communications africa issue 4 2014

Afrique

Issue 4 2014Édition 4 2014

FibreCollaborative approaches to

international connectivity

DataEnterprise systems to create

commercial values

RadioTransforming Southern Africa’s

broadcasters with digital streaming

MarketingDes idées sur les sites web, et du

développement commercial

Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

Supporting ISPs in East Africa with low-cost, high-speed technologies

Africawww.communicationsafrica.com

FEATURES: ● Internet ● Mobile ● InfrastructureREGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda ● Equipment - Équipement

CAF 4 2014 Cover_Layout 1 27/06/2014 15:41

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S01 CAF 4 2014 - Start_Layout 1 7/1/2014 9:59 AM

Afrique

Issue 4 2014Édition 4 2014

FibreCollaborative approaches to

international connectivity

DataEnterprise systems to create

commercial values

RadioTransforming Southern Africa’s

broadcasters with digital streaming

MarketingDes idées sur les sites web, et du

développement commercial

Europe m15 - Kenya KSH300 - Nigeria N400 - South Africa R20 - UK £10 - USA $16.50

Supporting ISPs in East Africa with low-cost, high-speed technologies

Africawww.communicationsafrica.com

FEATURES: ● Internet ● Mobile ● InfrastructureREGULAR REPORTS: ● Bulletin - Agenda ● Equipment - Équipement

A note from the EditorTHIS ISSUE OF CommunicationsAfrica/Afrique is centred around access toadvanced mobile broadband and thededicated provision of superiortelecommunications services. So, frompages 16 and 18, there is analysis of dataconnection and revenue opportunities,with an assessments of backhaulinfrastructure on page 20. Cybersecurityis an increasing concern, and this isaddressed on page 22. Capacitymanagement and facilities and strategiesto gain and retain customer loyaltyarerepresented on pages 24 and 28. Digitalradio broadcasting is also covered,w ithtop-level initiatives aimed at improvingcommercial viability in emerging markets.

Main Cover Image: EricssonInset: VoloContents Page Image: MKH Marketing

Une note du rédacteur

CETTE ÉDITION DE Communications

Africa/Afrique représentel'explosion des menaces sur mobileset les réseaux sociaux, et l'évolutiondans le comportement descybercriminels. Il y a aussi unarticle sur le développementcommercial des entreprises et lesidées courantes sur les sites web

Bulletin 4

Events 8

Agenda 10

Equipment 32

FEATURES

Broadband 16The social and economic benefits of increased mobile broadband deployment; and the value to enterprise ofcustomer data gains from broadband connections

Backhaul 20How local wireless infrastructure markets are maturing, and why they can be expected evolve into centralised, large-scale open access and national networks

Data 22Debating the attributes of the African Union’s stance on cybersecurity agains the risk to privacy and media freedoms

Fibre 24Wholesale capacity for flexible market access and service delivery, to serve new network growth

Contact Centres 28Multi-channel strategies that are geared towards greater customer satisfaction and retention

Broadcast 30New movement in digital radio broadcasting, as advanced solutions become more affordable to emerging market players

ARTICLES

Cybersécurité 19L’augmentation des violations de données à grande échelle et des attaques ciblées montre une sophisticationcroissante des menaces envers les entreprises et les particuliers

Internet 28Des idées fausses courantes sur les sites web, et le développement commercial des entreprise

CONTENTS

Editor: Andrew Croft - [email protected]

Editorial and Design team: Bob Adams, Prashant AP, Hiriyti Bairu, Ranganath GS, Rhonita Patnaik, Zsa Tebbit, Nicky Valsamakis and Ben Watts

Production: Nathanielle Kumar, Donatella Moranelli, Nick Salt and Sophia White Email: [email protected]

Publisher: Nick Fordham

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Magazine Sales Manager: Steve Thomas - Tel: +44 (0) 20 7834 7676, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7973 0076, Email: [email protected]

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Serving the world of business

Communications Africa Issue 4 2014 3


Communications Africa Issue 4 20144

BULLETIN

Volo helps ISPs delivering high-speed Internet accessfor the next billionA NEW FOR-PROFIT start-up, Volo, isaccelerating high-qualitybroadband Internet access inemerging markets, utilising years offield experience to offer a cloud-based automation platform forInternet service providers (ISPs) todeploy fixed wireless broadbandservices using radically low-costlast-mile Wi-Fi networkingtechnologies; Volo investor andtelecom entrepreneur Jim Forsterexplained, “Volo is enabling ISPs touse radically lower costtechnologies to deliver high-speed fixed broadband, especially for smalland medium enterprises, complementing mobile broadband forconsumers.”

MTN selects CSG for comprehensive managedservices programmeCSG INTERNATIONAL, WHICH provides interactive transaction-drivensolutions and services, has been chosen by MTN, one of the largestcommunication service providers inthe world, for a long-term managedservices engagement that willenable MTN South Africa to simplifyand streamline its operations andfocus its resources on core businesslines; under the terms of themultiyear agreement, CSG willprovide end-to-end management ofthe MTN wholesale billing andbusiness services platform -including the management of avariety of complex solutions, fromCSG products and services such asCSG Singleview, CSG Route, andCSG Interconnect, to home-grownMTN tools and systems from otherthird-party providers.

Presenting a roadmap to new digital experiences andbusiness opportunitiesTHE PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME at the 2014 NFC World Congress, set tobe held in Marseille, France, 22-24 Septembe, addresses issues rangingfrom retail operations to smart cities to m-wallets and wearables, withparticular coverage of the wholesale changes happening in the way weshop, spend money, travel, play, and connect. Aaround 60 speakers arescheduled in 15 thematic sessions over three days to discuss “mobileproximity”, the new ways consumers interact with the digital world usingmobile proximity services to change behaviours and to challengestakeholders - including mobile operators, banks, service providers andother verticals - to renew their business models around smart phonesand smart connected devices.

Nokia buys Mesaplexx to improve compact radiosystems specialismMOBILE BROADBAND FIRM Nokia has recently completed the acquisitionof the Australian company Mesaplexx Pty Ltd in order to boost its radiocapabilities in the networks business, to exploit Mesaplexx’s know-howin developing compact, high performance radio frequency (RF) filtertechnology for the mobile industry; Nokia is continually improving its

radio systems whilst making them smaller, lighter and more efficient,with the Nokia Flexi family of radio access base stations offeringsolutions that balance energy efficiency, power output and form factor.

MEF shows that the majority of the world’s mobilemedia users are downloading applicationsA GLOBAL COMMUNITY for mobile content andcommerce, MEF has released the final reportin its Global Consumer Insights Series,presenting data and analysis based onsurveys of 10,000 respondents in 13countries, including Kenya, examining trendsin the global app economy; RimmaPerelmuter, CEO of MEF, commented, “MEF’sApp Economy report highlights growth acrossall categories and engagement in growthmarkets that will continue to drive adoptionworldwide to deliver new opportunitiesacross new verticals such as money,education, health and productivity.”

Bango and Etisalat commit to operator billingpartnershipMOBILE PAYMENTS SPECIALIST Bango and telecoms firm Etisalat Grouphave entered into a partnership to deploy direct operator billing (DOB)across Etisalat’s markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa; Etisalat isthe first operator to offer DOB for Google Play users in the Middle East,where subscribers can now enjoy frictionless one-click paymentpowered by Bango, paying on their phone bill, without the need toregister personal details.

Tigo, Airtel and Zantel to enable mobile moneypayments between customers in TanzaniaA PIONEERING AGREEMENTbetween Tigo, Airtel and Zantelallows the operators’ customers inTanzania to send money to eachother whether using Tigo Pesa,Airtel Money or EzyPesa on theirmobile handsets; Diego Gutierrez,Tigo’s general manager forTanzania, commented, “Just as weco-operate with our competitors onvoice calls and text to help ourcustomers, so we hope to be able to do the same with mobile money andhelp make Tanzania a global pioneer in digital financial inclusion.”

Mobile internet usage to increase at twice the globalrate in five years in Sub-Saharan AfricaACCORDING TO ERICSSON, the scale of Sub-Saharan Africa’s

ongoing data revolution withtraffic growth has doubled inthe past year, with rapid growthset to continue; its June 2014Sub-Saharan Africa EricssonMobility Report indicates that,in 2014 phone users accessed76,000 TB (terabyte) of dataper month, double the 2013figure of 37,500 TB per month,with 2015 figures expected tobe double again with mobilephone users accessing 147,000TB per month.

Volo’s first customer will launch anew ISP in Northern Uganda toprovide Silicon Valley quality, high-speed broadband service forbusinesses and organizations in andaround Gulu, Uganda


“CSG is proud of its long-standingbusiness partnership with MTNSouth Africa.” - Alam Gill, senior vicepresident of international managedservices at CSG

Tigo Tanzania general managerDiego Gutierrez



BULLETIN

Orange lance un smartphone nouveau en Afrique etau Moyen-OrientAPRÈS LE LANCEMENT très réussi del’Alcatel OneTouch Pixi original d’Orange,qui s’est vendu à près de 250 000exemplaires en 6 mois, Orange a mis àdisposition de ses clients en Afrique et auMoyen-Orient l’un des smartphones lesplus abordables du marché; le smartphoneAlcatel OneTouch Pixi 2 est un smartphoneriche en fonctionnalités à un prixabordable qui permettra auxconsommateurs en Afrique et au Moyen-Orient de bénéficier rapidement desavantages de l’Internet mobile.

« Orange continue à améliorer l’accessibilitéd’Internet pour ses clients en Afrique et au

Moyen-Orient en proposant les meilleurstéléphones et les meilleures tablettes, quiutilisent les réseaux les plus performants,

avec des contenus et des services locaux, letout à des prix abordables pour le plus grandnombre. » - Yves Maitre, Directeur en charge

des objets connectés et des partenariatschez Orange

SkyVision fournit à la Guinée des solutions detélécommunications de haut niveauL'UN DES PLUS importants fournisseurs mondiaux detélécommunications, SkyVision Global Networks Ltd a renforcé lemarché télécom de Guinée grâce à l'inauguration de sesnouveaux services de liaison par fibre optique et sans filSkyVision SkyFibre; le service de SkyVision se connecte via lecâble sous-marin ACE à son réseau IP/MPLS afin d'offrir à sesclients des solutions innovantes en matière de traitement desdonnées et de liaison télécom.

Des accords entre la France et la Tunisie, de larecherche scientifique et de la TICSUR UN PLAN scientifique, la France et la Tunisie va renforcer leséchanges de bonnes pratiques entre incubateurs tunisiens etfrançais pour favoriser la création d'entreprises innovantesissues de la recherche; avec près de 12 000 étudiants tunisiensaccueillis chaque année dans l'enseignement supérieur français,la Tunisie représente la quatrième communauté d'étudiantsétrangers en France.

Autour de Microsoft, et l’acquisition de l’activitéDevices et Services de NokiaL’ACQUISITION DE L’ACTIVITÉ Devices et Services de Nokia a étéapprouvée par les actionnaires de Nokia et par les autorités derégulation gouvernementales du monde entier; Stephen Elop,ancien Président et PDG de Nokia, est devenu Vice-Présidentexécutif de la division Microsoft Devices - et il reportera à SatyaNadella, PDG de Microsoft, comme la tête des activités Devicesincluant les smartphones et tablettes Lumia, les téléphonesNokia, Xbox Hardware, Surface ainsi que les produits etaccessoires Perceptive Pixel (PPI).

La 4e édition du Prix Orange de l’EntrepreneurSocial en AfriqueFORT DU SUCCÈS des trois années passées, Orange lance l’édition2014 du prix Orange de l’Entrepreneur Social en Afrique; cette 4èmeédition s’enrichit d’un prix spécial « Orange Partner » récompensantun projet intégrant une application Orange.

Les compétences numériques en métiers de la santéet l’expérience tunisienneL'UNIVERSITÉ VIRTUELLE DE Tunis et l'association e-OMED ontorganisé le 19 et 20 juin un workshop sur les compétencesnumériques en métiers de la santé; plusieurs conférenciers etexperts étrangers ont animé ce worckshop, qui a portéessentiellement sur les compétences numériques dans le domainede la santé, les modalités d’évaluation des compétencesnumériques, les nouvelles pratiques de lecture numérique pour laformation médicale et L’expérience de l'université tunisienne enmatière d’intégration des TICs.

Une transaction, une nouvelle étape dans la stratégied’optimisation du portefeuille d’actifs d’OrangeDANS LE CADRE de la revue régulière de son portefeuille d’actifs, leGroupe Orange a annoncé qu’il a conclu un accord avec AfricellHolding portant sur la cession de sa participation majoritaire dansOrange Ouganda; la transaction est soumise à l’approbation desautorités compétentes, et elle permettra une continuité dans ledéveloppement de la société en Ouganda.

