Wireless in Africa – Survival of the fittest

There is a lot of activity going on across Africa to build fibre infrastructure to link to the undersea cables on the east and west coasts. The rule of thumb is that wireless infrastructure is initially deployed as the primary data connectivity medium until fibre is laid in an area, which can sometimes take years.

In extreme cases, wireless will continue to be the primary connectivity medium, and in other cases once fibre is laid it becomes the secondary, failover solution. But whichever the case, the wireless infrastructure continues to play a significant role in Africa.

Wireless connections to undersea cables

Undersea cables provide such huge capacity that ISPs across Africa are being forced to upgrade their wireless infrastructure to carry this through to their customers. This means increasing their spectrum requirements, and many cannot afford to do this. As a result a lot of smaller ISPs are being acquired by the larger players that have the spectrum.

Funding is another obstacle ISPs and telcos are facing in African markets, because the local banks do not have the resources to provide them with finance. So the only way to fund projects is to partner with an international investment company or make arrangements with suppliers to defer payment for the equipment they need to purchase.

Deep understanding of the local environment

Building any form of telecommunication infrastructure in Africa requires flexibility and a deep understanding of the local environment. For example, in Angola equipment has to be flown in because bridges have not been rebuilt since they were destroyed during the civil war. It is impossible to get from one end of Angola to another except by air, which can sometimes involve crossing borders in and out of the country several times.

The ability to build relationships with local partners and in some cases local government to get insight into the areas is also crucial. In some countries spectrum regulations do not comply with the guidelines set down by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). This means implementing wireless solutions that fit in with the spectrum allocations of specific countries.

It is also no good assuming that available spectrum is unlicensed because it says so in the ITU guidelines and finding out after the solution is implemented that it requires a license in that particular country.

Flexibility the name of the game

It sometimes happens that the spectrum allocated for a specific use is not ideal for the requirement, but there is no other choice. In addition, the policing of spectrum frequencies to reduce interference is not as efficient as it is in South Africa. Where this is the case, unlicensed spectrum is sometimes a better option because the equipment is designed to cope with a certain amount of interference whereas equipment for licensed frequencies is more sensitive.

Almost all connectivity infrastructure deployments in other parts of Africa require tailored power supply solutions. This might involve solar panels, generators, or wind turbines or a combination of these, depending on the solution, the location, the available space on the base station or high site being used, and weather conditions. Solar panels, for example, are not ideal in some tropical regions where there is a lot of rainfall. 

Physical access is generally a challenge across the rest of the continent, especially when transporting the equipment needed to implement any telecommunication solution. In Sierra Leone, for example, equipment has to be flown in to Lungi Airport and then taken across a small stretch of water to get to the capital, Freetown, which is only a few kilometers away as the crow flies.

Customs clearance is another issue, because tariffs vary from country to country, and different officials interpret the tariff codes on equipment documentation differently. This could have a significant impact on the duties that are payable and in some cases has been known to increase the cost of projects by as much as 50%.

 

Moral of the story? When doing business in Africa you need to know your environment because it truly is survival of the fittest, and if you don’t know what makes you fit, your revenue will be at risk.