable to that of a modern office. Forthose personnel who are ‘first on thescene’, mobile satellite services are theideal solution as no specialist training isrequired and broadband data and voiceconnectivity can be up and running inminutes. This is particularly importantwhen there is significant pressure toestablish communications with colleaguesat head office, which can be half a worldaway.

Mobile satellite communicationstechnology – providing not only phone

services but broadband data connectivity– now fits into a backpack and weighs lessthan two kilos; which is below that ofmany laptops. Inmarsat’s BGAN(Broadband Global Area Network) is anexample of a robust and highly affordablesystem that can be set up in minutes byexploration teams with little or noexperience of communications equipment,while providing a guaranteed broadbanddata capability. Compact and lightweight,the all-in-one voice and high-speed IPdata terminal provides immediateconnectivity during field and siteexploration and first-phase construction.It can be configured as a mobile office atbase camps, with support for moststandard office applications, or interfacedwith third-party hardware and software aspart of a tailored solution for the energysector. The combination of real-timecommunications, portability and officeapplications ensures test results can bereported immediately for reducing ‘findtime’ and helping decision making andcontingency response, all of whichcontributes towards reduced capital andoperating costs.

Satcom on the moveHighly versatile, the BGAN platform canbe extended to tsupport operations asnew sites develop. A system variant canprovide broadband services that can sendand receive larger amounts of real-timecritical data from a fixed location.Designed specifically for those working in

remote areas for sustained periods oftime, and who require high volumes ofstandard IP data, the system can transmitfield data in a low-cost, low-powered andlow-maintenance system to rival VSAT (analternative system which can often take aweek or two to set up by technicalspecialists). As exploration teams covergreat distances, a push-to-talk system

provides a rugged PTT capability for voicedispatch and communications in supportvehicles. A vehicular-based BGAN can beused with a roof-mounted antenna, basestation and hand-held microphone in thecabin. The IP-based, voice and data PTTcommunication system can replaceVHF/UHF-based trunk radio systemscommonly in use in the oil and gas sector.Inmarsat’s network routes both voice anddata traffic, providing communicationbetween base camp, remote drill sites,crew vehicles, HQ and any site in theworld, at the touch of a button. ✆

Gerbrand Schalkwijk, vice president ofenterprise energy at Inmarsat

Inmarsat's headquarters are based in London, UK

Inmarsat’s BGAN(Broadband Global Area

Network) is an example of arobust and highly affordable

system that can be set upin minutes

In new ventures, it is oftenthe case that infrastructuremust be created fromscratch and, with limitedsupport, this requiresmeticulous planning and a high degree of onsite co-ordination


Promoting mobile financial services in Côte d’Ivoire to support efforts aimed atdeveloping an inclusive society

Putting the moneyin Ivoirian hands

FINANCE Côte d’Ivoire

INTERNATIONAL FINANCECORPORATION (IFC), memberof the World Bank Group, andThe MasterCard Foundation

recently convened key financialindustry players to build furthermomentum for mobile financialservices in Côte d’Ivoire. Theevent recognised the market’senormous potential, especiallyfor increasing access to financefor low income households, smallscale businesses and in hard-to-reach areas.

Mobile phone penetration in Côte d’Ivoire is more than 90 percent, while only 14 per cent ofIvoirians have access to financialservices. Mobile networkoperators have registered morethan two million mobile financialservices customers in the pastthree years. The Ivorian marketfor mobile financial services isthe largest and the most dynamicin the West African Economic andMonetary Union region.

Cassandra Colbert, IFC resident representative in Côted’Ivoire, said, “Improvingaccess to finance is importantfor supporting shared prosperityin Côte d’Ivoire. IFC and TheMasterCard Foundation want tohelp local financial institutionsrealise the opportunity in thecountry for the development ofagent banking and mobile

financial services that willaccelerate the reach of financialservices to those currentlywithout banking services.”

At the seminar in Abidjan, IFChighlighted the business casefor engaging in mobile financialservices in Côte d’Ivoire. Theworkshop marked the beginningof the implementation of a four-year programme by IFC and The

MasterCard Foundation tocontribute to the developmentand expansion of mobilefinancial services in the country.

