LTE leads the way to 5G and an all-connected, intelligent future for African carriers
After the Non-Standalone (NSA) version of the 5G standard was approved by 3GPP, the body responsible for setting the 5G industry standard, in December 2017, the much talked about new generation network became more real. In recent months there have been tangible developments pointing to a commercial launch in the near future.
In Europe, France announced its 5G roadmap and Switzerland called 5G spectrum auction for January 2019. In South Africa, Vodacom and MTN signed memoranda of understanding with vendors to trial 5G.
How far towards 5G for Africa?
In Sub-Saharan Africa 110 million people are still unconnected, according to the GSMA. In many African countries 2G technology has just reached maturity in terms of coverage and capacity. Mobile broadband penetration in South Africa, which is by far the most advanced African market is 50%, in Nigeria it’s 36%.
The latest Ericsson Mobility Report shows that Middle East and Africa is one of the regions with the least subscriptions for 5G by 2023, that’s less than 5% of the continents entire population. The report estimates by 2023, WCDMA/HSPA (3G) will still be the dominant radio access technology, representing 47% of all subscriptions.
Huawei market intelligence shows that in most of African countries, LTE (4G) penetration rates are less than 30%. If this is the rate of ICT development, 5G is not as close for Africa as it is for more developed markets like China, Japan, South Korea, US and the UK.
MTN, Africa’s largest mobile network operator, shared similar views on the timing of 5G, saying the first practical uses in Africa will begin only after International Telecoms Union (ITU) regulations are in place starting from 2020 onwards; Telkom said the commercial case for 5G is still a few years away.
Healthy environment for development of Mobile Broadband
In order for the commercial deployment of 5G to be successful and sustainable, spectrum availability, regulatory support and a healthy industry eco-system needs to be in place.
Consumers must also be encouraged to adopt 5G devices said David Chen, Vice President of Carrier Business Group, Huawei Southern Africa Region. But in Africa smartphone use is very low mainly because of cost. In South Africa, which has the highest rate of connectivity in Sub-Sarah, only 34% of mobile subscribers are using smartphones.
To increase smartphone use and advance mobile broadband development, network operators need to offer affordable smartphones coupled an innovative business model. “This will benefit consumers and carriers who will see an increase in revenue from data services,” Chen adds.
“Good network coverage and improved user experience together with affordable data prices are all important factors to create a healthy environment to accelerate the development of 3G/4G based mobile broadband, while waiting for 5G.” said Chen.
Gigabit LTE, a must in the 5G Era
LTE is key for African carriers to build a future-oriented network to embrace the 5G future. “This, together with innovative business models and practices will lay a solid foundation for a successful 5G offering and meet increasing customer demands for content and speed.
In February 2018, Huawei unveiled its end-to-end (E2E) 3GPP-compliant 5G product solutions, ranging from core network, the bearer network, to full-scenario 5G wireless product and terminals, following the announcement by 3GPP of the completion of 5G NR standardisation Phase 1 (NSA NR) in December 2017.
Most global operators who have announced their intention to deploy 5G, prefer to start with Non-Standalone (NSA) based 5G architecture where the 5G radio base station is anchored on LTE. “In this mode, 5G still uses LTE core network,” said Chen.
NSA-based 5G deployment not only allows operators to smoothly evolve to 5G, but also ensures a good user experience when customers are out of 5G coverage and in Gigabit LTE network coverage.
Improving LTE-based mobile broadband networks, both in terms of coverage and capacity with technologies such as adding spectrum, multi-sectors, MIMO, carrier aggregation and scenario-based site solutions such as Huawei’s TubeStar, Pole Star, and RuralStar, can help customers enjoy a better mobile broadband service experience.
“Building a good LTE network is a crucial step on the road to 5G. This must be supported by a healthy ecosystem of affordable smartphones, competitive tariffs and a rich content offering.” concludes Chen.
For more information, visit the Huawei website.
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