African leaders told to adopt open access for broadband deployment

Technology experts have advised African leaders to adopt the 'Open Access' method in order to drive and sustain broadband deployment on the continent.

The experts spoke at a panel session on the second day of the Africa Com conference and exhibition holding in South Africa, and explained the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology is a an evolving technology in Africa that would boost broadband spread on the continent, but expressed worries that different regulatory authorities in different African countries adopt different measures that may likely slow the widespread deployment of broadband.

With Open Access model, regulator authorities will be able to open up the market and give operators free hand to rollout broadband, using the LTE technology, the panel said.

Group Chief Executive Officer of Smile Telecoms, Mrs. Irene Charnley, who insisted that customer focus is key to broadband deployment, said: "What the customer needs is content at high speed and LTE is the right technology to achieve such speed."

LTE, she said, provided high capacity network for voice and data and it would continue to evolve in the next 10 years, since it is the future technology for the globe.

The Group Chief Operating Officer of Smile Telecoms, Mr. Tom Allen, said his company introduced LTE in some African counties in 2012, and that the technology was introduced to address the lapses of 3G technology, which he said was unable to provide unlimited access to operators who need the technology.

Given the Tanzania experience, Chief Operating Officer, Millicom International Network, also known as Trigo Network of Tanzania, Mr. Deon Geyser said the Tanzania experience remained high, with increased penetration level in LTE technology, even though the company is not targeting the mass market for now, based on demand. Addressing the importance of LTE technology in driving broadband deployment on the African continent, Managing Director, Service Provider Mobility for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Cisco, Mr. Jim Scott said it would provide high speed video conferencing, high speed internet service, better connectivity for Skype, fast download and upload, among others.

source: allafrica.com