IFC and The MasterCardFoundation consider access tofinancial services a key tool inpoverty alleviation that candramatically change the livesof the economicallymarginalised. ✆

The Ivorian market for mobile financial servicesis the largest and the most dynamic in the WestAfrican Economic and Monetary Union region

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Mobile phonepenetration in Côted’Ivoire is morethan 90 per cent,while only 14 percent of Ivoirianshave access tofinancial services


IFC, in collaboration with MasterCard Foundation, has taken up the task of providing advisory services to help microfinance institutionFINCA DRC expand low-cost financial services in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. The cost of the project is US$1.8mn.Both organisations will work with FINCA DRC, a non-bankingfinancial institution, to expand financial services to low-incomeindividuals and smaller businesses in the country, which has one ofthe lowest rates of access to financial services in the world. FINCA DRC focuses on providing financial services to the small-

scale entrepreneurs. IFC is likely to provide advisory services forthree years to assist FINCA DRC develop branchless bankingchannels and new products so it can increase reach and mobilizesavings.David Crush, IFC manager for Access to Finance Advisory Servicesin sub-Saharan Africa, said, “Microfinance helps low incomeclients build assets, increase income and reduce theirvulnerability. IFC aims to help rebuild and strengthen one of themost fragile economies in sub-Saharan Africa.”

IFC and MasterCard support microfinance expansion in DR Congo

S07 CAF 5 2013 Report - DA GA GB NEW_Layout 1 23/08/2013 17:15 Page 30

How do youprovide reliable,

internationalconnectivity into,

within and outof Africa?

Choose a solutions provider with ownership in multiple submarinesystems and the most extensive terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure inAfrica - extending to 50,000km - offering diversity options forprotection of your customer traffic.Choose a business partner that works with you to tailor solutions toyour business needs, provides a complete connectivity package andmanages the entire service end-to-end.Choose a service-focused supplier with a professional CustomerChampions team: a single point of contact – available any time,any day - to manage your services throughout their entire lifecycle.

Choose WIOCC – Africa’s award-winning carriers’ carrier.

Contact us at [email protected]

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Other WIOCC network(Inc. TEAMS, SMW3,SEACOM and SAFE)

Terrestrial network

Winner 2012Best Pan-AfricanInitiative Award

Winner 2012Industry Leadership

Award

Winner 2010Best Cable Project


Meeting the African data challenge will need the continent to direct its data managementactions in the right direction. Here is a look at possible solutions

Preparing for the African data boom

COMMERCE Data

AFRICA HAS SHOWN great affinity tocellphones. The unexpected speedat which cellphone usage took off inthe continent is phenomenal. It

substituted for the lack of fixed-line networksand other key infrastructure.

Despite myriad challenges like lack ofinfrastructure, political uncertainty, regulatoryissues, challenging environments, sparselypopulated geographical areas, unreliableenergy supplies and poorer target groups,mobile operators and other telecomcompanies in the continent were able togenerate adequate customer base.

The unique challenges offered by Africahave been overcome with ingenuity andperseverance. For example, prepaid cards aresold at cheaper rates in numerous mobilebooths to give consumers easy access. Again,off-grid base stations have started using greenpower solutions, almost completely replacingthe use of expensive diesel. Roaming costs areoften lower than in the developed world,enabling communities separated by colonialborders to communicate. M-PESA and othermobile money systems have revolutionisedthe way money is transferred, making itpossible for almost everybody to use basicbanking services.

Africa is the next market for a data boomIt is no great secret that the next big step forAfrica is the post-mobile data revolution. Thepenetration of data in African markets is stilllow, even in South Africa, while prices are stillhigh. And, even if everybody agrees that datawill take off in a big way, it is difficult to predictwhen and how fast it will happen. There are ofcourse a number of challenges to thissituation. How can you best prepare to quicklyrespond to the anticipated demand withoutinvesting too much too early?

