INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Mobile Technology
67% of the population in Ghana; nearly
half the population has mobile Internet
access, with penetration in Ghana
now the second highest in West Africa.
Further, mobile has connected eight
million individuals to financial services,
supported farmers and provided access
to health information, clean energy and
more, underscoring the vital role mobile
technology can play in supporting
sustainable development in Ghana.
However, the report also notes that
despite this progress, significant
challenges remain, many of which
require collaboration between
the public and private sectors. For
example, there is a gender gap
in Ghana of approximately 16%
in mobile phone ownership and
17% in the use of mobile money
services, with an even higher gap
(56%) in use of the Internet, with
2.5 million fewer women online than
men. Mobile operators are working
to tackle this through programmes
such as the GSMA Connected
Women Commitment initiative, while
governments can take steps to address
this issue by integrating gender
equality targets and key performance
indicators into strategies, policies,
plans and budgets, involving women
and local communities.
Industry and government
collaboration
The participants of the round-table
acknowledged the transformative
impact of mobile communication on
the people and economy of Ghana and
celebrated Ghana’s commitment to the
SDGs under the direction of President
Akufo-Addo.
The round-table emphasised the need
for the public and private sectors to work
hand in hand, as well as across many
different government agencies that may
not typically consider mobile a tool they
can use to achieve their development
targets. As a follow-on from the meeting,
participants agreed to establish a
technical working group focusing on
implementation of collective actions that
the group will undertake to make the
2030 agenda and digital transformation
for Ghana a reality. n
62
INTELLIGENTCIO
Nokia and Vodacom
collaborate to shape
the future of 5G in
South Africa
mining, healthcare, media,
energy and transportation.
Nokia will leverage expertise
from its Bell Labs Consulting
arm to work with Vodacom and
identify where, when and how to
evolve its network to 5G.
Andries Delport, Vodacom
Group Chief Technology Officer
commented: “As the leading
mobile network provider in
South Africa, with the best 3G
and 4G networks, it was crucial
for us to partner a formidable
Andries Delport, Vodacom Group Chief
player such as Nokia as we’re
Technology Officer and Rajen Naidoo, Head
gearing ourselves for the next
of Vodacom South Africa Customer Team,
generation of wireless networks,
sign the MoU between the two companies
5G. This collaboration comes
at a time when we have a firm
mandate from the Vodacom Board to
okia has a 5G portfolio that
propel Vodacom Group to become a
will allow operators to gain an
leading digital company.
early-to-market advantage
in the delivery of ultra-fast mobile
“It is my firm belief that the adoption
broadband services that leverage
of 5G will help us to deliver against
multi-gigabit speeds and ultra-low
some of the digital technologies in
latency. Working with Vodacom in a
areas such as big data analytics,
series of workshops and trials, Nokia
artificial intelligence, virtual and
will share its latest 5G innovations
augmented reality, autonomous
including massive MIMO Adaptive
vehicles and the Internet of Things.
Antennas, AirScale Radio Access,
AirGile Cloud-native Core, Multi-Access Quite crucially, Africa is in the middle
of a mobile connectivity boom, and as
Edge Computing, and end-to-end
such, 5G will help us to deliver faster
Mobile Anyhaul transport networks
Internet speeds to our almost 70
to test how they can be used to meet
million customers across the group.”
ever-changing demand in the country.
N
Initially the companies will focus on
the delivery of ultra-HD and virtual
reality video services, leveraging
the enhanced mobile broadband
and ultra-low latency capabilities
of 5G. Vodacom and Nokia will also
collaborate to understand how 5G
can drive continued economic growth
in vertical industries important to
South Africa including manufacturing,
Rajen Naidoo, Head of Vodacom
South Africa Customer Team at Nokia,
said: “We have defined a technology
path that allows operators to transition
to 5G at their own pace. Working with
Vodacom, we can help it identify how
5G can support growth in the country
and the steps it should take in its own
transition to best meet individual
subscriber and enterprise needs.” n
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