Unitel and Ericsson Demo LTE-Advanced Technology in Angola

Ericsson has partnered with Angola's telecoms service provider Unitel, to demonstrate LTE Advanced (LTE-A) Carrier Aggregation technology.

The demonstration was done on both 1800MHz and 900MHz spectrum bands on a commercial network, using a commercial terminal in mid December 2013 when Unitel transferred data across its live network in Luanda, Angola, carrying commercial traffic.

LTE Carrier Aggregation is the next step in the evolution of high-speed mobile broadband services, enabling operators to make the most of their existing spectrum assets by combining multiple spectrum bands to enable higher mobile broadband download speeds.

Amilcar Safeca, deputy CEO, Unitel, said: "Unitel is always innovating to enhance the customer experience. With the global leap toward higher data access speeds for sophisticated video and mobility services, we are enhancing our network to ensure we continually provide high-quality services to our high-demanding subscriber base. With this demo, we are well on the way to launching the most advanced mobile network in Angola and perhaps Africa in the near future. We are working with Ericsson to make this happen."

Magnus Mchunguzi, VP, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa, commneted: "Using LTE-A technology, operators can increase their network capacity and enhance the mobile broadband user experience, enabling up to 1Gbps data rates in the future. This demo places Unitel on the very limited list of operators in the world to demonstrate LTE-A in a live network using a commercial terminal. We are very proud to have partnered with Unitel in this achievement, further extending our long-standing relationship with Unitel."

source: www.allafrica.com

Unitel and Ericsson demo Africa’s first LTE-Advanced technology

Ericsson and Angola's leading telecommunications provider Unitel, successfully demonstrated LTE Advanced (LTE-A) Carrier Aggregation technology for the first time in Africa.

The demonstration was made on both 1800MHz and 900MHz spectrum bands on a commercial network, using a commercial terminal, and took place on December 18, when Unitel transferred data across its live network in Luanda, Angola carrying commercial traffic.

LTE Carrier Aggregation is the next step in the evolution of high-speed mobile broadband services, enabling operators to make the most of their existing spectrum assets by combining multiple spectrum bands to enable higher mobile broadband download speeds.

Amilcar Safeca, Deputy CEO of Unitel says: “Unitel is always innovating to enhance the customer experience. With the global leap towards higher data access speeds for sophisticated video and mobility services, we are enhancing our network to ensure we continually provide high-quality services to our high demanding subscriber base. With this demo we are well on the way to launching in the near future the most advanced mobile network in Angola and perhaps Africa. We are working with Ericsson to make this happen.”

source: www.telecomtiger.com

2G, 3G & 4G Subscriptions, Deployments and Infrastructure Contracts Database Q4'2013

With over 250 commercial network launches and over a thousand LTE-enabled devices available in the market as of December 2013, LTE adoption has considerably gained momentum throughout the globe. Unique market and operator requirements have driven several early LTE launches. Driven by these early launches global LTE subscriptions reached nearly 130 Million in Q4'2013. From an operator viewpoint U.S. operators dominate the market with a 37% market share thanks to the tremendous coverage footprint of tier 1 operators Verizon Wireless & AT&T. The market share of U.S. operators is followed by Japanese and Korean operators NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, SoftBank, LG Uplus, SK Telecom and KT which represent 38% of all LTE subscriptions worldwide. Going forward, the LTE market is set to grow at a CAGR of 56% over the next 7 years and will eventually represent more than 20% of all mobile connections by 2020. From an infrastructure manufacturer perspective Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-Lucent are leading the market and account for a combined market share of 85% of all LTE contracts. Ericsson is also leading the market from a technology neutral perspective with a 24% stake in all global 2G/3G/4G contracts.

Covering over 810 operators, 53 infrastructure vendors and 222 countries worldwide the "2G/3G/4G Subscriptions, Deployments and Infrastructure Contracts Database Q4'2013" tracks global cellular network deployments, infrastructure vendor contracts, and subscriptions by technology, data protocol, category (pre-paid, post paid), region, country, and operator.

