This was held on 10-13 September in Durban, South Africa. Akinwale Goodluck, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa and Jean-Francois le Bihan, Public Policy Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Government and Regulatory Affairs represented the GSMA at the event.
Mr. Goodluck delivered a presentation on ‘Promoting Universal Access; the Spectrum Pricing Perspective and also participated in a panel discussion titled ‘ Wireless technologies for Africa: the opportunity ahead’. The discussion focused on the fact that point-to-multipoint systems with established infrastructure, the newest radio technologies can provide full and instantaneous coverage in rural and remote regions, regardless of difficulties in terrain or climate.
In addition, working in partnership with current networks, technologies such as HTS, non-GSO constellations, HAPS, or unlicensed broadband systems are uniquely positioned to provide integrated services to users throughout Africa, maximizing efficiency, guaranteeing quality of service, mobility and resilience.
Based on these two facts, the panel delved into how these new systems will be used to connect the unconnected throughout the continent, promoting digital inclusion and providing smart services and also what are the technical, regulatory and policy challenges are in the region, the main players, partnerships that are proving successful, and how the wireless future will develop in Africa.
It was a busy week of debates, networking, exhibitions and many learnings. More than 3100 participants from 94 countries were present at the event, which brought together a great line-up of high-level government representatives, influential industry leaders – from established players to small- and medium-sized enterprises and from emerging and developed markets alike.