The biggest challenge is infrastructure. Highquality, efficient data centres are essential.They house and power all the equipmentneeded for transmission of data which is both

the heart and brain of any network. But,traditional builds for data centres take a lot oftime to plan, co-ordinate and construct.

Furthermore, challenging environments adda lot of risk to a data centre project, oftenresulting in delays and budget over-runs.Buildings for data centres are often notpurpose built to be used as technical facilities,often with water leaks and other problems.

Pre-fabricated modular data centres The solution is pre-fabricated modular datacentres. They are quicker to deploy and will inmost cases save considerable time andmoney compared to traditional brick andmortar buildings.

The facility will always be the right sizesince its modular structure makes it easy toquickly expand in response to changingneeds. More efficient power and cooling willmake a pre-fabricated data centre more costeffective to run. And quality, budget and thetime plan can more easily be ensured for pre-fabricated purpose built facilities, bringingpredictability to the project.

A pre-fabricated solution also makes itmuch easier to customise the data centre forspecific needs and it can be deployedanywhere. Let us take a look at a live example:Vodacom in Mozambique (a subsidiary ofVodafone) recently decided to deploy a

modular data centre (the eCentre) on top of asix-storey parking garage next to its corporateheadquarters in central Maputo.

The roof top turn-key deployment is a126 square metres (sq m) open space datacentre. Vodacom needed to put the facilityin place quickly, efficiently, and on time.The pre-fabricated build reduced theproject risk significantly because theconstruction work was all done in tenweeks in a clean environment (in Sweden)and the installation work needed on sitewas completed in only eight days, in total afraction of what a similar local brick andmortar project would have taken.

Speed and predictability in challengingenvironments are critical issues in Africaconsidering it is the fastest growing mobilemarket in the world and the take off for datacould be right around the corner.

Pre-fabricated, modular and custom-designed data centres that can be deployedvery quickly, and easily re-deployed ifneeded, is yet another innovative solution toan African problem.

It is a solution that will allow data centreowners – internet service providers, hostingcompanies, mobile operators and banks – inAfrica to act quickly and confidently towards ademand for data that might be stronger thanany of us expect. ✆

The Flexenclosure team celebrates after completion of the modular data centre project; Flexenclosurewas assigned the responsibility to set up the centre for Vodacom Mozambique

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is the post-mobile datarevolution; however, it is

difficult to predict when andhow fast it will happen



The fibre networking industry in Zambiaand Zimbabwe is abuzz with activitywith the Liquid Telecom Group beingchosen as the connectivity provider for

the United Nations World TourismOrganisation (UNWTO) General Assembly. TheAssembly, which promotes responsible andsustainable tourism, will be hosted by thegovernments of both Zambia and Zimbabwefrom 24-29 August 2013 in Livingstone,Zambia, and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Opening up accessLiquid Telecom Zimbabwe and CEC LiquidTelecom Zambia have laid new fibre toconnect all major hotels and internationalairports in Lusaka, Livingstone and VictoriaFalls to its existing fibre network. In addition,Liquid has installed Wi-Fi throughout thehotels and airports.

The Liquid Telecom Group has built Africa’slargest single fibre network which runs from thenorth of Uganda to Cape Town, South Africa ona single thread. In total, its award-winning,open access pan-African fibre network spansmore than 13,000 km across Botswana, DRCongo, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa,Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is the firstfibre network to cross country borders andcovers Africa’s fastest-growing economieswhere no fixed network has existed before.

Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe’s pioneering

work in developing Africa’s longest single spanfibre links was recently named the Best FixedNetwork Infrastructure Innovation at this year’sGlobal Telecoms Business (GTB) Innovationawards. These prestigious awards, organisedby the much-respected GTB magazine,celebrated innovative projects that better servethe telecom industry’s end customers.

Liquid Telecom Group CEO Nic Rudnick said,“We are delighted to have been asked toprovide high-speed, high-quality broadbandfor this very important meet. Zambia and

Zimbabwe are fabulous tourist destinations.Visitors must have access to reliablecommunications, as should businesses andthe people who live there.

