[kictanet] Something that We Cannot See Is Holding 5G Back in Africa

Thu Jul 16 10:44:37 EAT 2020

huawei is much involved in much of infrastructure upgrade of  one of our l
blue chip telco  and  with the way the west is handling its activities  i
think its time we start thinking of how we are going to be affected

On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 9:27 AM florence mwangangi via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> I cannot agree more with you Kathy. The Judiciary once abandoned the idea
> of taking up some premises in Nairobi for use by the Court of Appeal
> principally for fear of negative effects on the health of the users of the
> premises from  suspected radiation from nearby telecommunications
> infrastructure.
> How now does the public get to be educated on all matters-5G including the
> "rumoured" radiation, it being their constitutional right to access the
> information?
>
> On Wed, 15 Jul 2020, 16:41 Kathy Mwai via kictanet, <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> You do make a case for 5G in Africa, and Kenya specifically. It was only
>> yesterday however that Britain decided to strip Huawei out of its 5G
>> network implementation. While I am not indicating this is the trend that
>> Kenya should follow, the point I want to make is that I do not think we are
>> going to accept 5G infrastructure in our residential areas particularly
>> without questioning it.
>>
>> Yes, they may just be conspiracy theories about the radiation dangers of
>> 5G, but if I could use my neighbourhood as an example, the residents here
>> have decided to contend with poor network connection than have the
>> telecommunications company install a mast.
>>
>> It is not an easy decision because the emerging technologies do require
>> 5G strength to work optimally. I wonder if there are groups working to
>> educate people on how to mitigate the radiation effects of 5G. There are
>> some I know online and it would help everyone to get themselves educated on
>> it so that when the inevitable time of 5G rollout comes, then you can
>> protect yourself - to an extent!
>>
>> Kathy
>>
>> On Wed, 15 Jul 2020 at 15:47, Adam Lane via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> https://blog.huawei.com/2020/07/14/something-that-we-cannot-see-is-holding-5g-back-in-africa/
>>>
>>>
>>> Something that We Cannot See Is Holding 5G Back in Africa
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> There is an intangible resource that most people do not know exists and
>>> cannot be seen or touched. That resource is holding Africa back from
>>> rolling out high-speed 5G mobile services. If we don’t solve managing this
>>> resource better, then we won’t get 5G in Africa and we’ll be left behind.
>>>
>>>
>>> Spectrum is of critical importance in Africa. Not necessarily because
>>> Africans need high-speed mobile phone services, nor because they are likely
>>> to have tens of thousands packed into stadiums or highly dense areas
>>> (especially this year). And it’s not because self-driving cars will be
>>> populating the continent’s roads any time soon.
>>>
>>>
>>> It is of critical importance because so few homes and businesses have
>>> fiber in Africa.
>>>
>>>
>>> However, through Fixed Wireless Access (FWA/WTTx) solutions, 5G can
>>> provide fiber-like services without requiring the expense or time needed to
>>> install fiber. Upgrading existing base stations and deploying a CPE
>>> (Customer Premises Equipment) like a mobile router or dongle inside or
>>> outside an office or home instantly yields the fiber-like speeds that are
>>> critical for e-commerce and online learning. And now more than ever, it is
>>> clear how important both are.
>>>
>>>
>>> Spectrum 101
>>>
>>>
>>> Most people may think of spectrum as a range of colors in a rainbow, or
>>> a range on which political opinions belong.
>>>
>>>
>>> But it also refers to the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic
>>> radiation. Even though these are generally invisible to the human eye,
>>> spectrum matters for communications, whether it is radio, Wi-Fi, mobile
>>> phones, or satellite broadcasts — all use electromagnetic waves to travel
>>> and reach a user.
>>>
>>>
>>> The Role of Governments
>>>
>>>
>>> The use of these intangible wavelengths are regulated by governments to
>>> prevent multiple users using the same frequencies of spectrum, as this
>>> would cause interference and nothing would reach the user. At a global
>>> level, the UN oversees a process for all countries to agree on the kind of
>>> users for different frequencies (such as for Wi-Fi, mobile phones, or
>>> meteorological use). At the national level, the government decides which
>>> specific organisations or companies can use that spectrum.
>>>
>>>
>>> National governments often charge a fee to commercial companies for
>>> using this — one purpose is to recoup the costs for managing, monitoring,
>>> and enforcing the regulation of spectrum. Another is to generate revenue
>>> for the government. And a third (and arguably the most important) is to
>>> weed out those who may not be serious about using the spectrum. In other
>>> words, they want companies that have the resources to invest in the
>>> infrastructure to use it. So the thinking goes that if serious players can
>>> afford the spectrum, they can also afford to pay for the infrastructure.
>>>
>>>
>>> Regulators want to support existing actors with solid track records to
>>> deliver infrastructure, but they don’t want to restrict new entrants to the
>>> market or innovation. So, they face striking a balance — to allow new
>>> companies to come in even if they do not have much in the way of resources
>>> yet, but are serious and could still make good use of the infrastructure in
>>> the future. There is also pressure from the treasury to generate as much
>>> money as possible. This may come from the richest companies, but could in
>>> turn affect these companies’ finances, so they cannot subsequently invest
>>> in building networks.
>>>
>>>
>>> For high-speeds, it is necessary to have large amounts of spectrum in a
>>> big block. But right now, few companies in Africa have that, which means no
>>> company can provide it. Lots of companies each have small amounts of
>>> spectrum, so none can provide a high-speed network to lots of people. It is
>>> critical that this changes — and urgently. Companies, whether big or small,
>>> existing or new, must be given access to that spectrum. And there must be
>>> enough to go around, providing it is only given to companies that are
>>> really serious about using it and are seriously able to make the necessary
>>> investments.
>>>
>>>
>>> During COVID-19, South Africa has temporarily made spectrum available to
>>> its operators. This has resulted in two new operators launching 5G (one
>>> launched last year with the spectrum it already had). With the
>>> affordability of Internet data creating such a critical challenge in
>>> Africa, the prices local operators are charging for 5G are telling:
>>>
>>>
>>>    - Comparing 5G with 4G, one operator will give you 10 times more data
>>> for only 4 times the price, or 40 times more data for only 6 times the
>>> price.
>>>
>>>     -.Another provides unlimited data and charges by speed instead, just
>>> like a traditional fiber service, even though they are using mobile.
>>>
>>>
>>> Countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya have strong technology sectors,
>>> innovative local companies, a significant presence from international
>>> companies, and a strong focus on creating jobs involving technology. They
>>> need to move faster with 5G to ensure future development.
>>>
>>>
>>> Future businesses in the technology industry and the profits, social
>>> impact, and jobs that come with that, rely on having high-speed Internet
>>> for consumers through FWA. Millions of Africans could use that connectivity
>>> to get trained online, get jobs online, earn money online, and create tech
>>> businesses. And now is the time to make that happen.
>>>
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> M: +254-790985886
>>> Deputy CEO, Government Affairs
>>> Huawei Kenya
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>>
>>
>> --
>> *Dream and Your Dreams Will Fall Short <kathymwai at gmail.com>...*
>>
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>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
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