The Future of Wireless Communications in Africa

Abstract

Africa remains the least wired continent in the world in terms of robust telecommunications infrastructure and systems to cater for its more than one billion people. Based on the ICT Development Index (IDI) of all countries in Africa, as reported in the ITU 2010 report (Measuring the information Society), Africa is still at an early state of ICT development as verified by the relatively low IDI values of all countries in the African region. In developing nations, where Africa squarely belongs; mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration between 2000-2009 was increasingly more popular than fixed broadband subscriptions. To achieve the goal of universal access, this paper examines and identifies the growing need for wireless communications (Communication Satellites, CDMA, GSM, WIFI, LTE, WIMAX, Radio Links etc) in Africa which is the cornerstone for rapid implementation of ICT infrastructure to complement the sparsely distributed terrestrial networks in the hinterlands. Also discussed and examined are the needs for: regional and cross border connectivity, existing regional infrastructure, the competitive advantage of communication satellites and terrestrial wireless network systems, challenges and limitations including ways of overcoming them.