ITNewsAfrica.com: What are Ericsson’s immediate plans for the region?
Lars Linden: Our global strategy is to continue to develop the deployment of high-speed mobile broadband to end-users and the same mobile strategy applies to Africa. There is a misconception that Africa doesn’t have high standards in connectivity. Although it’s starting later (compared to other regions), we see the deployment of new infrastructure and latest technologies on the continent. The only difference is the more challenging environment and the less purchase power. There are two main things Ericsson focuses in Africa: securing an electrical grid to reach rural areas where there is no electricity, by means of cost-efficient solar and wind power and getting mobile broadband out by introducing 3G and 4G/LTE technologies.
ITNewsAfrica.com: Is LTE a viable option for the African region in the coming years?
Lars Linden: 3G, UMTS/HTSPA is the technology we are deploying to allow end-users to enjoy up to 21 Mb/s. There are obviously technological shift when you go from 2G to 3G and then 4G that might take 10 years to fully develop. 3G has been around for 2-3 years and will be deployed to a much larger extent than the other new technologies in the near future. We have made trials in Africa for LTE, but there are no operators at this moment to fully engage in LTE at a commercial level. LTE is still very new and it might take a couple of years to spread out. 3G will have to take off first on a larger scale.
ITNewsAfrica.com: How is Ericsson planning to reach remote/rural areas in Africa?
Lars Linden: Wireless is definitely the solution, combined with the power-generating solutions of wind and solar systems. We are also constantly looking at partnering with operators in a way that we can operate the network in a cost-efficient way, so that the operators can rather focus on the end-users rather than the technological way.
By Denisa Oosthuizen