“Our fibre network is essential to thesuccess of Africa’s Digital Future. We believe inthe power of connectivity to transform lives andour goal is to connect as many people in Africaas possible.’’

Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe has built thelargest fibre network in Zimbabwe providingbroadband voice and data in all the majorcities and towns. It is an IAP as well as an ISP inZimbabwe and as such provides services forhomes, SMEs, large enterprise customers aswell as other operators. Liquid TelecomZimbabwe network has redundancy from fivedifferent sea cables – WACS, EASSY, SEACOM,SAT3 and TEAMs – ensuring high availability.

Liquid Telecom Zambia is a joint venturebetween the Copperbelt Energy Corporation(CEC), a Zambian power company, and LiquidTelecom. It has built a fibre network acrossZambia and offers wholesale capacity as wellas being an operator with customers from allsectors. It is the first fully-redundant network inthe country and, because CEC Liquid Telecomhas end-to-end ownership of the network, it isable to provide Service Level Agreements at alevel not previously experienced in Zambia. ✆

Nawa Mutumweno

Fibre networking for UN tourism meet

COMMERCENetwork

Liquid has laid new fibre to connect all major hotels andinternational airports in Lusaka, Livingstone and Victoria Falls

to its existing fibre network in preparation for the meet

The Liquid Telecom Group hasbuilt Africa’s largest single

fibre network which runsfrom the north of Uganda to

Cape Town, South Africa on asingle thread. In total, its

award-winning, open accesspan-African fibre network

spans more than 13,000 kmacross Botswana, DR Congo,

Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda,South Africa, Uganda,

Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Communications Africa Issue 5 2013 33www.communicationsafrica.com

Examining Liquid Telecom’s role as the principal connectivity provider for the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly


What influential industry figures will consider at Capacity Africa, one of this year’s keyinternational carrier events

Uniting key playersfrom the telecoms sector

EVENTS Capacity Africa

THE CAPACITY AFRICA 2013 conferencewill take place from 17-18 Septemberin Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, unitingmore than 460 decision-makers,

speakers and delegates from across Africaand the international carrier markets.

According to organisers Capacity Media, theconference, which is now in its seventh year,will highlight the most relevant issues forexisting and potential operators in the Africanmarket and bring together leading executivesfrom the continent’s fixed-line and mobilewholesale ecosystem.

Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One CableCompany, commented, “Capacity Africaattracts the international and African players inthe African capacity market. The event providesa unique opportunity to focus on the issuesaffecting our market with active players.”

The event offers visitors more than 10 hours’worth of networking opportunities with

operators from across the continent as well asinternational providers. This year, the organisersare also giving visitors the chance to contactregistered delegates two weeks before theconference through its online Meeting Planner.

Speakers at the event will include JanuaryMakampa, Tanzania’s deputy minister ofcommunications, science and technology;David Easum, CEO of Burundi BackboneSystem; Antonio Nunes, CEO of Angola Cables;Mokgethi Nyatseng, general manager -wholesale at Telecom Botswana; Isabelle Lorinde Reure, vice-president of marketing at Orange;and Mohammed Bouhelal, director - wholesaleand carrier relations at Etisalat Nigeria. ✆

Ms Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One Cable Company

Capacity Africa attracts theinternational and African

players in the Africancapacity market. The event

provides a uniqueopportunity to focus on theissues affecting our market

with active players." - Funke Opeke, CEO of Main

One Cable Company


The event provides a uniqueopportunity to focus on theissues affecting our market

with active players” - Funke Opeke, CEO of Main

One Cable Company

Day One - 17 September08:20 - Registration and networking breakfast09:30 - Keynote address from January

Makampa, Tanzania’s deputy minister of communications, science and technology

09:45 - Keynote panel discussion: Driving capacity distribution to landlocked countries; commercial strategies, technological solutions and government intervention

10:45 - Morning coffee break and networking opportunity sponsored by Liquid Telecom

11:45 - Panel discussion: Re-examining Africa’s role in global telecom development

12:30 - Presentation: Investment initiatives and development strategies; what are the next opportunities?

