COMMENT
5G networks road to progress for African nations
The next generation of mobile connectivity platform called 5G is a game changer for African nations and African communities if planned for explains Stefano Mattiello , Cisco Director for Global Services Providers .
Do not get me wrong . I am looking forward to faster mobile internet as much as the next person . But the significance of 5G goes much further than that , particularly for mobile network providers .
Last September , the United Nations information and communication technologies agency ITU shared its vision of a 5G mobile broadband connected society of the year 2020 . It brings together people along with things , data , applications , transport systems and cities in a smart networked communications environment . This grand-sounding concept relates to an idea we have heard a lot about lately : Internet of Things .
By 2020 , it is predicted there will be some 3.1 billion machine-to-machine connections live . According to a Cisco report , the IoT is also projected to generate $ 14.3 billion in value for South Africa ’ s public sector over the next decade , helping the South African government create value by saving money , improving employee productivity , generating new revenue without raising taxes and enhancing citizen benefits .
IoT is part of every business discussion and digital transformation is driving operational efficiency , increasing employee productivity , garnering greater customer loyalty and creating new revenue streams . As digitisation accelerates , cutting edge infrastructure
Stefano Mattiello is Cisco Director for Global Services Providers .
will increase a country ’ s GDP , reduce spending and create jobs .
5G plays a key part in ensuring that we can keep going down the road we are headed . ITU says that international mobile telecommunications is increasingly becoming the sole means for accessing communication , information , and entertainment and that it continues to grow at unprecedented rates and supports connectivity , applications , and services that were not envisioned even a few years ago . And we need a new kind of technology that is capable of being the foundation for all of that .
So 5G is not just 4G with a new highspeed air link interface . It is the next step toward the mobile broadband connected society of the future . It needs to support tomorrow ’ s services using a range of different connectivity and provide unprecedented scalability , not just of bandwidth but also of connections and devices .
Tomorrow ’ s world will be focused on connecting things as much or more than connecting people , or even people to things . ITU describes the current situation by saying that systems , technologies , and architectures supporting mobile broadband continue to evolve to improve on spectrum efficiency and utilisation . They are adopting new deployment architectures which help but are not the total solution .
They continue to state that operators must continue to seek new ways to advance the capabilities and push out the boundaries of the technology . The agency adds that this requires adequate spectrum if these society benefits are to continue . 5G plays a key part in ensuring that we can keep going down the road we are headed .
But what can we do now to prepare for this future ? Anticipating what is next , Cisco is helping mobile service providers to realise the vision of an analyticsdriven , dynamic , knowledge-based , 5G-ready network . It is an elastic and programmable mobile architecture that leverages virtualisation and the cloud to capitalise on the Internet of Things and network knowledge .
It allows providers to quickly and easily innovate services like Voice over LTE , Licensed Small Cells , Voice over Wi-Fi , Service Provider Wi-Fi solution , and mobility analytics . That is all possible using Cisco ’ s Universal Intelligent Access , combined with a packet core , orchestration and additional mobile capabilities anchored into the Evolved Packet Core .
Cisco has already partnered with Ericsson , as well as teaming up with Intel and Verizon , with the aim of creating a next-generation 5G router . It is vital that mobile network operators start putting the foundations in place now , to make the most of what ’ s coming . www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
17