Orange poursuit sa stratégie de soutien àl’innovation en AfriqueAPRÈS L’INCUBATEUR CTIC au Sénégal et Ebène à l’Ile Maurice,Orange ont annoncé l’ouverture du 1er incubateur au Niger; OrangeNiger et ses partenaires locaux - - ont contribué à la création duCentre Incubateur des PME au Niger (CIPMEN) pour favoriserl’émergence d’entreprises innovantes au Niger.


Premier déploiement NFV du contrôleur radiod’Alcatel-Lucent, pour l’opérateur saoudienMobilyALCATEL-LUCENT ET Mobily Saudi Arabia ont annoncé lepremier déploiement au monde du logiciel de réseau d’accèsradio (RAN, radio access network) virtualisé du portefeuille devirtualisation des fonctions réseau (NFV, Network FunctionVirtualization) d’Alcatel-Lucent, lancé au Mobile WorldCongress 2014.Mobily déploie le contrôleur radio 9771 WCE RNC (WirelessCloud Element Radio Network Controller) d’Alcatel-Lucent pouraccroître la performance, la fiabilité, l’évolutivité et l’efficacitéopérationnelle de ses services. Avec plus de 51 millionsd’abonnés mobiles dans un pays comptant 27,3 millionsd’habitants, le marché des télécommunications d’Arabiesaoudite est l’un des plus concurrentiels du Moyen-Orient.Alaa Malki, directeur technique Ag. Mobile Network de Mobily,a déclaré :

« Notre équipe a travaillé en étroite collaboration avec Alcatel-Lucent pour adopter de nouvelles technologies permettantd’optimiser l’efficacité du réseau, comme le veut notrestratégie, et d’utiliser sa solution de contrôle cloud. Notreclientèle est technologiquement très en pointe et nous devonsrester à l’avant-garde de l’innovation pour lui offrir le niveaud’expérience qu’elle attend. À cet égard, nous avons atteintnotre premier objectif et nous sommes impatients de bénéficierde la performance, de la fiabilité et de l’évolutivité amélioréesdu contrôleur RNC virtualisé. »


S02 CAF 4 2014 - Agenda 01_Layout 1 7/1/2014 10:02 AM

VISIT: WWW.COMWORLDSERIES.COM/NIGERIA Communications Africa Issue 4 2014

AGENDA

8

AUGUST/AOÛT4-8 International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Nicosia, Cyprus iwcmc.org

16-18 Africa Telecoms Fraud, Revenue Assurance & Risk Management Johannesburg, South Africa www.fbrevents.com

SEPTEMBER/SEPTEMBRE10-11 Banking & Mobile Money COMESA Nairobi, Kenya www.aitecafrica.com

16-17 NigeriaCom Lagos, Nigeria www.nigeria.comworldseries.com

OCTOBER/OCTOBRE21-23 Broadband World Forum Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.broadbandworldforum.com

22-23 East Africa ICT Summit Nairobi, Kenya www.aitecafrica.com

28-29 FTTH Council Africa Conference Johannesburg, South Africa www.ftthcouncilafrica-conference.com

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE18 TMT World Congress London, UK www.tmtfinance.com

Events/Événements 2014


MORE THAN 650 high-level international delegates from the world’sinformation and communication technology (ICT) regulatory authoritiesrecently spent a week in Bahrain, debating the opportunities andchallenges of tomorrow’s increasingly interconnected digitalenvironment.

The world’s largest specialised gathering of ICT policymakers, ITU’s Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR)aims to stimulate debate, knowledge sharing andexchange of best practice among regulators, industryleaders, government policy analysts and other key ICTstakeholders.

Hosted by the Government of Bahrain under thepatronage of Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa binSalman Al Khalifa, the event took place at the Gulf HotelBahrain from 3-5 June. Discussions focused around‘Capitalizing on the Potential of the Digital World’ - andfeatured key topics including Big Data; consumerempowerment; strategies to stimulate ICT marketcompetition and meet growing demand for networkcapacity; emerging digital business models such as OTT and cloudservices; and innovative radio spectrum management trends.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrainpartnered with ITU to host the symposium, which was officially chairedby TRA Chairman Dr Mohammed Ahmed Alamer. At the event,addressing GSR-14 delegates, ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun I.

Touré said the digital ecosystem has re-drawn the business boundariesand paved the way for a wealth of fresh and innovative ideas.

“In this new business landscape, how can we ensure that bothconsumers and businesses benefit from the opportunities of living in a

digital society? How can we respond to their need for asecure, reliable and trustworthy ecosystem, while fosteringa positive investment climate that will ensure we canfinance tomorrow’s infrastructure rollout?” he asked.

Moderating a debate entitled ‘RedefiningResponsibilities in a Data-Driven Digital World’, BrahimaSanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication DevelopmentBureau (BDT), which organises the symposium every yearas a service to ITU’s public and private sector members,said, “Users today increasingly have to deal with newissues brought about by new technologies, new devices,new online services and applications which affectconsumer behaviour. In a globalised, interconnected andincreasingly complex environment, consumer educationand empowerment are critical for users to fully benefit from

the potential of the digital world.”This year’s symposium comes at a time of enormous transition for

the ICT sector. Sharp increases in data flows resulting from the rapiddevelopment of new services and applications such as cloudcomputing, coupled with always-on, ubiquitous ICT networks, arechallenging traditional regulatory approaches.

Brahima Sanou, Director ofITU’s TelecommunicationDevelopment Bureau (BDT)

Bahrain welcomes top tech policy makers at UN regulatory gathering

ELEARNING AFRICA, THE 9th InternationalConference on ICT for Development, Educationand Training, took place in Kampala, Uganda,at the end of May 2014. The conferencegathered ICT practitioners and professionalsfrom all over the world coming together to teachand learn more about technologies forcommunciation and information. The goal ofeLearning Africa was to share ICT knowledgeand expertise in order to enhance the use oftechnology across education, business, andgovernment in Africa.

Userful, along with HP, attended the event toexhibit its multiplatform desktop virtualisationsoftware - a flexible, high performance, low-cost solution. Userful Multiplatform 7.1, thenewest version of the software, provides analternative solution to the traditional and costlyone PC per seat solution by powering multipledesktops, digital signs, and even video wallswith just one PC. Schools and servicesbusinesses can take advantage of the solutionand its many options to drastically reducecomputing costs and provide the best possible

computing experience. In several Africancountries, including Uganda, Cameroon, andKenya, many schools and businesses arealready working with Userful and HP on largeprojects. The goal is to deploy more computerswith excellent value and low cost in order tobridge the digital divide and provide citizenswith ICT tools and skills. One of the mostsuccessful projects that has recently launchedhas been with the Uganda CommunicationsCommission and the Uganda Ministry ofEducation.

Userful features new desktop virtualisation solution with HP at eLearning Africa in Kampala

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SATELLITE AND FIBRE-BASEDconnectivity services providerGilat Satcom has committedadditional investment into itsbroadband network in EastAfrica with the establishmentof a new point of presence(PoP) in Dar Es Salaam,Tanzania. The PoP isconnected to both the EasternAfrica Submarine CableSystem (EASSy) and SEACOMundersea cables, which enableGilat Satcom to provideadvanced services such asmultiprotocol label switching(MPLS) with full redundancy.

Gilat Satcom has a growingrange of fibre routes in coastaland landlocked Africa andprovides telecommunicationscompanies, Internet serviceproviders (ISPs), governmentsand businesses with fast andreliable broadband connectivity at a highlycompetitive price. Gilat Satcom is amongst the firstcompanies in Africa to offer both non-stop East toWest coast-to-coast and international connectivity.

Its MPLS network connects tothe West Africa Cable System(WACS) as well as EASSy andSEACOM via fibre local loopsacross Tanzania, Zambia,Malawi, Namibia andMozambique. In addition, GilatSatcom’s pan-Africa satellitefootprint allows its MPLSnetwork to reach the mostremote areas of the continent.

The new PoP wasestablished to answer growingdemand from current and newcustomers in East Africa toimprove domestic andinternational broadbandconnectivity. Dan Zajicek, CEOof Gilat Satcom, said, “Wecontinue to invest heavily inexpanding our operations inAfrica on fibre to providecomplete MPLS services withfull redundancy. Our customer

base is expanding rapidly because we have areputation for providing reliable high-qualityextremely stable broadband services withexcellent QoS.”


AGENDA

10

ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONALData Corporation (IDC),worldwide IT spending willincrease by 4.1 per cent inconstant currency this year,down from IDC’s previousforecast of 4.6 per cent and alsodown from last year’s growth of4.5 per cent. According to thenew report, IT spending has beenvolatile since the beginning ofthe year, with macroeconomicwild cards including the crisis inUkraine and the slowdown inChina adding to the generalsense of uncertainty whichcontinues to impact businessconfidence and investment.

Aside from macroeconomicwild cards, the other weak spotin the IT market since theprevious quarter has beenslowing growth in mobiledevices (smartphones andtablets), due partly to priceerosion and a more matureinstalled base.

SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONSCOMANY ABS is preparing for amajor business expansion withthe launch of ABS-2A & ABS-3A in2014/2015 and further satellitesto be added to the fleet in thefollowing two years. ABSlaunched its sixth satellite, ABS-2in February 2014, covering 80 percent of the world's populationincluding the emerging marketsof Africa, Asia, Europe, MiddleEast and Russia and theCommonwealth of IndependentStates (CIS). ABS offers acomplete range of solutions tobroadcast, data andtelecommunications servicesproviders, major enterprises andgovernment organisations.

Growth through tech leadershipABS, established in 2006 as AsiaBroadcast Satellite, has grownparticularly rapidly, with anaverage annual revenue growthrate of over 30 per cent during thepast six years. The companyreceived Export-Import Bank’s‘Deal of the Year’ award in April

2014. This was a result of ABS'purchase of three satellites builtby Space Systems/Loral andBoeing Satellite Systems, as wellas two space launches providedby SpaceX.

ABS' established reputationas a technological leader wasfurther strengthened followingthe order for two all-electricsatellites from Boeing SatelliteSystems in March 2012. Thesetwo satellites will be the first all-electric types in the world toenter service, with the launch ofABS-2A & ABS-3A intogeostationary orbit in late 2014and 2015.

"By providing technologicallyadvanced and cost-effectivesolutions designed to offer ourcustomers the best possiblevalue, ABS has rapidlyestablished itself as a reliableand trusted partner to aprestigious list of globalcustomers and is now wellpositioned for major globalexpansion," said Tom Choi, CEOof ABS.

Dan Zajicek, CEO of Gilat Satcom

ABS embarks on major expansion to complementsatellite launches

An independent data, voice and IP provider, operating in eastern, centraland southern Africa, Liquid Telecom has completed the build of the EastAfrica Fibre Ring - connecting Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania andback into Kenya, and creating the first fully redundant regional fibre ring,connecting these countries to each other and the rest of the world.The East Africa Fibre Ring ensures that Liquid Telecom customers will notbe affected by fibre cuts, which have blighted users in Burundi, DRC,Uganda, and Rwanda up to now. Network outages will no longer causelong periods of down-time when businesses cannot connect to theinternet.For the first time, in the event of a fibre cut, internet traffic isautomatically and instantly re-routed around the ring, giving consistentlyhigh speeds and continuous uptime for businesses and their customers,ensuring business continuity across the region.The new East Africa Fibre Ring ensures more reliability and security ofdata connectivity, internet and business services than has ever beenavailable, with Liquid Telecom showing measurable serviceimprovements and superior SLAs to businesses.Nic Rudnick, chief executive officer of the Liquid Telecom Group, said,“This is a historic service improvement for the people and businesses ofeast Africa, especially those in Rwanda, DRC, Burundi and Uganda, whowill not have experienced such reliable internet previously. Thispioneering achievement will add value to east African businesses andenable online trade within the East African community and globally, withreliable connectivity comparable to anywhere else in the world.”

This is an historic development forbusinesses in East Africa as the new regional

fibre ring improves Internet resilience withpreviously unavailable routing options

IT spending to slowGilat Satcom expands fibre network with new Tanzanian PoP

Liquid Telecom completes East Africa Fibre Ring,increasing Internet reliability in the region



VODACOM DRC HAS opted to use theCampaign Management Platform andManaged Marketing Operations servicesdeveloped by real-time contextualcustomer marketing software andmanaged services provider EmagineInternational, to execute contextualmarketing campaigns. For Emagine, thiswin represents the second Vodacom Groupcontract, following the success of its long-term engagement with Vodacom SouthAfrica.

Emagine places heavy emphasis oncustomer satisfaction, aiming to deliverinsights, operational excellence andincremental revenue. This has translatedinto consistent delivery of results forVodacom combined with operationalexcellence and a substantial increase innet incremental revenue.

Emagine’s Campaign ManagementPlatform, a comprehensive real-timesolution designed specifically fortelecommunications operators, will deliverenhanced value to Vodacom DRCsubscribers via smart analytics andpersonalised multi-channel marketingcommunications. For operators, it lowers

customer churn rates and stimulatesadditional incremental revenue, movingbeyond pure acquisition and revenuegeneration campaigns to ensure themanagement of the existing customer basevalue together with the easy execution ofup-sell, cross-sell and retention strategies.