12:50 - Lunch and networking opportunity sponsored by PCCW Global

14:00 - Capacity Africa 2013 Networking Exchange 15:00 - Extended afternoon networking

session and coffee break sponsored by SEACOM

16:30 - Panel discussion: Building reliable infrastructure and capitalising on infrastructure efficiency

17:30 - Drinks reception and charity raffle sponsored by WIOCC

Day Two - 18 September09:00 - Networking breakfast10:00 - African regulators roundtable:

Developing regulatory frameworks that foster growth in the telecommunications sector

10:45 - Morning coffee break and networking opportunity sponsored by CMC Networks

11:40 - Analyst presentation: Assessing the current status of mobile broadband connectivity and pinpointing regional growth markets

12:00 - Panel discussion: monetising LTE deployment and achieving superior regional coverage through broadband technologies

12:45 - Lunch and networking opportunity sponsored by Internet Solutions

13:40 - Extended afternoon networking session14:00 - Close

Schedule

S09 CAF 2013 Report - EA IA A NEW_Layout 1 23/08/2013 17:41 Page 34


DES DÉCIDEURS ET des experts desTIC de 35 pays ont appris ici lasemaine dernière que latélédiffusion et le haut débit

peuvent partager le même spectreradioélectrique pour remédier auxproblèmes de connectivité de l’Afrique. LeForum Afrique sur les Espaces blancs detélévision et le Spectre dynamique, qui a eulieu à Dakar, a réuni plus de 100 personnes,notamment des régulateurs des TIC, desfournisseurs de services internet, desfabricants d‘équipements, des universitaireset des organisations de la société civile quicherchent des moyens novateursd’améliorer l’accès à l’internet sur lecontinent. Cet événement a été organisé parGoogle, Microsoft, l’Association pour leprogrès des communications (APC), AfriNICet ISOC Sénégal.

Des succès africainsDe nouveaux systèmes de communicationsans fil permettent de détecter lesinterférences et d’acheminer les fréquencesvers des bandes inutilisées, rendant ainsil’utilisation du spectre radioélectriquedisponible beaucoup plus efficace. Lesrésultats d’enquêtes qui ont été présentés lorsdu Forum montrent que de grandes parties desbandes de fréquences plus basses attribuéesà la radiodiffusion en Afrique sont presqueentièrement inutilisées. Ces bandes defréquence, appelées espaces blancs detélévision, peuvent transiter sur de longuesdistances et fournir une solution à faible coûtpour répondre aux besoins d’accès à l’internetdes personnes qui vivent dans les zonesrurales et éloignées actuellement coupés de larévolution numérique. Malgré la croissancedes services mobiles et de l’accès à la largebande dans de nombreuses parties ducontinent, l’accès internet prend du retard, etl’accès au dernier kilomètre est l’un des plusgrands défis à relever pour améliorer l’accèsdans ces régions.

Des essais de la technologie, présentés auForum, ont déjà eu lieu avec succès en Afriquedu Sud et au Kenya (ainsi qu’aux États-Unis etau Royaume-Uni), d’autres sont prévus auNigeria, au Malawi et probablement auSénégal. Les participants ont également apprisque la société civile et le milieu universitaire

ont été à l’avant-garde de la sensibilisation àces technologies, y compris aux États-Unis, oùdes groupes d’intérêt public ont formé unealliance pour pousser le régulateur (la FCC) àpermettre une utilisation dynamique partagéedu spectre de télévision. L’Association pour leprogrès des communications (APC) a co-organisé en 2011 un atelier de sensibilisationaux espaces blancs de télévision en Afrique duSud qui a contribué à encourager les essais enAfrique du Sud et au Kenya.

