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
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