The report includes: • Infrastructure contracts by technology, data protocol, region, country, vendor and operator • Infrastructure market share by equipment type, region, country and vendor • Network deployments by technology, data protocol, region, country and operator. • Number of cellular network subscriptions (as of Q4'2013) by air interface technology, data protocol, region, country and operator • Five-year subscriptions forecasts by air interface technology, data protocol, region, country and operator • Subscriptions market share data by air interface technology, data protocol, region, country and operator. • Penetration data by region and country • Population data by region and country

source: www.sacbee.com

vodacom must withdraw 3G speed chain

Vodacom has to withdraw claims that it has South Africa’s “fastest” and “widest” 3G network as these have not been substantiated and are therefore in breach of the code of advertising practice.

These are the findings of the Advertising Standards Authority, which has instructed Vodacom to desist from making the claims until it is able to verify them “unequivocally”. The rulings follow complaints by rival MTN.

A third complaint against Vodacom by MTN — protesting against Vodacom’s claim that it has the “fastest network for smartphones” — was not upheld. The authority found that this claim by Vodacom was substantiated.

In a complaint dated 7 November, Webber Wentzel attorneys, on behalf of MTN, lodged a complaint against a Vodacom television advertisement that includes a voice-over that claims Vodacom has the “fastest 3G network” and the “widest 3G network”.

MTN argued that although there could be regions in South Africa where Vodacom has the fastest 3G speeds, this is not necessarily true for the country in general. According to MTN, tests done by Ericsson, using Ookla, showed that in Gauteng MTN had faster 3G downlink and throughput speeds than Vodacom in certain periods.

In the Western Cape, MTN was faster than Vodacom during January 2013, and had been faster since August 2013 to the end of the reflected period. In KwaZulu-Natal, MTN outperformed Vodacom during November 2012, and was on par with Vodacom during February 2013. MTN also had lower latency in many instances.

The Advertising Standards Authority said that MTN went to great lengths to explain why and how speed tests and results can be manipulated, and why Vodacom would not be able to substantiate its claim of having the fastest 3G network in general.

Vodacom, through ad agency Ireland-Davenport, argued, among other things, that the nature of the Ookla tests ensures that any variable that could affect the test results is inherently included. “MTN is incorrect in alleging that ‘too many variables are at play’,” it said. “In addition, the magnitude and nature of Ookla tests negate any possible attempt at manipulation. Finally, the Ookla results are derived from random sampling as well, which further negates any effort to manipulate the results in the manner that MTN suggests.”

Vodacom said MTN “appears to dismiss of the legitimacy of the Ookla data, while at the same time it uses the same Ookla data in support of its complaint”.

source: www.techcentral.co 

connect to learn partners connect 3 millenium schools

Airtel is helping Connect To Learn, a global education initiative of the Earth Institute, Ericsson and Millennium Promise, to provide mobile broadband connectivity to three new schools under the authority of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in Ghana. This is a first step in an ambitious plan to provide mobile broadband connectivity to some 50 new schools being built by AMA. This project is part of Airtel’s ongoing support for Connect To Learn   which uses Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to help improve the quality of learning in secondary education across schools in Africa. Ericsson will provide access to its cloud-based solutions developed to support the global Connect To Learn initiative. Ericsson will also provide 3G routers as well as a minimum of 150 netbooks to be distributed among the three schools. Ericsson employees will also work hand-in-hand with teachers in the schools as part of a professional development program to improve their ability to use ICT in the classroom.

source: www.spyghana.com

broadband vital for new sustainable development

Broadband infrastructure, applications and services have become critical to driving growth, delivering social services, improving environmental management, and transforming people’s lives, according to a new Manifesto released this week by the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and signed by 48 members of the Commission, along with other prominent figures from industry, civil society and the UN family.

“Overcoming the digital divide makes sense not only on the basis of principles of fairness and justice; connecting the world makes sound commercial sense,” the Manifesto reads. “The vital role of broadband needs to be acknowledged at the core of any post-2015 sustainable development framework, to ensure that all countries – developed and developing alike – are empowered to participate in the global digital economy.”