« J’ai été particulièrement impressionnéau Forum par un sentiment de causecommune entre les participants pour unmeilleur usage du spectre radioélectrique et

le grand intérêt suscité par la mise au jourd’une telle quantité de spectre utilisée sur lecontinent », a déclaré Mike Jensen,spécialiste de l’accès à l’internet d’APC . «C’est une remise en cause de l’opinioncourante selon laquelle le spectreradioélectrique est une ressource rare. LeForum a permis également de montrer desexemples réels en Afrique où une utilisationplus novatrice de nos ressources du spectrepeut répondre à certains des besoinsimmédiats de connectivité, en particulierdans les zones rurales. Outre l’utilisation deces technologies dans les fréquences detélévision, le modèle peut servir dansd’autres bandes de fréquences pour mieuxutiliser toutes les ressources de notre spectre– un bien public qui doit être pleinementexploité pour répondre aux besoins desmembres marginalisés de nos sociétés ».

Le fait que Google et Microsoft ont été lesprincipaux artisans de l‘événement etcollaborent dans ce domaine souligne lepotentiel que présente le spectre dynamiquepour perturber les marchés des opérateurshistoriques fixes et mobiles. Il est intéressantde noter que l’équipement utilisé pour lesespaces blancs de télévision vient de petitsfabricants indépendants, alors que les grandsfabricants, qui sont les principaux fournisseursdes grands opérateurs, ne se sont pas encoreintéressés à la technologie. ✆

Les nouvelles technologies sans fil permettent la coexistence de l’internet et de laradiodiffusion sur les ondes

L’utilisation duspectre radioélectrique

INTERNET Radiodiffusion

Les espaces blancs detélévision peuvent transitersur de longues distanceset fournir une solution àfaible coût pour répondreaux besoins d’accès àl’internet des personnesqui vivent dans les zonesrurales et éloignéesactuellement coupés de larévolution numérique


Des principales conclusions qui se sont dégagées du Forum• Les espaces blancs de télévision sont disponibles et sous-utilisés.

Grâce à sa base de données sur le spectre, Google a montré une carte de l’espace libredisponible au Sénégal.• Les essais montrent que la technologie fonctionne concrètement.

Des essais au Kenya, au Malawi, à Singapour, en Afrique du Sud, au Royaume-Uni et aux États-Unis ont montré que les fournisseurs de haut débit peuvent coexister avec les détenteurs despectre sous licence et fournir des services à large bande.• Une politique sur les espaces blancs de la télévision est en préparation

ICASA, le régulateur sud-africain des TIC, prévoit d’utiliser les résultats de l’essai pour évaluerd‘éventuelles règles sur l’utilisation des espaces blancs de télévision.• Les radios abaissent les obstacles à l’internet

Les fabricants de radios ont expliqué comment les radios qui utilisent les espaces blancs detélévision peuvent parler à une base de données qui leur indique les canaux disponibles dansune zone donnée.


QUALCOMM INCORPORATED HAS announced that Qualcomm Technologies will use QualcommSnapdragon 800 processor to power the world’s first LTE-Advanced smartphone, the SamsungGalaxy S4 LTE-A.

The new Galaxy S4 LTE-A will be the first smartphone to utilise LTE carrieraggregation for data rates up to 150Mbps, double what current LTE speeds offer.

Qualcom has claimed that the Snapdragon 800 processor is QualcommTechnologies’ most advanced and powerful mobile processor to date.

Qualcom Technologies executive vice president and co-president ofQualcomm mobile and computing Murthy Renduchintala said, “Snapdragon 800processors with LTE Advanced are designed to deliver maximum performanceand connectivity to users who want the fastest and best mobile experiences, fromwatching high-definition video to playing the latest mobile games.

“LTE-Advanced represents a significant improvement over current standardsand will only enhance these experiences on the Galaxy S4 and other futuredevices worldwide.”

LTE carrier aggregation is an important new technology and a foundationalfeature of the standard that combines radio channels within and across bandsto increase user data rates and reduce latency.

While current LTE mobile devices support several LTE radio channels, theycan only download on one channel at a time. LTE carrier aggregation, however,allows for simultaneous download on two or more LTE radio channels,effectively enabling full use of the nominal chipset LTE data rate category.

Snapdragon 800 processors feature an integrated multimode 3G/4G LTEmodem and are designed to support LTE carrier aggregation withoutsacrificing battery life, allowing operators to increase both peak and averagedata rates for their consumers and device manufacturers to build sleekerdevices with differentiated applications for their customers.