Emagine’s onsite Managed MarketingOperations service integrates Emagine’sCustomer Value Management expertsdirectly into Vodacom DRC’s marketingteam, allowing the operator to combineEmagine’s global marketing best practiceand technology expertise with their ownknowledge of their customers and themarket in the DRC.

The process will integrate seamlesslythroughout Vodacom DRC’s entire network,blending with Vodacom’s strategy ofcomplete Customer Value Management

across every aspect of their business. Thisunique combination of Emagine’s platformand people will ensure maximum ROI forVodacom DRC on campaigns in theshortest possible timeframe.

“Emagine’s work with Vodacom SouthAfrica has generated impressive results todate,” commented Marco Gagiano,managing executive of customer valuemanagement at Vodacom International.“We are therefore looking forward toexpanding our relationship with Emagineto the DRC. Working with their team ofonsite technical and marketing experts, wewill be able to deliver even more value toour customers in the DRC and we expect tosee the benefits of that internally.”

“Customer satisfaction is hugelyimportant to us and is one of our keydifferentiators. We’re really pleased thatour work with Vodacom South Africa hasresulted in a further contract with theVodacom Group and look forward toworking with Vodacom DRC to yieldeffective campaigns that rapidly generateincreased customer engagement and yieldsustained and significant revenues,” saidDavid Peters, Emagine CEO and founder.


AGENDA

12

A SILICON VALLEY start-up has chosen an unlikely venue in northern Uganda toannounce its global operations - Gulu town has been at the centre of a conflictthat lasted more than twenty years’ until the early 2000s. And the last time Gulufeatured in global news was when the non-governmental organisation InvisibleChildren released the YouTube video Kony 2012 that Time magazine declared wasthe most viral video ever.

Perhaps hoping for the same success levels, Volo has positioned itself in Gulu tolaunch its cloud-based automation platform for Internet Service Providers (ISPs),promising “radically low-cost last-mile Wi-Fi networking technologies” that maymake accessing internet connectivity in Uganda much cheaper than before.

According to Volo founder and chief executive officer, Mark Summer, his companywill not determine Ugandan ISP end prices, but the Volo offerings will give them acompetitive advantage through better pricing.

"By building systems and providing expertise that allow ISPs to use lower costequipment and reduce operational expenses we help ISPs reduce their costs. We arealso working with them as our clients to develop business plans that allow them toreduce end-user subscription costs. Obviously its up to the ISPs to decide on theirown pricing,” Summer said.

Summer added that his company was taking advantage of existing high internetsubscription costs and pricing based on megabytes or connection speeds.

“That has led to ISPs having to compete for a small number of customers whocan afford these prices. Our model allows ISPs to reduce costs but as well to servenew markets that are otherwise economically challenging for them to reach. Thisincreases the market size for service providers and provides better economicsustainability,” he said.

Volo uses a vendor-neutral platform to enable ISPs to deliver connectivitysolutions that the company promises will be faster and cheaper to implementthan existing ones.

According to a McKinsey study of Internet use in Africa, released on the sameday (Friday), price anxiety hinders almost up to 25 per cent of consumers inAfrican countries from accessing the internet. Other reasons the study cited were

affordability and ease of connection. However, according to the study thatsampled 15,000 internet users in 19 cities across 12 African countries, “researchshows that faster browsing is the most requested change among Internet users,as opposed to cheaper access. To deliver this, operators have several options,including…making selected investments to remove bottlenecks in the highest-potential regions, and encouraging the use of data compression and bufferingtechnology to promote higher speeds."

Volo’s positioning for platform potentialVolo investor and telecom entrepreneur, Jim Forster, said the new venture wouldoffer ISPs higher revenue potentials because of higher bandwidth.

“Just like any other business in North America or Europe, businesses in Africaand other emerging markets want to be profitable, and provide the best productsand services to their clients. While much of Africa has some internet access,what’s missing is reliable, fast internet connections so companies can use thehigh bandwidth products that make them more competitive,” he said.

Forster said Volo would enable ISPs to use radically lower cost technologies todeliver high-speed fixed broadband, especially for small and medium enterprises.

Volo promises that its cloud-based platform, yet to be released, will simplifythe manner in which ISPs design and manage fixed wireless networks, set up andprovision services, and serve and bill customers.

The firm plans to serve ISPs in 60 emerging markets ready for massive growthbut lacking critical last-mile infrastructure outside of capital cities. Gulu, thelocation of the launch, is even more strategic for being located on the cusp ofSouthern Sudan and northern Uganda - both vast swathes recovering from yearsof civil war and offering up a burgeoning commercial population.

“Until recently, building infrastructure was expensive and time-consuming,making it hard for ISPs to scale, and leaving businesses in emerging marketsstuck with glacially slow connection speeds,” Summer said.

Simon Kaheru

How Uganda gains from Volo’s new services

Emagine International delivers contextual marketing platform to Vodacom DRC


Emagine’s platform andpeople will ensure maximum

ROI for Vodacom DRC oncampaigns in the shortest

possible timeframe


OPÉRATEUR HÔTELIER MONDIAL dans 92pays, Accor fait un pas supplémentaire danssa révolution digitale et la transformation deses modes de collaboration avec lelancement d’un dispositif de communicationinterne 2.0 associant un intranet nouvellegénération, AccorLive, et un réseau sociald’entreprise AccorLounge, proposé à ses 170000 collaborateurs dans le monde.

Alors que l’expérience digitale est aucœur du parcours client dans les hôtelsAccor, le groupe s’est engagé dans uneévolution culturelle majeure en interne. Fluxd’information ciblés et permanents, partaged’idées, échange et stockage de contenumultimédia, création de communautéscollaboratives, consultation multicanal viaun terminal professionnel ou personnel sontautant de leviers visant à créer de la valeuret à la partager.

Virginie Sido, Directrice de la marquecorporate Accor, RSE & communicationinterne explique : «Collaboratif etpersonnalisable, ce dispositif est

particulièrement remarquable par sonenvergure internationale et son empreinteopérationnelle. Dans les sièges ou leshôtels, en filiale ou franchise, les directeurs,gouvernantes d’étage, réceptionnistes ouchefs de cuisine peuvent accéder à cesnouvelles solutions depuis un ordinateurprofessionnel ou personnel, une tablette ouun mobile. Notre ambition est de permettreau plus grand nombre d’échanger afin defavoriser l’efficacité, le dialogue et lacréativité.»

Avec près de 60% de salariés de moins de35 ans, le Groupe voit grandir la part d’unegénération Y hyper connectée, à larecherche d’une plus grande proximitémanagériale et instantanéité dans lacommunication en entreprise. Grâce à cesnouveaux espaces d’expression et decollaboration, Accor, entend donner à seséquipes qui sont à 90% en contact directavec la clientèle, la possibilité de partagerleur savoir-faire et leur expérience de larelation clientèle pour accroître la

performance hôtelière et la qualité duservice client.

Pour développer cette plateforme, le groupe a bénéficié de l’accompagnement del’entité conseil d’Orange Business Services,depuis l’identification des besoins métiersjusqu’à la conduite du changement auprèsdes collaborateurs, ainsi que de l’expertisede Microsoft. Laurent Idrac, Directeur desSystèmes d'Information du groupe Accor,déclare : « cette nouvelle solution reposesur une architecture hybride inéditeintégrant AccorLive, portail intranet hébergépar Accor sur SharePoint2013 etAccorLounge, réseau social intégré hébergédans le Cloud avec Sharepoint online etOffice365. Ce dispositif présente plusieursavantages majeurs, comme celui de pouvoirse connecter depuis tout type de terminalprofessionnel et personnel, de bénéficierd’un large espace sécurisé de partage et destockage de fichiers et d'une évolutionpermanente des fonctionnalités grâce auCloud. »


AGENDA

14

LES PLUS HAUTES autorités du Maliont exprimé de façon explicite leurdétermination à utiliser les atoutsfondamentaux des TIC, en vue d’enfaire de véritables outils dedéveloppement dans tous lessecteurs, afin de garantir lacroissance démographique et laproductivité économique à travers lepays donc, de l’atteinte des OMD. Maisaujourd’hui, le constat révèle que cestélécommunications/TIC dévient cetobjectif de développement. Des acteset des scènes, à travers notammentdes téléphones mobiles, des réseauxsociaux et internet en général,donnent une mauvaise image del’utilisation faite des outils detélécommunication/TIC.Selon Me Mamadou Gaoussou Diarra,Ministre de la jeunesse et de laconstruction citoyenne, représentantson homologue de l’économienumérique, de l’information et de lacommunication, M MahamadouCamara en déplacement ; la situationactuelle au Mali se traduit par ungrand nombre d’utilisateurs, nonidentifiés, de services prépayés detéléphonie mobile. Environs 20millions de lignes sont en service,avec pour conséquence, desinfractions à la loi commises parcertains de ces utilisateurs, a ditmaitre Diarra.

« Les utilisateurs de téléphone mobilebénéficiant du service internet sontplus de 3 140 120 ; les clefs internet,avec plus de 167 982 utilisateurs, nesont pas absolument identifiées. » a-t-il avancé ; tout en ajoutant que lescybercafés ne disposent d’aucuneprocédure d’ identification formelle. Compte tenu de cette évolution, il estavéré impératif pour l’ état de régulerl’utilisation des services detélécommunications/TIC, afin depouvoir mettre une identité derrièrechaque utilisateur.Il s’ agit pour le département del’économie numérique, del’information et de la communication,de disposer d’un instrument juridique,qui soumet à l’identification des tousles utilisateurs des services detélécommunications/tic. C’ est dans lecadre que l’Autorité Malienne deRégulation desTélécommunications/TIC et desPostes (AMRTP) avec l’ assistance dela Banque mondiale, a organisé unAtelier d’une journée sur "l`identification des abonnés à latéléphonie mobile" au Mali. Lacérémonie d’ouverture a été accueillisous l’égide du Ministère del’économie numérique, del’information et de la communication.

Fousseyni Sanogo

Mettre une identité derrière utilisateurs maliens

LE DIRECTEUR GÉNÉRAL de Microsoft pour l'Afrique, Fernando de Sousa,a indiqué l'importance de l'utilisation des Technologies de l'Informationet de la Communication (TIC) pour créer la richesse et l'emploi,notamment en faveur des jeunes. C'était lors d'une interview accordéeen marge des Assemblées annuelles 2014 de la Banque africaine dedéveloppement (BAD). S'exprimant au sujet du partenariat entreMicrosoft et la BAD, de Sousa a expliqué que les actions menées à cejour concernent notamment les domaines de l'éducation, de la santé etde l'agriculture. Microsoft a suggéré un ensemble de mesures quidevraient être adoptées par les gouvernements africains pourpromouvoir l'utilisation des TIC chez les jeunes sans emploi. A travers cepartenariat, la BAD octroi un appui de 20 millions de dollars dans lestechnologies afin promouvoir l'accès des TIC aux populations africaines.

Les deux institutions développeront plusieurs types d'applicationsélectroniques pour appuyer le renforcement des capacitésinstitutionnelles et des entreprises du secteur privé. L'éducation àdistance et l'amélioration de l'accès aux TIC à travers la distributiond'équipements figurent aussi en bonne place.

Toutefois, de Sousa a estimé qu'il y a encore de nombreux défis àrelever en la matière, car tout nouveau projet a besoin d'une volontépolitique pour atteindre ses objectifs.

Selon le patron de Microsoft, les grands défis auxquels doit faire facel'Afrique, sont entre autres la formulation d'une politique inclusive derégulation du marché et l'élaboration des dispositions légales. « Aunombre des grands défis, il y a que le continent africain fait toujours faceà des pénuries d'électricité et que les infrastructures sont souvent peuadaptées dans certains pays », a déclaré de Sousa.

Pour de Sousa, la mise en œuvre des projets nécessite également lerenforcement des capacités locales. Il faut aussi veiller à ce quel'approche partenariat public-privé soit l'aboutissement de projetsgénérateurs de revenus et créateurs d'emplois.

« L'environnement est favorable pour encourager les jeunes à profiterde ces opportunités technologiques mises à leur disposition. Celacontribuera à réduire les inégalités déplorables dans certains pays àtravers le continent », a déclaré de Sousa.

Accor met ses collaborateurs dans le Cloud

Des TIC créatrices d’emplois pour les jeunes africains



Will Nigeria live up to its potential as leading ICT hub of Africa?

Prepping for better communication

ICT Informa

SOME SAY IT is already there, buthowever you measure it, the factsare compelling. Nigeria is one ofthe fastest growing telecom

markets in the world, complementing thecountry’s recent designation as Africa’slargest economy in GDP terms. The ICTsector has contributed significantly to thisGDP re-calculation; of which telecom issaid to be the fourth largest contributor tothe economy. Since liberalising thetelecom market, huge amounts of foreigninvestment have entered to provide several types of telecom and value-addedservices (VAS).

