Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 23 | Page 44

CIO OPINION CIO opinion CIO OPINION “ PEOPLE MIGHT BE GETTING EXCITED ABOUT 5G, BUT IT’S NOT REALLY A REALISTIC PROSPECT. ////////////////// Nick Watson, Vice-President EMEA at Ruckus Networks Aiming to connect the unconnected According to a UN report, around 2.2 billion people could be added to the global population by 2050, with more than half of that growth occurring in Africa. Because there is increasing pressure on the continent to provide sustainability, efficient mobility and health and safety, technology has a big role to play. 44 INTELLIGENTCIO T here has been much talk about Smart Cities, the requirements, the connectivity, the policies necessary and the parties that need to come together to make it a reality. Smart lighting and traffic system interlinked public transit and lightning- fast Internet connection for every citizen are just some of the benefits of what you get in a Smart City, but all of it won’t be realised until more advanced and more reliable connectivity is adopted, with a focus on bridging the digital divide. What is evident however is that nations that complement local government initiatives with national government support will likely lead in Smart City development and more quickly secure the social and economic benefits it has to offer. Intelligent CIO spoke to Ruckus Networks EMEA Vice-President Nick Watson about the connectivity issues in Africa. “We’ve been working with a number of cities in Africa over the last few years to bring networking and Wi-Fi to them,” said Watson. “In Lagos, we’re working with Facebook Express to provide subsidised payments and we have a number of other projects. It’s being driven mainly from investment where traditionally, the over the top providers like Google and Facebook want to get access to people who otherwise won’t be able to connect. “Part of the reason is because the cost of data using a mobile network here is still very expensive for the vast majority of the population, even though devices are www.intelligentcio.com