Qualcomm Technologies is currently shipping its third generationmultimode LTE solutions.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor for Samsung’s LTE smartphone


EQUIPMENT

37

NEC CORPORATION HAS developed anew technology that estimates thetransmission speed of internet andmobile network communications (3Gand LTE), enabling the provision ofhigh quality services based ontransmission speeds.

Internet and mobile networkservices have increased their highcapacity data communications, suchas streaming video and rich content.However, since transmission speedschange from one moment to thenext, mobile terminal users mustoften wait before viewing richcontent and the quality of IP phoneconnections can be difficult tomaintain.

In order to provide qualityservices for users, content providersand network carriers are required tomaintain detailed control of datatransmission and adjust trafficvolumes based on the transmissionspeeds measured just before datadistribution. However, conventionalmethods for measuring transmissionspeeds require high capacity data

transmission, take a long time andplace a heavy load on the network.

NEC Corporation Cloud SystemResearch Laboratories generalmanager Motoo Nishihara said, “Thisnew technology estimatestransmission speeds in less than onesecond using just ten kilobytes ofdata. As a result, companies canmonitor variations in communicationsspeeds in order to optimize the sizeof their transmission data, enablingthe delivery of uninterrupted, stablevideo and high-quality IP phoneservices.

“Moreover, telecommunicationscarriers and content providers canprovide these technologies as anapplication, enabling mobile users toview variations in communicationsspeed in real-time.”

Going forward, NEC will continueto promote the adoption of thistechnology by network monitoringsystems and servers as part ofcontributing to the improvement ofvideo distribution and IP phoneservices.

Technology for instantly estimating internet andmobile network


Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE-A

MICROSOFT HAS LAUNCHED a technology that can turn anysurface, a wall, table, or floor, into an interactive touch screen.

Once just a prototype created by startup firm Ubi, with aMicrosoft Kinect for Windows sensor, this technology is now out ofbeta and on sale for consumers. Microsoft announced in Augustthat Ubi has worked to develop the software with more than 50organisations and is now accepting orders for purchase.

Ubi co-founder and CEO Anup Chathoth said, “We want humancollaboration and information to be just one finger touch away, nomatter where you are.

“By making it possible to turn any surface into a touch screen,we eliminate the need for screen hardware and thereby reduce thecost and extend the possibilities of enabling interactive displays inplaces where they were not previously feasible, such as on walls inpublic spaces.”

A Kinect sensor on the other side is used to track themovements of the user, allowing them to interact with theimage using touch, in exactly the same way someone wouldwith a tablet or smartphone.

The Kinect system works natively with the Windows touch-screen interface, meaning the icons can be clicked by touch andphotos can be zoomed in and out of using multi-touch gestures.Because of the 3D mapping of Kinect, the system is able to tellwhen users have made a full click, rather than just hovering theirfingers above the screen.

This allows users to flick through pages or scroll around, withoutselecting items with each movement. To get the system to work,users need a computer running the Ubi software, a projector, andthe Kinect for Windows sensor.

Touch screen for any surface



ÉQUIPEMENT

38

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

ArabSat ............................................................................................10

Asia Broadcast Satellite ..................................................................15

Dolphin Telecoms ............................................................................39

Eaton Industries GmbH......................................................................5

Eutelsat ............................................................................................35

ExactBrain LDA ................................................................................21

GL Communications ........................................................................25

Gulfsat ................................................................................................9

Informa Telecoms & Media (AfricaCom 2013) ................................23

Intelsat ..............................................................................................13

Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. ................................................................40

Measat Broadcast Network Systems (ASTRO)..................................7

NewTelco GmbH ..............................................................................27

PCCW Global Ltd ..............................................................................17

Sky Vision Global Networks ..............................................................2

THAICOM Public Company Ltd.........................................................19