It is this level of competition that hasseen triple digit growth rates in the mobilespace hold strong for over a decade. Withinthis time, over 63 million Nigerians gotconnected to the Internet.

Challenges still remain however; theInternet and broadband sector is certainlyunderdeveloped compared to the country’sscale of industries and population.Meanwhile, this sector continues to developwith several market players operating undera unified licensing scheme, the country’s 3Gand 4G capabilities along with wirelessbroadband services are receiving a muchdesired boost.

After some significant progress, thequestion now seems to be – how canregulators and multi-stakeholders improveInternet governance and infrastructure rollout to allow this economic growth tocontinue to flourish? There is no silver bulletfor overcoming quality of service issues andinfrastructure challenges. But, there is a

compelling business case to make sure youare present at NigeriaCom 2014, which willtake place at the Lagos Oriental Hotel on 16and 17 September, 2014.

NigeriaCom features many new elementsthis year to support the key developments inthe industry. A high level two-day conferencepays significant attention to the NationalBroadband Plan roll out, new businessstrategies for operators amid the digitalmigration, chief regulatory debates andshowcasing LTE/4G technologies. In

addition, mobile money challenges will betackled by high level speakers from theCentral Bank and financial institutions.

In addition, the CIO Forum — a stream forall Nigerian businesses to learn how totransform into an efficient digitalenterprises, will be presented at the event. Itis a must-attend forum for CIOs, heads oftechnology and ICT leaders at enterprisesand corporations in Nigeria. The forumcovers key discussions from leading CIOsabout how they manage businesses acrossmobile, social, big data and cloud.

Within the exhibition, the Affordable TechHub will be featured, which is a newexperiential showcase of the latesttechnologies and handsets changing themarket for the customer. As a hands-onshowcase of the most innovative andaffordable wireless technologies, there areplenty of handset, software and devicemanufacturers to keep you up-to-date oninfluential tech developments.

Eugene Nyagahene, CEO of Tele10 – apay-tv provider and ISP, has emphasised onthe importance of speedy networks tosupport expansion plans. “The appetite forvideo content on the move is eroding thefixed screen viewership, especially forteenagers.” However, Nyagahene felt thatmore investments are required to enhancethe speed of Internet connections as present3G networks are unable to handle videocontent needs. With new players such asKorea Telecom investing in 4G networks inEast Africa Com, this would probably call fora "positive reaction from dominant players"like MTN and Airtel. ✆

Several marketplayers are operating

under a unifiedlicensing scheme

giving the country’s3G and 4G

capabilities a boost

Communications Africa Issue 4 2014 15www.communicationsafrica.com

S04 CAF 4 2014 - Report GA_GB_Layout 1 7/1/2014 10:19 AM

ASKED AT ITU Telecom World 2013what single technology ordevelopment will bring the greatestchange, ministers, regulators and

industry leaders answered almost with onevoice: mobile.

"It's got to be the smartphone," saidOmobola Johnson, Nigeria's minister forinformation and communication technology."That's because as the price gets cheaper andcheaper, more people have access, and youcan do anything you imagine with it, education,health, anything."

In the words of Jon Frederik Baksaas, CEO ofleading international operator Telenor: "Thesmartphone has provided a lot of change in thelast years. Now it is about to reach its fullpotential, throwing it out to the huge number ofpeople still not connected."

And, for Saf Yeboah-Amankwah, seniorpartner at McKinsey and Company, the answeris equally clear: "The fifty dollar smartphonewhose battery can last almost a week withoutrecharging. This will make the internetaffordable to the 250 million people in Africawho live in rural areas but don't have access toelectricity."

Mobile is particularly suited to connectingthe unconnected in emerging markets whereoften remote and rural areas remain all butunreachable for meaningful fixed linedeployment. The distances are too great, thegeographies too extreme, the potentialcustomer base too unpromising from an ARPUpoint of view.

The scale of changeMobile telephony has already proved thegreat facilitating technology in many areas,bringing real change, creating economicecosystems on a local scale, enablingemerging markets to leapfrog developmentalstages. Tales abounded at ITU Telecom Worldof villages where mobile telephony arrived longbefore electricity (or where the grid has still notarrived); of how more citizens worldwide haveaccess to a mobile phone than to a toothbrush;of how for many people, popular social mediasites such as Facebook not only represent, butare, the Internet.

Access to the Internet and its applications,services and products is, after all, whatbroadband is all about. As consumer demandhas shifted radically over the past decade fromvoice to data services, so has the preference formobile rather than fixed delivery - and allaround the world, across developed anddeveloping nations alike. And it's a trend thatwill continue, with huge potential impact onemerging markets in particular: "Of all thebroadband devices in the world, in five yearstime the vast majority will be mobile and will beused in low-income countries rather than high-income countries", according to David Lewin, director of Plum Consulting.

So mobile broadband is clearly where thefuture is - and a huge opportunity for individualconsumers, companies, markets and nationsthroughout Africa and the emerging world. Butthere is considerable uncertainty as to whichdirection mobile broadband will take. Itsgrowth is explosive and unpredictable, shapedby the swift turnover in new apps, devices,content and market players. Mobile cloudnetworks and the fusion of mobile and internetherald further disruption. New businessmodels, new markets, new value chains - thewhole mobile broadband ecosystem is in flux.

Uncertainty and challenges, for sure, butabove all else, the mobile broadbandrevolution brings unprecedentedopportunities to level the playing field anddrive social and economic development. Inmobile content, for example, the barrier toentry is low in terms of capital expenditure,and the impact potentially enormous.

Meeting needs in local marketsThe key is keeping it local. Meeting the needsof local markets is paramount. This meanslocally-relevant devices, content and apps,matching local consumer spending power(such as through prepaid SIM cards or shareduse models) and providing niche broadbandproducts firmly based in the context of localcommunities.

Social media and public sector services arethe central building blocks of mobilebroadband, but it's local content that will trulydrive demand.

There is no universally agreed definition ofbroadband: it is a complex mix oftechnologies, devices, infrastructure andspeed that is increasingly seen as a criticalnational utility. In order to move as far aspossible towards universal deployment,broadband needs to be differentiated toreflect the local context, perhaps at lowerspeeds, with lower cost technologies or withan holistic mix of satellite, wifi, mobile andfixed networks. In the longer term, mobile andfixed broadband will need to work together toguarantee customer experience, offloading onto fixed or wifi networks.

However local broadband is delivered,government involvement in some form ofpublic private partnership is vital.Governments need to bring money anddetermination, resolve the energy divide,stimulate demand, facilitate internationalinvestment and connectivity. It's a longshopping list, and one we will discuss in depthwith international experts from across the ICTecosystem at ITU Telecom World 2014 in Dohathis December.

Mobile broadband is the future. Keeping itlocal is the key to growth, to the leapfrog effect,to fast-forwarded development. It's the singlegreatest opportunity for this generation. ✆

ITU Telecom World 2014 will be held in Doha,Qatar, from 7-10 December - www.itu.int

7044-Cellular_Ad_FINAL.indd 1 5/1/2014 3:01:31 PM

There have been unprecedented opportunities to drive social and economic developmentthrough increased access to advanced connectivity, services and content

Why mobile broadband isthe single greatest opportunity

MOBILE Broadband

Blaise Judja-Sato, executive manager, ITU Telecom

Communications Africa Issue 4 201416 www.communicationsafrica.com


Reliable, fi ve-bar connectivity for service providers in emerging markets

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Only Intelsat, a company with 50 years of technical and operational expertise, a global fl eet of 50+ satellites, and the next generation satellite platform can promise you epic fl exibility and endless connectivity.

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7044-Cellular_Ad_FINAL.indd 1 5/1/2014 3:01:31 PM


The potential for unlocking real value from enterprise systems, by using corporateknowledge of customers in more sophisticated ways

Using data tocreate commercial value

MOBILE Broadband

AS MOBILITY, BIG data and mobilebroadband continue to grow insignificance, they are changing thepersonal and enterprise computing

landscape. At the same time, data monetisationis emerging as a major topic of discussion,because each of these trends has potential toprovide extraordinary value for businesses.Smart businesses – large or small – are alreadydoing it and making money. In South Africa, weare seeing growing interest in the potential forunlocking the real valuein our enterprise data.We’re becoming aware that we have this goldmine we haven’t tapped into well enough.

Data monetisation means simply, gainingtangible value directly from the data anorganisation has access to – either in analysedor raw form. This value could be in identifying apotential new customer, learning of a cross-sellor up-sell opportunity, or perhaps identifying achance to save on costs. Businesses cantransform information into income by predictingcustomer behaviour patterns and developingthe best ways to satisfy customer needs. In thetelecommunications space, this could meanextracting more revenue per user as voice andSMS revenues drop. It could mean identifyingcustomer churn before it happens, andretaining or attracting high value customers.

This can be done by examining your data toestablish the probability of a specific reaction.For example, as the owner of a takeaway foodstore, you may identify that 60 percent of thetime when a customer buys a burger, they alsopurchase chips. This statistic can then berelated back to service levels, such as linkingthe times you run out of chips or potatoes.Then combine the two to rectify the issue andmaintain higher levels of customer satisfaction

and up-sell availability. Identifying particularcustomer triggers can also establish moredefined sales cycles and drive revenue. Forexample, mobile users who frequently makecalls to friends in another network and alsocomplain about their mobile services onsocial media can be identified by collatingand analysing data from various sources. Theoperator can then offer suitable services andspecials designed to retain the customer.

In fact, these concepts can be scaled out toany level.

Information and opportunitiesThe true value of your customer data comeswhen you have access to third-party informationto combine and cross-reference with your own,and enrich the information you already have.

Mobile phone carriers for instance, haveunparalleled amounts of customer and networkdata, yet they’re still working out effective waysto use it for greater benefit and true revenuegeneration. There are many untappedopportunities for enterprises across industryverticals to collaborate and share data on acommon platform in ways that benefit them all.

Selling that data is a possible starting point(compliant with current privacy laws of course).For example, a telco may decide to makeavailable to local retail businesses generaldemographic information such as age groups ina certain neighbourhood. This in turn allowslocal retailers to tailor their sales and marketingapproach and potentially create new revenuestreams based on that third-party data.

The telecommunications industry is apersistent example of where data with a highvalue to third parties exists and is continuallyupdated. While it usually comes at a price,

mobile service providers have intimateknowledge of customers which is not readilyavailable to other sectors such as retail,banking or health care.

The emergence of mobile location-basedservices continues to have a significant impacton advertising and marketing for theseproviders and their chosen partners becausethey have a clear image of the customer’sdigital footprint. For example,telecommunications services are beingbundled with tailored online banking servicesin some countries. Such partnerships alloweach enterprise to constantly tap into theother’s behaviour as a secondary influencer ofmarketing goods and services and identifyingnew customers. It’s an effective, clean way togain a deeper understanding of the customer.

Even without the impact of data from a thirdparty, working your own business’s data is aclear way to help define new revenue streams,identify broader sales opportunities, moreeffectively predict customer behaviour anddrive customer satisfaction levels. The analysiscan be as simple or as complex as you allow,but some form of analysis is essential as wemove further into a business environmentwhere personal and business data areincreasingly detailed. In the face of a newFederal government, the instability of theinternational economy, and rising businessoperating costs, a clear and all-inclusive viewof your customer will be a significantcontributor to the next stage in your businessoperations. The key to success is to work thedata. If you’re not, your competition is. ✆

Ayanda Dlamini, business developmentmanager at LGR Telecommunications


A RECENT SCIENTIFIC networking initiative, held in June2014 by the IMDEA Networks Institute has studied theforthcoming 5G revolution, which promises substantialadvancements - such as 1,000x higher wireless areacapacity for 8+ billion people and 7 trillion objects, 90 percent energy savings per service provided, and thecreation of a secure and reliable Internet. Members ofIMDEA's Scientific Council, representatives of industry andprominent researchers met to address the huge explosionin mobile data of our hyperconnected society.It is forecasted that, by 2020, network infrastructure

will be capable of embracing trillions of devices accordingto a plethora of application-specific requirements in aflexible and truly mobile way. 5G will allow for real agilenetwork setup, and will support dynamic management andcoordination of very dense and heterogeneousdeployments.The fifth-generation cellular networks event broughttogether international experts, allowing participants toexchange technical ideas and experiences, improve theirunderstanding of the challenges involved and home in onthe most promising future approaches.

Looking ahead to the 5G network revolution



L’augmentation des violations de données à grande échelle et des attaques ciblées montreune sophistication croissante des menaces envers les entreprises et les particuliers

Les menacesde sécurité Internet

MOBILECybersécurité

RESTÉS DANS L'OMBRE pendant lesdix premiers mois de l'année 2013,les cybercriminels ont ensuitelancé les attaques les plus

violentes de l'histoire. La 19e édition durapport ISTR de Symantec (Internet SecurityThreat Report) qui analyse l’ensemble desmenaces de sécurité Internet, montre unevéritable évolution dans le comportementdes cybercriminels : au lieu de lancer depetites attaques peu lucratives, ilspréfèrent désormais conspirer de longsmois avant de passer à l'action. Le rapportmontre par ailleurs une sophisticationcroissante des menaces, une forteaugmentation du nombre de vulnérabilités,des attaques web et des attaques ciblées,générant des risques qu’entreprises etparticuliers doivent assumer et gérer.

