The document discusses third generation infrastructure sharing and the opportunities it presents for network operators in Africa. It addresses challenges around high infrastructure costs that have hindered broadband expansion. New infrastructure sharing models allowing multiple operators on single networks could help drive down costs and accelerate fiber rollout across the continent, helping connect more people and supporting economic growth. Regulatory frameworks need to incentivize cooperation between competitors to realize these benefits.
First generation Infrastructure: party lines, open copper over the air lines, telegraph and telephony lines. These were times of PTT or national monopoly where voice calls were the dominant service. Theses included microwave links, earth stations, telephone exchange (manual, automatic and digital). No UMTS mobile communications at all. This is the era where satellite provides we're owned by PTT. This is the era before privatization of Intelsat or Inmarsat and Eutelsat.
Second generation infrastructure: these are spectrum based such mobile communications networks, wifi, LMDS, mainly build by mobile operators. This is the infrastructure purely build as mobile wireless network. Each operator build its own mobile infrastructure. This is the period of privatized PTT, where competition was heating up. Infrastructure competition was common in other markets. (2to 4 mobile operators and more than one fixed operator)
Third generation infrastructure: these are high speed Optic Fiber networks combined with spectrum based technologies such as LTE, 802.11AC and AD. This is the infrastructure build as hybrid between wireless and optic fiber. This is the infrastructure for internet of things. It will connect sensors, this infrastructure connects Data Centre, it will drive big data. More sophisticated services, OTT players, internet e-commerce, mobile money etc. This is the beginning or phase one of FTTH. This is the era of infrastructure sharing.
Supply and demand of domain names environment:- Also we need to have a slide about domain name infrastructure:- there is no need to "drip feed" the internet community with domain names. Internet of things will be different to the current internet
Show picture of different infrastructure (Satellite, Optic Fiber, Wireless-electro magnetic frequency spectrum link, Data Center) each of these infrastructure will be shared.
Technologies in this third generation infrastructure:- Software Defined Networks (SDN) Content Delivery Networks (CDN) Software Defined Radio (SDR) Cloud enabled Networking (CEN) Network as a service (NaaS) These technologies allow for scalability of networks and that many tenants can share a network where software can manage differentiation between each of the networks.
) Size of Africa<> land mass= see the map with other countries. What this means is that linear infrastructure (Optic Fiber, Gas pipeline,etc) between cities or between urban and rural or within cities will be very long. Power or electricity availability between cities limited therefor imagine each Optic Fiber will have its own power. African countries not having access to the ocean are 16. Poor road infrastructure. Linear infrastructure priced per linear distance example "fiber deployment per Kilometer" taking into consideration the following factors: type of soil e.g. Clay, granite, sand, normal soil, gravel. These types can change the price per kilometer by a big factor.
3rd generationAfrican realities2) Africa environment ie terrain – power supply, services infrastructure
Economic issues: investment to high to justify. Capital not in abundance. Need to think about ROI. On the other side:- URPU low, OTT players "cream skimming" <^>cost of ownership. The world economy today. Limited resources, global debt, GDP growth,
Environmental issues: long (linear infrastructure) distances, no energy or power, limited servitude, African terrain. Environmental issues: long (linear infrastructure) distances, no energy or power, limited servitude, African terrain.
(1) Economic issues: investment to high to justify. Capital not in abundance. Need to think about ROI. On the other side:- URPU low, OTT players "cream skimming" <^>cost of ownership. The world economy today. Limited resources, global debt, GDP growth, (2) Environmental issues: long (linear infrastructure) distances, no energy or power, limited servitude, African terrain. (3) Technology issues:-Software defined networks) Cell structure in 4G limited in size because of frequency design. Price of Poly-Silicon is still high at $25/Kg. Expect it to be below $10 per Kg. Solar panels still expensive. Spectrum availability. Future internet of things, sensors network. Big Data and Analytics. World population and internet traffic. Utility computing. Content delivery Networks CDN, peering points POPs or internet exchange points. We have to share space resources such as Orbital Slots because they are (4) Energy availability in Africa.:- from a device:- (see pictures of feature and smartphones) to energy requirements per 2 to 5 kilometers of Optic Fiber linear infrastructure. Base station = 2,7 Kilowatt Types of energy source:- grid, solar, wind, battery, fossil fuel generator, all these are used yo power the base station or repeater site. (5) Competition landscape:- too many operators and limited natural resource. First come first serve model in Orbital Slots because they are finite. Same as space based frequencies.
(1) Economic issues: investment to high to justify. Capital not in abundance. Need to think about ROI. On the other side:- URPU low, OTT players "cream skimming" <^>cost of ownership. The world economy today. Limited resources, global debt, GDP growth, (2) Environmental issues: long (linear infrastructure) distances, no energy or power, limited servitude, African terrain. (3) Technology issues:-Software defined networks) Cell structure in 4G limited in size because of frequency design. Price of Poly-Silicon is still high at $25/Kg. Expect it to be below $10 per Kg. Solar panels still expensive. Spectrum availability. Future internet of things, sensors network. Big Data and Analytics. World population and internet traffic. Utility computing. Content delivery Networks CDN, peering points POPs or internet exchange points. We have to share space resources such as Orbital Slots because they are (4) Energy availability in Africa.:- from a device:- (see pictures of feature and smartphones) to energy requirements per 2 to 5 kilometers of Optic Fiber linear infrastructure. Base station = 2,7 Kilowatt Types of energy source:- grid, solar, wind, battery, fossil fuel generator, all these are used yo power the base station or repeater site. (5) Competition landscape:- too many operators and limited natural resource. First come first serve model in Orbital Slots because they are finite. Same as space based frequencies.
Writing policies, regulations and legislation should take into account the above: We cannot regulate as if are 1st generation infrastructure or even second generation. Legislation must be written in such a way to encourage the third generation infrastructure environment. In fact we need enabling environment.