WIOCC ..............................................................................................31

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Le poste de travail de l’utilisateur est en pleinemutation sous l’effet de deux vaguestechnologiques simultanées : le CloudComputing et le développement des terminauxmobiles sous l’influence des métiers au sein del’entreprise et des utilisateurs eux-mêmes(BYOD). D'ici à 2015, le marché mondial destablettes devrait être plus important que celuides ordinateurs classiques et atteindre236,3mn d'unités en 2014 contre 210,8millions pour les ordinateurs.Le poste de travail devient mobile et multiple :les collaborateurs se connectent à leurenvironnement de travail aussi bien enmobilité -depuis leur smartphone ou tablette-qu’au bureau ou à domicile. Plus qu’un postede travail, l’enjeu pour l’entreprise aujourd’huiest de mettre à disposition de l’utilisateur unvéritable espace de travail qui lui permette deretrouver toutes ses données et sesapplications sans avoir à se soucier duterminal utilisé.En anticipant l’évolution des usages, Orangeaccompagne les entreprises dans cemouvement de fond du « nouvel espace detravail », un axe de son plan stratégiqueConquêtes 2015.

Nous avons la conviction que pour saisir aumieux les opportunités offertes par ce nouvelenvironnement de travail qui devient toujoursplus mobile, plus collaboratif et plus flexible,les entreprises ont besoin, sur un marchéfragmenté, de s’appuyer sur un partenaireglobal. Un acteur capable de maitriser à la foisles réseaux, les terminaux et les applicationsmais également d’anticiper les usages. Pouraccompagner les entreprises dans latransformation de ce que nous concevonscomme l’espace de travail numérique del’utilisateur, nous nous appuyons à la fois surnotre savoir-faire d’opérateur et d’intégrateurde solutions fixes et mobiles et sur notreexpertise dans le cloud et la virtualisation »,déclare Thierry Bonhomme, directeur exécutifd’Orange business services, qui poursuit sondéveloppement en matière de gestion deflottes de terminaux et s’associe à MobileIron,acteur mondial reconnu dans le domaine dessolutions de gestion à distance des terminauxmobiles (tablettes et smartphones).Device Management Premium, l’offre degestion des terminaux mobiles, s’appuiedésormais sur les technologies MobileIron.Device Management Premium avec MobileIron

est disponible en deux versions. La versionstandard offre toutes les fonctionnalités «classiques » de la gestion de flottes mobiles :administration des profils utilisateurs et deséquipements, application des politiques desécurité, configuration des applicationsembarquées, personnalisation du mobile. Uneversion avancée et hautement sécurisée de lasolution est également proposée. Cettedernière intègre la gestion :

Des applications : il est possible de créerune étanchéité entre les applications et lesdonnées professionnelles et personnelleset/ou de limiter l’accès à certaines applicationsdepuis les terminaux personnels ;

Des documents : depuis leur tablette ousmartphone, les collaborateurs pourront selonleur profil consulter et/ou enregistrer desdocuments dans un « conteneur » isolé,ajoutant ainsi un niveau de sécurité.

Proposée en mode cloud et hébergée dansles infrastructures d'Orange Business Services,l'offre Device Management Premium estégalement disponible en mode « managé àdistance » pour les entreprises qui souhaitenthéberger la solution sur leurs infrastructures.www.orange-business.com

Orange Business Services anticipe les évolutions de l’espace de travail de l’utilisateur

S09 CAF 5 2013 Equipment F NEW_Layout 1 27/08/2013 11:26 Page 38


Testimony to the in-built excellence of Kirloskar Green Gensets is provided by the fact, that there are over 85,000 of them helping keep telecom towers across India up and running round-the-clock. Tried, tested and proven in one of the largest mobile telephony markets in the world, there are another 4,000+ gensets deployed in similar applica-tions across Asia, Middle East and Africa

Obviously, when it comes to reliably keeping people connected around the world, Kirloskar Green Gensets have few equals.

Advantage user• Largest selling genset brand in the 5 to 625kVA range• Reliable and complete power solution• Sales, spares and service network across Africa• High powered performance• Unmatched fuel economy• Easy and low maintenance• Long lasting• Low noise and vibration levels


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Communications Africa 5 2013