« Une attaque de grande envergurepeut rapporter autant que 50 petites »,déclare Laurent Heslault, Directeur desstratégies de sécurité de Symantec. «Alors que le niveau de sophisticationcontinue de croître parmi les attaquants,ceux-ci se montrent beaucoup pluspatients et frappent lorsque cela en vautvraiment la peine.»

En 2013, le nombre de violations dedonnées a augmenté de 62 % par rapport àl'année précédente, avec 253 cas recenséset plus de 552 millions d'identitésexposées, ce qui prouve que lacybercriminalité reste une véritable menacepour les particuliers et les entreprises.

« Les incidents correctement géréspeuvent améliorer la perception qu'ont lesclients d'une société, mais si cettedernière peine à les maîtriser, lesconséquences peuvent être désastreuses», confie Ed Ferrara, VP et analyste en chefchez Forrester Research. « Les clients quin'ont plus confiance dans la gestion deleurs données personnelles etconfidentielles n'hésitent pas à se tournervers quelqu'un d'autre. » 1

Il est plus difficile de se défendre qued'attaquerLa taille et la portée des attaques est tellequ'elle met à mal la réputation desentreprises et entame la confiance des

clients dont les données personnelles(numéros de cartes de crédit, mots de passe,dossiers médicaux, comptes bancaires, etc.)sont de plus en plus compromises.

Chacune des huit attaques de grandeampleur perpétrées en 2013 a causé laperte de dizaines de millionsd'enregistrements de données. En 2012,une seule attaque avait pris les mêmesproportions.

« Le succès appelle le succès et surtoutpour les cybercriminels », explique LaurentHeslault. « Vu les gains potentiels, lesattaques d'envergure vont s’inscrire dans ladurée. Les entreprises de toutes taillesdoivent réexaminer, repenser, voireredéfinir leur politique de sécurité. »

Une explosion des menaces sur mobiles etles réseaux sociauxPour les particuliers, la multiplicationpar 5 du nombre de « ransomwares », cesmaliciels qui bloquent l’ordinateur del’utilisateur et le rançonne pour qu’ilretrouve l’accès à ses données, est leprincipal fait marquant de 2013. Cesmaliciels, particulièrement lucratifs etviolents, ont pu générer plusieursdizaines de millions de dollars pour lescybercriminels et ont connu unemutation en « cryptolocker », chiffrantdésormais les données de l’utilisateur,les rendant irrécupérables.

Les menaces sur mobile, tous typesconfondus, deviennent également plussophistiquées. Plutôt que d’en inventer desnouveaux, les cybercriminels préfèrentperfectionner les maliciels existant, commel’indique l’augmentation de leur nombre devariantes. Ces nouvelles menaces ont avant

tout pour objectif de suivre l’utilisateur(pour 33 % d’entre eux) et de collecter desdonnées personnelles (20 %).

Sur les réseaux sociaux, ce sont les «fausses offres » qui prospèrent,représentant désormais 81 % desmaliciels sur ce type de média (ilsn’étaient « que » 56 % en 2012). Lecocktail « social + mobile » peut se révélerexplosif, surtout dans la course aux «Likes » ou « Unlikes » qui accroissentencore la viralité de ce type de menaces.

Des menaces à la sophistication accrueLes attaques ciblées ont progressé de 91 %(contre + 42 % entre 2011 et 2012) et duréen moyenne trois fois plus longtemps qu'en2012. Elles se caractérisent également parun nombre d’emails et de personnesciblées moindre, se révélant ainsi plusprécises et plus sophistiquées. Cesattaques ciblées touchent essentiellementles administrations, les services etl’industrie manufacturière, concernent enpremier lieu les organisations de plus de 2500 employés (39 %) et les PME (30 %) et,au sein de celles-ci, les fonctions les plusexposées aux emails extérieurs sont lesassistants et les départements relationspubliques, qui permettent ensuite un accèsaux différents cadres dirigeants.

Les attaques web ont également cru de25 % avec quelques 568 700 d’entre ellesbloquées quotidiennement, même si, ilest vrai, leur nombre tend à diminuerdepuis octobre. Celles-ci ont par ailleursde plus en plus pour objectif lescampagnes de « malvertising » (ou «publicité à mauvais escient »).

Le développement inédit d’attaquesLinux, la forte augmentation du nombre devulnérabilités zero-day découvertes en2013 (23, soit + 61 % sur un an), et pluslargement le nombre de failles découvertesen 2013, montrent véritablement unesophistication accrue des menaces et desattaques. Par ailleurs, l’accroissement desvulnérabilités découvertes sur les sitesInternet légitimes, dont 1/8 présente desvulnérabilités critiques non-patchées, vientamplifier une tendance contre laquelleentreprises et particuliers peuvent lutter. ✆

Selon le rapport ISTR deSymantec, le nombre de

violations de données degrande ampleur est passé

d’une en 2012 à huit en2013, avec 552 millions

d’identités exposées

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Local wireless infrastructure markets are maturing in the continent, and will be soonready to bear centralised, large-scale open access and national networks

Africa is readyfor the Wi-Fi era

COMMUNICATIONS Wireless backhaul

DAWIE DE WET, CEO of engineering group and systemsintegrator Q-KON, believes that the local wirelessinfrastructure market has matured to the point that it isready to facilitate the cultivation of a centralised, large-

scale open access and national network. The philosophy behind thescenario is a resource co-owned/operated by several stakeholders tooffer end-users the opportunity to accumulate and utilise data ondemand.

Dr de Wet presented the idea at the Global Wi-Fi Offload SummitAfrica 2014 hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa, in May — the first timeAfrica has hosted the event. Dr de Wet attended in his capacity also aschairman of the group comprising Q-KON Africa, Q-KON South Africa andSkyeVine. He was joined by Juan Prinsloo, senior executive: specialistproducts and solutions at Q-KON. He attended with partners fromRuckus Wireless and Aptilo Networksy: Christian Jonsson, director sales,Middle East and Africa at Aptilo Networks; and Bryan Goldberg, globalcarrier solutions at Ruckus Wireless.

Q-KON, which co-sponsored the event, has a successful track recordin the provision of wireless services which dates back to the mid-nineties. Its value proposition is based on servicing connectivity for off-grid edge locations in terms of telecommunications network and itsfocus is the edge that defines the place where technology meets marketsand business.

Executive leadership at Q-KON asked delegates to consider theprovision of seamless Wi-Fi offload services and carrier networks outsideof what convention dictates and whether or not this should be the

exclusive domain of major telecommunication companies. “We don’thave an issue with telecommunication service providers handling Wi-Fioffload… we just question whether this is the only ‘box’ of value that themarket should view in terms of available wireless services. What if thegovernment could offer medical aid or pension payment and broadbandservices? What if you could earn megabytes simply by going to the gym?Or what if an employer could offer car or cellphone allowances as well asbroadband access? What we envisage is a large-scale Wi-Fi opportunityfor all, including system integrators, mobile operators and local serviceproviders,” Dr de Wet added.

Seamless integration and satelliteQ-KON said that 80 per cent of South Africa’s population is stillpositioned off ‘the grid’, meaning that from a usage point of view, theyare not at the epicentre of wireless service coverage and rollout.Seamless integration, sufficient broadband, latency and access pointinstallation influence the successful delivery of Wi-Fi service andprovision of large-scale access.

Dr de Wet added that the market should not scoff at the idea ofsatellite to help sustain the establishment of a centralised, open and all-accessible Wi-Fi network of the future.

“Despite what some may perceive, satellite is not old technology… ithas merely been abused to do what fibre was always supposed to. Todaythere is separation of the technology and each will do what they weredesigned to do. Satellite is competitive with 3G and will compete withfibre in terms of being an access medium… not right away, but in fewyears time, most certainly,” Dr de Wet explained.

The picture the company has in mind, particularly given the market’sreturn to the engineering component of wireless infrastructuredevelopment and service delivery, is a network resource that providesnational satellite access or ADSL or 3G, with the registration of thousandsof Wi-Fi access points at the core. Link up will be to a single network.

While Dr de Wet acknowledged that major operators would naturallybe hesitant to endorse such a scheme and ‘lose ground’, the benefit ofthis arrangement is wider access to broadband services and improvednetwork grid expansion.

Steps to a brighter Wi-Fi futureQ-KON proposes that in order for this vision to be realised, there are severalsteps that need to be in place in order for this vision to be realised.

Dr de Wet said that the core must be right and cloud subscribermanagement has to be installed in order to ensure that the many accesspoints begin behaving like a single network. “The reality of this service levelis that anyone with a number can be issued with megabytes,” he said.

The question of who foots the bill and how much is involved for anopen access, integrated Wi-Fi network was also raised as a topic fordebate.

Although this and other questions had to be discussed in more detail,Q-KON advised that a single core network endorsed by multiparties andoperated independently and access available to all providers can lead tothe enhancement of community driven projects and industry leaders inhospitality and retail. ✆

Access to Internet is a fundamental requirementfor transforming Africa’s education sector

Q-KON said that 80 per cent of SouthAfrica’s population is still positioned off

‘the grid’, meaning that from a usage pointof view, they are not at the epicentre of

wireless service coverage and rollout


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S06 CAF 4 2014 - Report AA_CA_Layout 1 7/1/2014 10:27 AM

After several delays due to stiff opposition, in May 2014 the African Union (AU) adopted the Convention onCybersecurity and Personal Data Protection, a controversial policy which some claim will contravene the rightto privacy and damage freedom of expression

What does the AUstand on cybersecurity?

SECURITY Data

ON A CONTINENT where cybercrime iscosting economies billions ofdollars, there is a general consensusthat stricter legislation is needed,

but does the new bill provide the answer?The convention was adopted by the

Conference of AU Ministers of Justice at theHeadquarters of the AU Commission in AddisAbaba following a thorough review of the policyby the ministers. Following the approval, theAU Heads of States are expected to sign off onthe policy and prepare for its implementationin their member countries.

In 2009, amid explosive growth of theinternet in Africa, the Oliver Tambo Declaration,a policy designed to regulate the use of information and communication technologies(ICTs), was signed off in Johannesburg byMinisters in charge of ICTs.

Ever since, the AU has strived to create acomprehensive policy intended to tightencybersecurity, particularly in the wake of analarming rise in incidents of cybercrime acrossthe continent.

A draft African Union Convention on theConfidence and Security in Cyberspace (AUCC)was released for comment in 2013, but metwith considerable resistance from leadinginternet policy specialists, civil societyorganisations and privacy advocates.

An online debate led by the Kenya ICT ActionNetwork (KICTANet) and moderated by theCollaboration on International ICT Policy in Eastand Southern Africa (CIPESA) highlightedseveral concerns associated with the bill.

“According to the AU, telecom and ICT expertswere involved in the drafting process anddiscussions. However, it is unclear who theseexperts were, what sectors they came from, orhow they were chosen,” said Ephraim Kenyanito,an author for African digital freedom groupAccessNow, which participated in the debate.

“The AUCC was supported by somegovernment stakeholders and regionalmultilateral entities, but many in the internetcommunity opposed it, as the treaty containeda number of provisions that could violate userprivacy, chill online expression, and endangerother rights,” Kenyanito explained.

In particular, Kenyanito highlights articles inthe draft which allow African states to processpersonal and sensitive data without theowner’s consent for the purpose of state

security and the public interest. “Furthermore, the government doesn’t have

to go before a judge to get approval to violateuser privacy in this way, leaving the door openfor abuse,” he said.

The draft further states that “theinvestigating judge use appropriate technicalmeans to gather or register in real time the datain respect of the content of specificcommunications in its territory, transmitted bymeans of a computer system.”

“The provision empowers judges to assumethe role of the prosecutor in both common law andcivil law African countries and does not providechecks and balances to ensure a separateinvestigation and adjudication process,” he said.

These and several other clauses in the draftsparked controversy, and the AU Commissionagreed to review the policy and postponed itfrom being passed by the set deadline ofJanuary 2014. The convention was renamed theConvention on Cybersecurity and PersonalData Protection and was passed on 15 May2014, but Kenyanito said that the amendeddraft was never released for comment.

“The final outcome of the AUCC has not yetbeen released and we cannot confirm whetherthe concerns raised with the previous draftwere addressed. We can only hope that thechange of name is an indication of a shift infocus to Personal Data Protection and that thehuman rights concerns are addressed.However, given the opacity of the process, it’shard to know,” he explains.

