Wireless broadband and the domination of Asian vendors are the two most prevalent trends in evidence on the show floor at ITU Telecom Africa.
Thirty vendors from China, with only a handful from the U.S., are exhibiting, according to the ITU Telecom Africa 2008 Web site.
The success that Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE have seen in Africa is no doubt due to lower prices than competitors, as carriers in the region are very cost sensitive. Backing from the Chinese government, which has taken a liking to Africa, also helps.
The presence of Huawei and ZTE is a positive development for Africa, according to the head of Qualcomm for the region. Qualcomm is a partner of both the Chinese vendors.
"They are making technology more affordable, and that's what it's all about," said Pertti Johansson, president, Middle East and Africa region, at Qualcomm.
But there are still challenges for the Asian vendors. Language skills can result in communication problems. "That is why we try to attract local talent," said Wael Khattab, presales technical director at ZTE.
Western companies also still enjoy a better reputation, but price often trumps that, according to Khattab.
There is also a Chinese connection when it comes to mobile broadband -- the 3G technology TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) was developed in China and is the standard there. Along with TD-SCDMA, most other wireless broadband technologies available today are being demonstrated at the conference: WiMax, WiBro -- the Korean version of WiMax -- EV-DO rev B (Evolution-Data Optimized), LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) are all out in full force.
Africa is a nascent market, so it is easier for a new technology to grab market share. In many other markets, carriers have chosen a technology and are sticking with it, according to John Jacobs, senior vice president of marketing and product management at Yankee Group.
Attendees at the show said in interviews that they believe wireless will become the dominant technology for broadband access on the continent. That's already the case in Mauritius and South Africa, according to the ITU.
"I think it all comes down to the tele-density of the continent, there is ... a total of less than 50 million wired lines, so if you don't have wired lines it's very hard to put ADSL modems on them, and it's very expensive of course to string fiber," Johansson said.
The market is already deregulated, which forces competition that helps consumers, and then it just feeds itself, according to Johansson. His best advice to carriers is to try to get their hands on lower frequencies -- 450MHz if they can get it.
- Sponsored Resource:Are you ready for virtualization? Try the sever assessment tool.
- Sponsored Resource:Learn more about ultra light notebooks from Asus and the best warranty in the industry.
- Sponsored Resource:Thinking about a new Laptop? Lenovo has models to meet everyone's needs.
- Sponsored Resource:Get the truth about remanufactured ink. Learn more from HP.
- Sponsored Resource:Six smart ways to grow small business IT
News For Your Business
- Intel Will Ship Dual-core Atom Processor Next Month
- Microsoft Opens up Photosynth
- More Cores, Bigger Cache Give Boost to Dunnington
- Intel Confirms OQO to Use Atom in Handheld PC
- Singapore Gets IPhone, but No Visual Voicemail or ITunes
Community Comments