Signatories to the Manifesto include Commission Co-Chairs President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and business magnate Carlos Slim, co-Vice Chairs Dr Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU Secretary-General, and Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, along with prominent members of the Commission including European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes, business leaders including Anne Bouverot (Director-General, GSMA), Michel Combes (CEO, Alcatel-Lucent), Sunil Bharti Mittal (CEO, Bharti Airtel), Denis O’Brien (CEO, Digicel), Hans Vestberg (CEO, Ericsson), and Sun Yafang (Chairwoman, Huawei), UN heads of agency including Kathy Calvin (CEO, UN Foundation), Helen Clark (Administrator, UNDP) and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (Executive Director, UN Women), and prominent technology advocates including Academy-Award winning actor Geena Davis, Mo Ibrahim (Chairman, Mo Ibrahim Foundation), Youssou N’Dour (musician and Minister for Tourism & Leisure, Senegal), Jeffrey Sachs (Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General for the Millennium Development Goals & Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University), Muhammad Yunus (Founder, Grameen Bank and Nobel Laureate), and many others.

The Manifesto will be presented at a side event of the 5th session of the United Nations Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, to be held at UN headquarters in New York later today. It follows on the heels of a new report, Transformational Solutions for 2015 and Beyond, which was prepared by a Broadband Commission Task Force and launched at the 8th meeting of the Commission on 21 September 2013.

source: www.biztechafrica.com

Ericcson powers MTN Rwanda mobile money service

MTN Rwanda has deployed its Converged Wallet m-commerce solution. The launch brings easy-to-use, next-generation mobile financial services to MTN Rwanda's subscribers, including mobile phone users that do not have access to traditional banking services. Ericsson is providing the operator with a flexible, reliable and efficient m-commerce solution that includes Ericsson Converged Wallet, systems integration and operational support.

"Optimizing the mobile money experience directly impacts consumer stickiness and with Ericsson Converged Wallet, we can now respond rapidly to requirements from consumers and merchants and provide reliable services. Paying your bill or sending money to family and friends has never been easier" said Pieter Verkade, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer.

Ericsson Converged Wallet enables MTN Rwanda to quickly introduce relevant, new and differentiated mobile wallet end-user services to its mobile money customers. With Ericsson Converged Wallet, MTN can seamlessly launch new offers and bundles that integrate telecom prepaid services with mobile money services.

"Ericsson Converged Wallet helps MTN Rwanda offer the convenience of m-wallet financial services across its entire subscriber base," said Bjorn Engstrom, Head of M-commerce, Ericsson. "This breakthrough deployment is yet another example of MTN's ongoing commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction."

Ericsson has a strategic partnership with MTN Rwanda parent company, MTN Group (JSE: MTN), to ultimately introduce Ericsson Converged Wallet across the operator's footprint. MTN Group has more than thirteen million mobile money subscribers throughout 14 countries in Africa.

"With the new Ericsson Converged Wallet platform, we are looking forward to bringing more innovation into the Rwandan market. We want to continue leading the market in terms of breadth and quality of services. We expect to see a positive impact for both our partner agents and our customers," said Ebenezer Asante, CEO of MTN Rwanda.

source: aalafrica.com

African mobile subscription to hit 930 million in 2016

Indications have emerged that mobile subscription in the Sub-Sahara Africa will hit an all-time high of 930 million by 2019, says Ericsson.

Out of this number,732 million will come from mobile broadband subscription, mostly in 3G, with about 100 million in LTE services.

The Head of the Sub-Saharan Africa region at Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling announced this on Wednesday at the on-going African conference holding in Cape Town, South Africa.

During the period under review, he said that there will be 476 million smartphones and mobile data traffic will grow 17 times by the date stated above.

According to him, mobile banking and social networking will drive demand under the period in review.

He stated that Ericsson had studied about 180 operators across the globe and had identified service enablers, network developers, and service creators as major strategic approaches for data growth.

He said that service providers can team up with the enablers to achieve better results. Service creators, he said should develop their own applications to ease service delivery.

He observed that several operators are going to scramble for subscribers over the next few years as the market gets more competitive.