What is certain is that if 15 or more Africanstates approve the policy, the convention will

be passed into law.Grace Githaiga, a KICTANet Associate,

agrees that new legislation is needed to guardagainst cybercrime, but the AUCC does nothold the key.“Although African countries needlegal framework on cybercrime, the currentproposals need numerous amendments. Thediscussions also noted a need for the AfricanUnion Commission to engage with civil societyto draw up progressive and enforceable laws,”Githaiga said.

Although statistics for Africa are notconcrete, countries across the continent haverecorded losses worth billions of dollars due tocybercrime, prompting them to develop theirown cybersecurity bills.

Estimates put Nigeria's total economic lossas a result of cybercrimes in 2012 to be overUS$13.5bn. Kenya lost approximatelyUS$23mn in 2013, while South Africa’s totalloss last year was approximately US$260mn,according to Norton’s Cybercrime Report.

The report, which saw experts interviewing13,000 respondents across 24 countries, foundthat approximately 73 per cent of respondentsin South Africa said they had been a victim ofcybercrime. On a global scale, the report foundthat 378mn people fell victim to cybercrime.

According to Camino Kavanagh, senior advisorfor the National Committee on American ForeignProjects (NCAFP), cybercriminals are finding awonderland of possibilities in developingcountries, making Africa one of the fastestgrowing cybercrime hotspots in the world. ✆

Dale Hes

The African Union has adopted the Convention onCybersecurity and Personal Data Protection



TRANSMISSION GL Communications

SONET SDH TECHNOLOGY forms the transmission backbonefor TDM, IP, and Wireless networks. STM-1 and OC-3 opticaltransmission rates (155.52 Mbps) are the most common ofthe various dense pipes (in SDH SONET) carrying E1, T1, E3,

T3, and Ethernet multiplexed signals. Typical examples are:• 2G Wireless infrastructure connectivity – BTS to BSC to MSC carrying

mobile to/from PSTN traffic• Real Node B to MSC or SGSN connectivity carrying voice to the PSTN

and data to the IP network• High density SS7 signalling links on E1 T1 circuits within OC-3 /STM-1

Using channelised SONET SDH technology, service providers canprovision various bandwidths and configurations dynamically percustomer requirements — from fractional T1s/E1s, n x T1/E1s, T3/E3 andfull STM-1c, typically to support voice and data services.

To access and analyse channelised lines within OC-3 STM-1 canrequire specific and costly mux/demux hardware (perhaps at severallayers) and unique test equipment. Direct access to any channel andtraffic type within OC-3 STM-1 would negate the need for such additionalbulky hardware and greatly simplify testing, monitoring, measurement,and analysis cost effectively. GL’s LightSpeed1000™ in ChannelisedMode provides such simplicity, permitting direct access to hundreds ofT1s and E1s, and in the near future all the E3s and T3s constituting theOC-3 and STM-1. This platform with its unique architecture eliminates therequirement for external multiplexing hardware and hundreds of cablesand connectors. Multiple T1 E1 streams of any user-defined capacity canbe generated internally, analysed, and monitored in real-time. GL’sLightSpeed1000™ is also capable of unchannelised or concatenatedmode, permitting access to PPP, ATM, and UMTS networks. Thus, oneplatform can perform any processing from DS0 (64 kbps – voice channel)up to unchannelised PPP or ATM at 155.52 Mbps and everything inbetween on optical lines.

Some of the applications of GL’s LightSpeed1000™ in ChannelisedMode are – • Monitoring GSM Abis link over channelised OC-3/STM-1 for

monitoring RF information, Roaming, SMS, Location update, andmore

• Testing voice and data services on hybrid networks (such as ATM toSDH)

• Non-intrusive protocol analysis and monitoring (Ex: Monitor tens tohundreds of SS7 links for signalling and bearer channels)

Some of LightSpeed1000 features are – • 2 Channelised OC-3/STM-1 SONET/SDH interfaces per

Lightspeed1000™ card – for monitoring both directions• 2 Unchannelised OC-3/STM-1 OC-12/STM-4 interfaces per

Lightspeed1000™ card – for monitoring both directions• Channelised ports act as terminal multiplexers and demultiplexers• Supports any combination of DS0/64 kbps, fractional T1/E1, and N x

T1/E1 definitions (a total of 126 E1s or 168 T1s – each port supporting84 T1s or 63 E1s),

• Future support for direct access to all E3s and T3s without hardwaremodification – software revision only

• Supported SONET Mappingso STS-3/OC-3 --> STS-1 --> VT-Group --> VT2 --> E1o STS-3/OC-3 --> STS-1 --> VT-Group --> VT1.5 --> T1

• Supported SDH Mappings– o STM-1 --> AU-3 --> TUG-2 --> TU-12 --> E1 o STM-1 --> AU-4 --> TUG-3 --> TUG-2 --> TU-12 --> E1 o STM-1 --> AU-3 --> TUG-2 --> TU-11 --> T1 o STM-1 --> AU-4 --> TUG-3 --> TUG-2 --> TU-11 --> T1

• Single-mode (SM), and Multi-mode (MM) fiber optic non-intrusive tap

• Key T1 / E1 specific features – o Error and alarm detection: CRC, framing, loss of frame, AIS, Remote

Alarm Indication, and moreo Comprehensive protocol analysis and emulation – HDLC, SS7,

ISDN, CAS, PPP, Frame Relay, and moreo Loopback capabilities


Direct T1 E1 Analysis on Channelised OC-3/STM-1 Lines

Finding the rightconnection


How forging a partnership with an African one-stop-shop network capacity wholesalerprovides flexibility and valuable local market knowledge

Collaborative approachesto international connectivity

NETWORK Fibre

IMPROVED INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIVITY,enhanced ICT infrastructure, moreaffordable high-performance handsetsand prodigious growth in mobile,

Internet and data services are transforminghow businesses in Africa operate, changingthe way many individuals go about their dailylives and also having a marked, positiveimpact upon many African economies.

For businesses, these advances havehelped improve efficiency and productivity,opened up previously inaccessible marketsand led to the formation of many newcompanies. At an individual level, greateraccess to mobile broadband hasrevolutionised how information is accessed,how money is handled and transferred, and ledto phenomenal growth in popular Internet-enabled applications such as socialnetworking, online gaming and the streamingof music, films and video.

To meet the burgeoning demand for reliable,high-bandwidth international connectivity, thenumber, capacity and reliability of submarinecable systems and terrestrial fibre networksserving Africa has grown dramatically in recentyears. At the beginning of 2009, just twointernational cables served sub-Saharan

Africa. Now there are 16. The theoretical designcapacity of all the new and upgradedsubmarine cables that currently land in sub-Saharan Africa exceeds a staggering 30Tbps,and three of the more recently-deployed cables- EASSy, WACS and EIG - will all soon beupgraded to meet ongoing customer demand.

Significant investments are also being madein new and enhanced terrestrial networks, somany more people and businesses withinAfrica can also enjoy access to affordableinternational connectivity. According toHamilton Research, at the end of March 2014there was 546,006km of operational fibre inAfrica - 24 per cent more than 12 months

previously. With a further 87,035km of fibreunder construction, 102,619km planned and47,570km more already proposed, terrestrialconnectivity within Africa will continue toimprove significantly.

The pace and scope of change are so rapidon both the connectivity supply and bandwidthdemand sides, that the challenge ofmaintaining an appropriate and cost-effectivebalance of network capacity, diversity andreach requires not only continual review, butalso an up-to-date insight into what ishappening locally regarding network reach,capacity and performance.

Partnering with a pan-African one-stop-shopAn increasingly popular option for carriers,telcos and ISPs looking to optimise theirservice offerings in Africa is to partner with alocal one-stop-shop, network capacitywholesaler, such as Africa’s carriers’ carrierWIOCC. Not only does this give access toWIOCC’s technical expertise and unique55,000km African terrestrial fibre network,which is seamlessly linked to more than40,000km of submarine cable; it also providesthe flexibility to quickly and easily scale upcapacity to meet rising customer demand.

WIOCC’s Network Operations Centre in Nairobi

“As a supplier of sub-seacapacity, WIOCC add value

by putting together acomplete solution of

multiple sections of cableand present it as a one-

stop-shop supplier.”- Liquid Telecom




NETWORKFibre

Other valuable benefits of partneringwith a customer-focused capacitywholesaler such as WIOCC includeremoving the need to negotiate multiplecontractual and commercial agreementswith every operator along the desired trafficroute, and having 24x7x365 access to ateam of customer service, technical andnetwork management experts. With WIOCCas a partner, it is also simple for carrier andISP customers to quickly and easily scaletheir networks to meet the dynamic needsof their own customers over time.

Comprising more than 50 countries andhome to an estimated 1billion people, theworld’s second largest continent is verydiverse. Local knowledge, experience andexpertise are invaluable to the reliable andcost-effective delivery of high-quality,international connectivity in Africa. So forAfrican telcos looking to expand theirservice offering outside of their domesticmarkets, and for international carriersseeking to take advantage of the growingcapacity market into, out of and withinAfrica, the advantages of partnering with anestablished and trusted local organisationare significant.

Tailored solutionsEach organisation’s connectivityrequirements – in terms of bandwidth,routing, traffic management, servicecontinuity and flexibility - will all bedifferent, and will continue to evolve overtime.

In order to be able to put together aconnectivity solution that precisely meets acustomer’s current needs, while also takinginto account their future plans, a potentialsupplier must first invest the time to fullyunderstand their customer’s/partner’sneeds. Only then is it possible to puttogether a bespoke solution whichprecisely meets the specific requirementsof that customer.

Once a customer, always a customerDelivering uncompromisingly high levels ofcustomer service and satisfaction remains

a cornerstone of WIOCC’s offering. As wellas its sizeable investments in securingadditional network capacity to meet thegrowing demands of an expandingcustomer base, WIOCC has also investedheavily in its Customer Service operations.Employee numbers have risen by 40 percent over the past 12 months and theNetwork Operations Centre in Nairobi,where its team of Customer Championsprovide 24x7x365 service and support tocustomers, recently almost doubled in size.

Connecting the unconnectedThrough its unique network of 40,000km ofsubmarine cable linked to more than55,000km of terrestrial fibre, WIOCC offerspartners a unique, diversity-rich pan-Africannetwork through which they can providedirect international connectivity to morethan 500 locations in 30 African countries.

This network is helping to bringaffordable, high-capacity internationalconnectivity to landlocked countries suchas Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana,

Burundi and Lesotho. Previously reliantupon expensive, low-capacity satelliteconnectivity, bandwidth prices in Lesothofell by 67 percent when WIOCC used itsunique terrestrial network to connect thekingdom to reliable high-capacityinternational connectivity available viasubmarine cable systems.

Opportunity AfricaAs businesses and individuals

throughout Africa become increasingly usedto and dependent upon ever-more data-richapplications, demand for reliable,affordable, high-capacity internationalconnectivity into, out of and within thecontinent will continue to rise.

Africa is a complex and diverse continentwith many different markets, regulatorysystems and operating environments.However, with the right partner, thebusiness opportunities for carriers and ISPsare well worth the effort. ✆

Chris Wood, CEO at WIOCC

WIOCC’s core submarine cable and terrestrialfibre network into, out of and within Africa

“WIOCC are veryaccommodating and willing,

with a primary goal ofbuilding long and mutually-

beneficial businessrelationships.”

- Skyband



INTERNET


Des idées fausses courantes sur les sites web, et ledéveloppement commercial des entreprises

Les clients, le marketing,et votre société

IL EXISTE DE nombreusesdésinformations concernant le marketingdes sites Web. De nombreuses petitesentreprises éprouvent des difficultés à

faire la différence entre le battagepublicitaire et la réalité. La clé consiste àdéterminer si le Web est ce dont vous avezbesoin, et ensuite à utiliser les méthodesappropriées pour exploiter son pouvoir demarketing. Quelques exemples d’idéesfausses courantes sur le World Wide Websont exposés ci-dessous, avec quelquesconseils pratiques sur la façon de réussirvotre programme de marketing en ligne.

Idée Fausse 1: Chaque petite entreprise abesoin d’un site webBien que de nombreuses petites entreprisespuissent tirer avantage du développement etdu maintien de leurs propres sites Web, il faut

savoir que cette forme de marketing neconvient pas à tout le monde. Vous devriezenvisager d’utiliser un site Web si:

Vos clients sont en ligne.Si votre clientèle achète des produits ouobtient des renseignements par le biais duWeb, il est nécessaire que vous y apparaissiez.Par contre, s’ils obtiennent leursrenseignements d’autres sources (que ce soitles Pages Jaunes, les journaux et magazines,les salons professionnels, ou autres véhiculesde marketing), vous pouvez alors concentrervos efforts dans ces domaines-là.

