NEWS SPONSORED BY rAge EXPO:

The continued implementation of strong 4G and LTE networks should remain a priority for African countries, even with the expansion of 5G on the continent. This is the option of Dr Mohamed Madkour, VP of Global Carrier Network Solutions & Marketing at Huawei HQ at a recent roundtable, held last week during AfricaCom 2022.

Madkour pointed out how 4G technologies have had a profound impact and will continue to do so, noting the growth of companies such as Uber and Spotify off the back of 4G. “There are a lot of companies that could only be created because of 4G, with trillions of dollars added to the global economy,” Madkour said.

He believes that 4G in Africa still needs to grow in terms of depth and penetration, with 5G then later implemented on top of this strong 4G network. This Madkour notes, is the solution to receive the optimal user experience, stating that a strong 4G network makes rolling out 5G a lot simpler.

With other continents seeing 5G adoption at a rapid pace, it would be tempting for African operators to feel the need to fully commit to 5G. According to Madkour, that’s especially true given the advantages 5G offers in terms of speed, cost and power efficiency. However, he notes, “4G in Africa has been great but penetration is still around 50%. 5G is tiny. 4G still needs to grow, and then we can put 5G on top in places that make sense. Any investment right now in strengthening 4G will actually reduce the investment needed in 5G.”

That does not mean that 5G for Africa should wait, rather that 5G can be implemented where it makes business sense. “No carrier can implement 5G with everything. For the launch to be successful, there has to be a plan to make money,” he states.

Madkour believes South African networks are right in implementing 5G only in places where the demand is high, doing so after 4G capabilities have been established. 

He further notes different countries will have different services finding the most value on 5G, with some countries performing well on consumer services, others finding industrial applications working best. As far as Africa is concerned, Madkour believes fixed wireless access (FWA) is the key for the success of 5G on the continent. With fibre rollout a challenge in many countries, solutions such as FWA  present an important opportunity for connecting those households and bridging the digital divide. 

However, the cost of 5G Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) devices – basically the 5G router needed to connect from a household – needs to drop to the region of $100 - $150 for this to truly take off, something he foresees happening in the next 12 to 24 months. This will contribute greatly to the growth of the African digital economy, the importance of which has been continually emphasised by Huawei and others during AfricaCom.

As for the future past 5G, Madkour believes that we will continue to see advancements and that the Huawei R+D team is busy with development. However, according to him the current 5G releases still offer enough business opportunities and that this should be the current focus, rather than being distracted about what's to come.