New Communication Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide in Africa: Satellite.  Wi-Fi.  VoIP.  GSM.  Broadband

Chelsea Village, London, UK, March 15th, 16th & 17th

Sessions

 

Executive Roundtable: Developing Africa’s Development Market

 

Billions of Euros worth of telecom budgets support humanitarian and development efforts throughout Africa. Telecom solution providers have amassed tremendous expertise in implementing cost-effective networks. And multi-lateral and other project-financing resources are now available to support national and international applications in Developing and Least Developed African nations.

 

Or are they? This roundtable, including open discussion from leading funding institutions, telecommunications companies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), examined whether these initiatives are making significant gains in African countries – and if so, how.

 

Emergency Management in Africa: The Critical Mission

 

Fixed and mobile telecommunications are literally a lifeline for users in Africa’s Emergency Management Community, whether it’s network solutions for public services or business-continuity requirements. Thus, as new technologies emerge, this user group is often among the first to try – and to adopt – the latest systems. This session explores the state-of-the-art and how hybrid and stand-alone systems stack up.

 

GSM, Wi-Fi & Wi-Max: Satellite Backhaul for Africa’s Outback

 

Satellite backhaul is a well-established application – and it’s going strong. As satellite links extend the reach of terrestrial wireless services, are Africa’s rural regions finally within reach? And is there a compelling business model for satellite/terrestrial hybrid solutions in Africa? This roundtable will examine the latest trends and evaluate whether such solutions are sustainable.

 

Aggregating Telecom Resources for African Operations

 

Non-governmental organisations, educational and medical institutions and a host of other African enterprises have begun pooling a variety of wireless platforms to take advantage of economies of scale for fixed and mobile satellite services, digital microwave, HF radios, and much more. This session will provide an opportunity to learn how aggregated solutions are being applied in Africa - and how they’re not.

 

The State of the Art in Multilateral Programmes

 

There is strength in numbers, and Africa’s telecom markets – which as a region receive a disproportionate share of global development funding – are emerging partly as a result of successful multi-lateral programmes. Why are some funded telecom programmes successful whilst others fail? Learn from these leaders what elements contribute to effective telecom deployment in the African context.

 

Introduction: African Solutions to African Requirements

 

It is now widely recognised that access to information and knowledge through affordable communications represents a significant opportunity for social and economic development, for regional cooperation and integration, and for increasing the participation of people in the emerging global information society. Addressing deficiencies in access to low-cost communication services is therefore now regarded as an urgent imperative for improving economic, educational and health standards. Day two of NewCom Africa will examine exactly how.

 

Project Finance: Who Has It? … and How to Get It

 

Leveraging oil wealth, public-private partnerships, donor funding, investment funding… these are just a sampling of the variables to be considered in telecommunication project financing. This session will identify the essential requirements needed to launch a funded programme in Africa.

 

Roundtable: Regulatory Practices That Accelerate Development

 

Access to low-cost telecom services will be inhibited – and in some cases prevented – unless national and regional groups of Administrations apply policies and regulations that more effectively facilitate their use. Many national policies in Africa still restrict the delivery of services through private systems. Although restructuring of the telecommunication sector is now gaining momentum in the region, most countries in Africa continue to be protective of their monopoly national telecom operators. This session will reveal what is being done about it.

 

Application Case Study: VSAT-Based Rural Access in Kenya

 

When the Kenyan Tea Development Agency (KTDA) needed a network for daily delivery of critical business information to its numerous remote sites, they found a solution that would also address local villagers’ needs for basic connectivity. This case study will describe the factors that resulted in success, as well as hard lessons learned.

 

Infrastructure: Reaching the First (and Last) Mile

 

Public access provision in under-serviced areas is a key government application in an increasing number of African countries. The PTOs of South Africa and Ethiopia, for example, have rolled out large networks for village communications, while plans are underway for numerous other programmes, including national and local intranet and rural public-access points where communities can obtain access to IT, the Internet and information on government programs, local news and weather, land and related administrative records, government license and online applications, local commodity prices and on-line transactions. This panel will assess the trend’s potential.

 

Technology Roundtable: Putting VoIP in the African Portfolio

 

African enterprises are seizing upon Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP), which increases the capacity of telephone networks by compressing and routing calls… typically for 50% of the cost of traditional switched services, and often offering "carrier-grade" reliability. Governments, meanwhile, have begun to recognise that VoIP, rather than being a by-pass mechanism, can help achieve development goals, and this has helped to encourage deregulation. This session will include reports from leading service providers on the extent to which VoIP can be used in Africa.

 

The African Cyber Café: Reaching Millions of Users… Today

 

While most African phone shops are in urban areas, a growing number are being established in remote locations. Many are adding Internet access to their services, even in remote towns where it is a long-distance call to the nearest Internet dial-up access point. In addition, a growing number of hotels, lodges, and other public venues provide a PC with Internet access.

 

It is estimated that there are in excess of 10,000 public Internet access points in Africa serving more than 1.5 million customers. The majority of these are small independent operations with two or three PCs, which augment revenues from other sources. This session will evaluate the implications.

UK EMP Archive