Photos: MKH Marketing (mkhmarketing.wordpress.com)

Il est important que vousdisposiez d’un messagecohérent dans tous les

supports que vous utilisez

Marketing

S07 CAF 4 2014 - Report DA_FA_Layout 1 7/1/2014 10:32 AM


Marketing

Vous voulez atteindre une clientèle nationaleou internationale de manière efficace.Le Web n’est pas une forme de marketing"local". De par sa nature, il a une vasteportée, il faut par conséquent vous préparerà en tirer profit. Par exemple, un fournisseurlocal basé dans les banlieues de New Yorkne pourra peut-être pas profitercomplètement d’un site Web car il dessertun public très ciblé. Un grossiste debonbons offrant le transport au niveaunational serait mieux placé pour tirer profitde la vaste portée du Web.

Un site Web soutient vos objectifs et votrebudget de Marketing.Il est nécessaire que votre site Web fassepartie intégrante d’un plan et d’un budget demarketing. Il est important que vousdisposiez d’un message cohérent dans tousles supports que vous utilisez.

Le Web peut remplacer, ou être plus efficace,que d’autres options de marketing.Le Web peut offrir à vos clients un accèsimmédiat aux renseignements pour lesquelsils auraient pu autrement passer des jours,voire des semaines à chercher. Par exemple,un photographe publicitaire qui dispose deson portefeuille sur le Web peut diriger desclients éventuels vers son site, au lieud’engager des dépenses pour envoyer sonportefeuille pour chaque travail.

Votre site devient votre responsabilitéUn site Web nécessite une attention constante.Etes-vous prêt(e) à l’actualiser ? Pouvez-vousvous engager à y ajouter des nouveautéschaque mois ? Avez-vous le temps et le budgetpour le soutenir de façon adéquate ? Si vousn’êtes pas prêt(e) à vous charger de tout cela,vous devez employer quelqu’un qui le ferapour vous. Autrement, vos efforts quant auWeb seront vains.

Idée Fausse 2: Un site web équilibreautomatiquement le terrain de jeu entre mapetite entreprise et mes concurrents plusgrands Oui, un site Web d’apparenceprofessionnelle peut faire paraître votrepetite entreprise plus grande qu’elle ne l’estréellement. Cependant, sans une mise enplace et un plan efficaces, votre site Webpeut vous faire paraître moins professionnelque vous ne l’êtes, et vous placer à un niveaude désavantage concurrentiel.

Utilisez le Web pour mettre en valeur votreexpertise. En offrant vos connaissances, vouspouvez vous placer dans la position d’unexpert et attirer des clients, et les intéresser àvos produits ou services.

L’une des façons d’apparaître plus grandque vous ne l’êtes en réalité consiste à

posséder votre propre nom de domaine. Uneadresse Web telle que"www.yourcompanyname.com" est plus facileà trouver et offre une meilleure imageprofessionnelle que l’utilisation d’une adressesecondaire de votre Fournisseur d’AccèsInternet ou service en ligne(www.yourISP.com/~yourcompany). Le coûtd’inscription de votre domaine est minime, etde nombreux FAI accueilleront votre site sousce nom en échange d’une petite contributionmensuelle. Contactez votre FAI pour connaîtrela façon de procéder.

Un autre piège à éviter consiste à utiliserune technologie pour le plaisir d’utiliser unetechnologie. Utiliser des accessoires fantaisiesimplement parce qu’ils semblent "cool" peutvous être néfaste. Voici un exemple : la paged’accueil d’une société de conseils disposed’un "compteur de visites" qui vous informe dunombre de visiteurs qui sont venus visionnercette page. Malheureusement, il annonce peude visites , et par conséquent vous force à vousdemander si les renseignements que vous yrecevez sont précis ou convaincants. Sans lecompteur, vous auriez peut-être lu le contenusans vous poser cette question.

Idée Fausse 3: Mettez en place un site web etles clients viendront en masse vers votresociétéNe vous attendez pas à ce que les genstrouvent votre site Web par leurs propresmoyens. Vous devrez encourager la circulationpar le biais d’une publicité active à la fois surl’Internet et dans vos documentations demarketing traditionnelles. Voici quelquesméthodes courantes:

Inscrivez votre site Web sur tous les moteursde recherche majeurs tels que Yahoo!, Excite,Infoseek, Lycos et Hotbot. Il existe un certainnombre de services de référencement quiinscriront votre adresse URL sur de multiplesmoteurs de recherche et annuaires en échanged’une petite somme -- l'un de ces servicespopulaires est Submit It. Faites attention,toutefois, au fait que bien que ces servicesvont référencer votre site vous perdrez lecontrôle sur la manière dont vous souhaitezdécrire votre site.

Echangez des liens ou des bannières

publicitaires avec des non-concurrents quidisposent de services ou produitscomplémentaires. Envoyez un e-mail augestionnaire Web du site avec lequel vousdésirez vous lier, et offrez un accord de lienréciproque. Assurez-vous de souligner dansvotre message les avantages mutuels de lacréation de ce lien. Des services tels que LinkExchange vous permet d’échanger des liensavec d’autres entreprises, vous offrant desbannières publicitaires directementproportionnelles à ce que vous mettrez survotre site Web.

Assurez-vous d’insister sur votre adresseURL tout au long de votre brochure demarketing. Placez votre adresse Web danstoutes les annonces, dans les brochures devos produits, et sur vos cartes et en-têtes delettres professionnels. Mettez-la dans le fichiersignature de vos e-mails, afin que les clientspuissent passer automatiquement de votremessage à votre site Web. ✆

Adapté du contenu issu de l’American ExpressOPEN Small Business Network

INTERNET

Photo: Rich Brooks:


With customer relationships as being viewed as prized assets, multichannel service issoon becoming a much-needed strategy in the corporate domain

Multiple codes of communication

NETWORK Contact Centres

THE WORLD OF multichannel contactcentres that incorporate social media,instant messaging (IM) and videochats as methods of communication

to mention a few, is becoming extremelycomplicated. But behind the countless, oftenconfusing new technologies, lie somefundamental benefits to evolving one’scontact centre beyond traditional voice andemail alone. These benefits include – increasedagent productivity, better customer service,increased relevance to all customer segments,new cross-sell and upsell opportunities, andstaying ahead of competitors.

Organisations are increasingly looking tocustomer service as a key competitivedifferentiator, and are treating customerrelationships as a prized corporate asset. Inthis new era, the importance of a strongmultichannel strategy becomes clear.

Clear channels for customer service So what is multichannel? Most broadly, itdescribes an organisation that is available tocustomers via whatever channel ofcommunication they prefer. Traditional voiceand e-mail channels are augmented withthings like web-based instant messaging,video chat, SMS, ‘call me back’ buttons, andsocial media interactions.

Ensuring all of the channels are fully joined-together allows customers to move fluidlybetween any of them at any point in aninteraction. Customers are able to use thecommunication platform with which they aremost comfortable, which is most convenientfor them at that time.

For this to happen, new channels need to beopened up as part of a long-term, strategicroadmap strongly connected to theorganisation’s core business operations.Building out a contact centre in an ad hocmanner, not underpinned by a singularworkflow system can cause disunity betweenthe channels – and an inconsistent, frustratingcustomer experience.

In South Africa, there has been limitedadoption of true multichannel contact centres– many local companies have successfullyadded one or two new channels, but few are

seeing the benefits of a fully integratedmultichannel customer proposition. Apart fromthe obvious problems of costly bandwidth, it isalso often difficult to properly articulatebusiness value (particularly in today’sbusiness environment where most firms arelooking to cut costs). In order to ‘sell’ theconcept of multichannel to businessexecutives, contact centre managers have todeftly forecast the benefits in the areas of –• Negating revenue threats and market share

losses to competitors with a better level ofcustomer interaction.

• Saving on payroll costs by increasing agentproductivity and automating certaincustomer interactions.

• Increased opportunities for upselling andcross-selling to customers.

• The ability to appeal to a broader base ofconsumers across all demographics,geographies, age groups, andcommunication preferences.

• The tools to create richer customer profilesto personalise interactions and targetspecial offers and promotions.Technologies to disrupt today's businessesWhile these are usually the fundamental

areas on which a multichannel business caseis built, added to this list is the fact that anorganisation embracing multichannel (in theright way) is now able to capitalise on newtechnological innovations in future. Voicebiometrics, for example, is emerging as a newdisruptive technology that may forever changethe way customers are authenticated intoconversations with their bank, insuranceproviders, mobile operators, credit cardissuers, or any other customer interactiondealing with sensitive data.

This technology holds the potential toreplace the laborious process of answering aset of questions or confirming certain personaldetails – it simply recognises the customer’svoice as they repeat a pre-determinedsentence, and validates the caller’s identity.

Perhaps the most critical technologicaladvancements in the contact centre space willbe on the back-end – the new systems that willscan the vast swathes of phone calls, e-mails,web chats, messaging interactions, tweets andInstagram photos – to create detailed customerprofiles. Where this information starts tobecome very powerful is when it is used to

Image source: Google

Ensuring all channels arefully joined together allowscustomers to move fluidlybetween any of them at anypoint in an interaction




NETWORKContact Centres

present customers with a tailored shoppingexperience the next time they interact with anorganisation. Imagine a sales clerk armed witha roaming tablet or a smartphone device,drawing on a central database of customerinformation. This is a fundamental shift wheredata gathered for ‘reactive’ reasons (during acustomer service issue at the contact centre, forinstance) is used to create more informed, more

personalised, ‘proactive’ interactions that aremore likely to result in a sale.

Essentially, developing a first-ratemultichannel contact centre strategy is the firststep towards becoming a multichannelcompany in general – one which leveragesevery possible touch point as a sales channel.This could well be the strongest business casefor multichannel.

So as an organisation begins on thistransformative journey, it is essential that thetechnology partner selected is able to providethe higher-value consultancy required to designa long-term, integrated multichannel solution.This partnership approach not only opens doorsto more fruitful customer interactions, but setsthe organisation on course to become a trulymultichannel business. ✆

Paul Fick, CTO at the Jasco GroupTraditional voice and e-mail channels are augmented with such thingslike social media interactions (Image: Google)

Data gathered for reactivereasons is used to create a

more informed,personalised and proactiveinteraction, which is likely

to result in a sale

Voice biometrics isemerging as new disruptive

technology that may foreverchange the way customers

are authenticated intoconversations


MTN GROUP’S CUSTOMER service representatives (CSRs) now have full access toWDS Agent Expert. The solution provides CSRs with the knowledge they need todeliver accurate and effective support to resolve mobile device issues first time.

WDS has been working with the MTN Group since 2012 to implement a multi-channel programme that supports MTN’s increasingly intelligent device portfolio.Since the implementation of this tool, MTN has increased satisfaction, protectedthe loyalty of high-value customers and improved customer experience. This isreflected by improvements across MTN call centre metrics. These include:

• Call closure rate decreased by 35 percentage points.• The number of delighted customers increased by 21 percentage points.• The call escalation rates decreased by 11 percentage points.• Contributed to an overall 10 per cent reduction in AHT.• Reduced CSR training from days to just hours.

“We are working very hard on the soft skills of our customer-facing people, butunless we resolve customer issues first time, every time, we consider ourselvesto have failed,” said Eddie Moyce, chief customer experience officer, MTN SA.

Boosting customer care for MTN South Africa


Corporate customer engagement should incorporate best practices, theright staff and tools to achieve contact centre success

Top tencontact centre strategies

NETWORK Contact Centres

WITH A NEW breed of consumer makingnew demands on business, contactcentres are having to radically change

their approach to operations.Interactive Intelligence recently discussed

Top Ten Contact Centre Strategies via a seriesof webinars, based on extensive experience inglobal contact centre technologies andstrategies. The top strategies of successfulcontact centres rest on two key themes – theright staffing approach and the right tools.

The top ten strategic moves to improvecontact centre performance are:

1 Audit your systemThe top factor in improving contact centre

operations is to start with an audit of theexisting system and processes. Contact centremanagement should assess whether thecontact centre meets the current and futureneeds of the business, whether systems andprocesses are fast enough, whether unfixederrors are costing in terms of time, efficiencyor morale. They need to determine whetherthe systems are optimising the benefits ofinnovation such as cloud, speech analyticsand interactive recording.

2 Full review of recruitment practicesWith staff key to contact centre success,

it is important that the right staff areappointed at the outset, that their inductionand training is carried out effectively, and thatcareer and personal growth is supported.Contact centre management needs to ensurethat it is fully involved in the recruitmentprocess, asking the right customer servicequestions at interviews, and ensuring acomprehensive and appropriate inductionprogramme.

3 Measurement toolsThe customer’s experience is the contact

centre’s most important measure of success,so counting call volumes and simple yes/nocustomer surveys are no longer enough togain a full understanding of the customerexperience. The successful contact centreassesses whether its traditional KPIs and

other measurements are still appropriate tomeet the objectives set. To enhance qualitymeasurement, the contact centre needs todefine its objectives, and ensure that the stafffully understand what is being measured andwhy.

4 Maximise customer feedbackConsider whether your customer survey

questions need to be reviewed to moreaccurately reflect customer views as opposedto addressing cosmetic issues. Assesswhether other departments need to beinvolved in the survey to ensure their needsare covered too; or whether anotherdepartment carry out surveys without yourinput.

5 Maximising staff feedbackImproving contact centre operations

depends to a large degree on getting feedbackfrom the contact centre team, and acting on it.To do so, hold regular review/focus groupswith staff and colleagues, where participantsare encouraged to share their views, makesuggestions, and collaborate in carrying outimprovements.

6 PerformanceToday, the question is not how many

calls were answered, but how well the contactcentre supports the business’ goals. Today’ssuccessful contact centre needs to benchmarkitself against those of other organisations,especially those in different market sectors; itneeds to maximise performance through goodcommunication with other departments in theorganisation, especially marketing and sales.

7 Bang the drum internallyToo often, the critical role of the contact

centre in growing and retaining the customerbase is overlooked. To improve contact centrestaff job satisfaction, and ensure access toadequate resources, it’s important to ‘bangthe drum’ internally, ensuring that theenterprise is made aware of the contactcentre’s contribution to business, as well asits achievements.

8 Self/staff developmentThe staff are the heart of the contact

centre. Career and personal development arecrucial to job satisfaction and reduced staffturnover, as well as boosting customerservice. To ensure that the contact centreperforms optimally, staff training and personaldevelopment need to be addressed on anongoing basis.

9 Do ALL channels wellYou may have excellent voice

interaction, but unless you deliver the samelevel of service via other channels, yourcontact centre is dropping the ball. Theconsumer of today expects uniform servicelevels across multiple channels. Contactcentres need to know which channels arepreferred by which customers, and must havethe ability to respond using the customer’spreferred channel. Ensure that phone, webchat, email, text, social media, mobile andletter interactions are equally efficient andintegrated.

10 Fun, and moraleYour contact centre staff are the face

of your business. Working by the book is notenough to ensure customer satisfaction – yourstaff need to be motivated to deliver goodservice. They need job satisfaction and apositive attitude, which will reflect in theirinteractions with customers. Assess whetheryou and your staff look forward to coming towork and ask ‘why/why not?’ Considerwhether you have any silly rules to "control"staff that should be dropped. Ask - doesperformance vary due to mood over theday/week/month – and if so, do you knowwhy? And are any of the “fun” things you dobecoming stale?

Martina Knappe, head of EMEA marketing atInteractive Intelligence

See Interactive Intelligence’s webinar at:http://www.callcentrehelper.com/free-webinar-top-5-contact-centre-strategies-52333.htm


S08 CAF 4 2014 - Report EA_EB_Layout 1 7/1/2014 10:34 AM


Set top boxesfor African homes

BROADCASTIPTV

THE BROADCAST INDUSTRY wasintroduced, at last year's AfricaCastexhibition of TV technologies and

equipment in Cape Town, South Africa, to aUkrainian equipment supplier called Infomir.In a dedicated zone for IPTV, Infomir’s boothwas co-located together with several othercompanies. Traditionally, the company hasdemonstrated a series of provider-class settop boxes (STBs) for IPTV-based services andthe proprietary Stalker Middleware for STBnetwork provisioning and managing. Visitorsto AfricaCast learned more about the MAG250Micro entry-level model, and its modernisedversion MAG255 Micro with a more powerfulmedia processor, additional RAM and theHDMI 1.4a interface. Other technologies andsolutions were exhibited, too.

Direct communication with Africanbroadcast market players at the event andsince have revealed that they are even moreinterested in developing local infrastructure,which is taking its first steps: cable laying,

satellite TV, satellite Internet, etc. From talkswith other exhibition participants andexponents, it became clear that the countrywelcomes its first investment projects of majortelecom operators. The projects are aimed atdeployment of high quality broadbandnetworks with solid architecture which willoffer affordable rates for web access across thecountry. For now, affordable rates can be foundonly in Kenya. And they are about twice as highfor the rest of Africa.

Hybrid solutions for integrated servicesMany companies presenting to the Africantelecommunications market are interested inhybrid solutions (DVB-T/T2). Traditional STBsfor IPTV services are not so popular here due tothe lack of solid broadband infrastructure.Infomir has a stake in this area, and itsinvolvement is clear for the region: thecompany is committed to satisfying thedemand for hybrid solutions in a flexible andreliable way. And Infomir’s contacts have also

been interested in free proprietary middlewaresuccessfully used by providers all over theworld. It has had significant discussions with asystem integrator deploying a ready-madecomprehensive solution for providing IPTVservices. The local company proposed tointegrate MAG STBs into its future projects.Infomir's prospective customers have alsobeen positively impressed by the company’slong history, its experience in the telecomsindustry, and its global reputation as a highquality manufacturer and a reliable partner.

The regional telecom market switched frompure off-site interest in broadband technologiesto some practical steps for their implementationin Africa. Experts predict a boom of moderncontent distribution technologies here withfurther interactive TV uprise in two years or so.Infomir is committed to bringing itstechnologies and solutions to future-orientedregional operators now, to support marketgrowth. It regards Africa as the most promisingregion for the next few years. ✆



DRM technology is expected to transform Southern Africa's digital streams allowingbroadcasters to modify the system to best meet the needs of the region

Developing SouthernAfrica’s digital streams

BROADCASTING Radio

Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) is theuniversal digital broadcasting systemfor all broadcasting frequencies with its

purpose being that its a high quality digitalreplacement for current analogue radiobroadcasting in the AM and FM/VHF bands,therefore meaning it can be operated with thesame channelling and spectrum allocations ascurrently employed.

The DRM Consortium is further extending itsactivities with the roll out of a new DRMPlatform in Southern Africa. The main purposeof the DRM Consortium’s Southern Africa DRMPlatform, a voluntary group without financialmotives, are to manage the numerous industrystakeholders in the countries of SouthernAfrica interested in DRM, to roll out DRMbroadcasts and to demonstrate a businesscase for producing and selling DRM radio setsor auxiliary devices.

The DRM standardThe DRM standard consists of two majorconfigurations: ‘DRM30′ intended forbroadcasts on short, medium and long waveup to 30 MHz and providing large coverageareas and low power consumption. Theconfiguration for the VHF bands above 30 MHzis called ‘DRM+’, designed for local andregional coverage with broadcaster-controlledtransmissions.

According to Ruxandra Obreja, DRMchairman, “The DRM global standard can beused in all radio frequency bands and is idealfor the large countries of Southern Africa.

“From national networks and regionalstations to smaller commercial and communitystations, all would be able to broadcast theirdigital radio programmes with enhancedcontent and in excellent sound quality toeveryone in their respective countries. DRM isan ideal African digital solution and we havehigh hopes of the activity of the newly createdDRM Southern Africa Platform, now open to allthose interested.”

Unlinke the DRM standard, other globalstandards cannot be used in all radiofrequency bands, which is what makes it suitedto the large countries of Southern Africa. Fromnational networks and regional stations tosmaller commercial and community stations,everyone can broadcast their digital radio

programmes with enhanced content and inexcellent sound quality to everyone in theirrespective countries.

An advantage of the DRM system is that ithas been designed to enable suitableanalogue transmitters to be changed to switcheasily between digital and analoguebroadcasts. This can reduce the initialinvestment cost for a broadcaster.

DRM technology launches in South AfricaThe DRM Platform in Southern Africa will joinforces with the Indian, Brazilian, German andother DRM national platforms working togetherwith the DRM Consortium but using nationalknowledge and expertise.

Dr Roelf Petersen of Radio Pulpit, thechairman of the new Platform says: “My role

will be to coordinate the strength of all theAfrican parties involved, in order to ensure thatthe great potential of the DRM technologybecomes a practical reality for serving thepeoples of Southern Africa.”

DRM's Emergency Warning Features The Emergency Warning Features (EWF) of theDRM system will be featured in a specialbroadcast included in the IRDR Trial in timewith the Media Summit on Climate Changewhich will be held 4-6 June 2014 in Jakarta,Indonesia.

The DRM radio programme offers anexplanation as to what the emergency featureof DRM is and how alarm signals given off bythe authorities can override runningprogrammes and carry the emergency messageinstantly to large numbers of people. A previewof the broadcast is now available.

“During emergencies and times of crisis,most of the services fail”, says RuxandraObreja, DRM Consortium chairman, “radio isthe last line of communication and the obvioussolution for bringing information to the people.We are very excited to have our first radiobroadcast on the in-built emergency disasterfunctionality of DRM.” ✆

Digital Radio Mondiale was recently launched in South Africa

The DRM Consortium isfurther extending itsactivities with the roll outof a new DRM Platform inSouthern Africa



S09 CAF 4 2014 - Equipment_Layout 1 7/1/2014 10:39 AM


EQUIPEMENT

34

ALCATEL-LUCENT A lancé un nouveau portefeuille de solutions Motivepour les systèmes OSS (Operations Support Systems) au sein duportefeuille global de solutions Motive au service de l’expérienceclients. L’objectif de ce nouveau portefeuille de solutions estd’exploiter pleinement les atouts des technologies cloud, de réduireles coûts et d’améliorer les services proposés grâce à une approcheradicalement nouvelle, qui permet aux fournisseurs de servicesd’automatiser leurs opérations réseau.

Le portefeuille Motive Dynamic Operations ouvre la voie de lavirtualisation et offre aux fournisseurs de services la possibilité demigrer dans le cloud, en rendant l’infrastructure d’exploitation aussiagile que le sont les réseaux virtualisés et les data centers. C’est unportefeuille innovant, qui repose sur trois volets uniques : unenouvelle fondation capable d’identifier et de suivre de façondynamique toutes les ressources réseau, un système OSS entièrementautomatisé et programmable afin d’exécuter des commandes etd’assurer des services, et un environnement d’ « autoréparation » quirepose sur des fonctions d’analyse de la datamasse (Big Data), pourune restauration automatisée etune gestion prévisionnelle du réseau.

L’environnement OSS actuel est très fragmenté, et majoritairementgéré de façon manuelle ; son entretien coûte cher, ce qui en fait unobstacle important à la livraison dynamique de services cloud.

Le portefeuille Motive de solutions OSS, pouraider les fournisseurs de services à libérer lepotentiel des technologies NFV et SDN

Company .................................................................................... page

Anritsu A/S ........................................................................................7

Asia Broadcast Satellite ..................................................................13

F G Wilson Engineering Ltd. .............................................................. 5

GL Communications Inc. ..................................................................29

Infomir GmbH ..................................................................................31

Informa Telecoms & Media Ltd (NigeriaCom 2014) ........................9

Intelsat ............................................................................................17

Interactive Intelligence SA (Pty) Ltd ..................................................2

Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. ................................................................36

Liquid Telecommunications..............................................................11

Netia Groupe....................................................................................33

Telecom Italia Sparkle S.p.A. ..........................................................35

WIOCC ..............................................................................................21

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Le nouveau portefeuille Motive DynamicOperations d’Alcatel-Lucent, qui sera lancé dansle courant de l’année, permettra aux opérateursde concrétiser les promesses des réseauxvirtualisés, grâce aux technologies NFV (NetworkFunction Virtualization) et SDN (Software DefinedNetworking).

LES SYSTÈMES OSS font référence aux systèmes utilisés par lesopérateurs pour gérer leurs réseaux, exécuter des services, en proposerde nouveaux et apporter l’assurance d’un fonctionnement réseauadéquat. Si les fournisseurs de services ont rapidement opté pour desinnovations portant sur les réseaux IP, les technologies cloud et lavirtualisation des fonctions réseau, les innovations en matière desystèmes OSS tardent à émerger.

Andrew McDonald, directeur de la division Plateformes IP d’Alcatel-Lucent, a déclaré : « Il est impératif de changer radicalement d’approcheen matière de systèmes OSS, avant que les opérateurs soient en mesurede concrétiser les promesses des technologies NFV et SDN. Après lelancement à la fois de CloudBand, la première plateforme NFV dusecteur, de la première solution SDN avec Nuage Networks et desolutions de cœur de réseau en mode paquet virtualisées, IMS etfonctions réseau mobiles, Alcatel-Lucent innove aussi dans le domainedes systèmes OSS avec le lancement du portefeuille de solutions MotiveDynamic Operation, en vue d’apporter aux systèmes OSS l’agilitérequise pour la virtualisation des réseaux dans le cloud. »

www.alcatel-lucent.

MOBILE IDENTITIES AND converged messaging solutions providerMovius Interactive Corporation has completed a US$13mn financinground led by PointGuard Ventures. New Enterprise Associates (NEA) andAnschutz Investments also participated in this round. Proceeds will beused to fulfill and accelerate the company’s growth plans associatedwith its next generation mobile applications platform known as CAFÉ(Communication Applications Framework Engine).

“The successful closing of this financing round reflects the continuedsuccess and enthusiastic market response we have seen regarding ourCAFÉ platform and its market leading applications,” said DominicGomez, CEO of Movius, who added that the company is now positionedto capitalise on the “convergence of messaging and the need forpersonalising distinct lifestyles securely and easily.”

Movius raises US$13mn for messaging and mobile

S09 CAF 4 2014 - Equipment_Layout 1 01/07/2014 16:49

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