[kictanet] 5G Discourse Re-surfaces in Kenya. Are We Ready?

Tue May 17 09:02:41 EAT 2022

The article is useful. An 8000/= smartphone/mini computer is worth about 
2 weeks of work in a year given the current GDP per capita of Kenya. 
Unlimited internet starts at 4000/= per month, about 1/4 of GDP per 
capita of Kenya.  For sporadic use, a basic phone for 1000/= with 
occasional visits to an internet cafe make more sense.  Maybe community 
networks would justify spending 8000/= to obtain a device.

5G does have improved security, especially compared to 3G. This may 
become more of an issue in particular for financial transactions, though 
would also require consumer handset upgrades. The development of 5G 
started over 10 years ago, with the final specification adopted by the ITU
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/imt-2020/Pages/default.aspx

Internet access is still expensive in Kenya compared to some other parts 
of the world, partly due to the size of the subscriber base and high 
fixed  deployment cost.  The many sparsely populated regions will also 
need to be considered.

Given that 6G is expected by 2030, maybe focus on requirements for that 
would be useful as well:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6G_(network)

Finally, it would be good for some of these policy concepts to be 
considered at the East African Community level. This can enable better 
roaming which is important for trade.  It can also spread research and 
development costs over a wider number of potential subscribers.

On 5/16/22 16:35, Adam Lane via KICTANet wrote:
> I believe the article is quite clear that the primary use case for 5G is 
> for home wi-fi where there is no fiber to the home available, and thus 
> the home user will get a 5G enabled CPE from Safaricom.
> 
> This is very much true, and in no way a negative. Just look at the 
> success of 5G in South Africa which has also focused on this area. 5G 
> does not have many benefits for consumer handsets, as 4G is more than 
> sufficient for most users. With only 700k households having a home fiber 
> connection there is certainly a lot of need for using 5G to provide home 
> wi-fi connections….
> 
> There are two very different use cases for IoT networks. Those that send 
> very little data (e.g. sensors) and for which NB-IoT as well as various 
> LoRa/LP-WAN networks can handle that quite well. The other are those 
> that send a lot of data (e.g. video) in which case 5G would be useful 
> (though again, 4G can also handle it well enough in most cases unless 
> there is a very high number of such devices in a small network, like 
> potentially in a factory).
> 
> regards
> 
> Adam
> 
> *From:*KICTANet 
> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+adam.lane=huawei.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On 
> Behalf Of *Alex Watila via KICTANet
> *Sent:* Monday, May 16, 2022 4:10 PM
> *To:* Adam Lane <adam.lane at huawei.com>
> *Cc:* awatila at gmail.com
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] 5G Discourse Re-surfaces in Kenya. Are We Ready?
> 
> Dear Listers,
> 
> Unfortunately, we may be missing the point.
> 
> 5G will be primarily used by connected devices that will make smart 
> cities possible (because of improved speeds).
> 
> Just looking at consumers’ handsets may be missing the point.
> 
> Safaricom should also be aware that possible competitors in Africa are 
> building IoT networks based on radio frequencies (RF) that will bypass 
> the GSM networks (They have been a disaster requiring topping up of 
> voice for the sim cards to remain active)
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Consultant
> 
> /Quality Management Systems 
> <https://advisera.com/27001academy/#a_aid=621f58ced9bb1&a_bid=f79f3b0b> /
> 
> /Information Security Management Systems 
> <https://advisera.com/27001academy/#a_aid=621f58ced9bb1&a_bid=f79f3b0b>/
> 
> *From:*KICTANet <kictanet-bounces+awatila=gmail.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke 
> <mailto:kictanet-bounces+awatila=gmail.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke>> *On 
> Behalf Of *David Indeje via KICTANet
> *Sent:* Monday, May 16, 2022 3:52 PM
> *To:* Alex Watila <awatila at gmail.com <mailto:awatila at gmail.com>>
> *Cc:* David Indeje <davidindeje at gmail.com <mailto:davidindeje at gmail.com>>
> *Subject:* [kictanet] 5G Discourse Re-surfaces in Kenya. Are We Ready?
> 
> Dear Listers,
> 
> Safaricom has come out and said it will take some time before rolling 
> out the  5G service to its customers. The reason was infrastructure and 
> the cost of devices.  The entire story can be found here 
> <https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/technology/costly-phones-slow-safaricom-5g-rollout-3816624>.
> 
> It reminded me of our policy brief done by Mr John Walubengo and Mr 
> Barrack Otieno who are members here "Policy Brief No.7, November 2020 
> --- 5G Policy Brief. Which way for Kenya?
> 
> The objective of the study was to establish Kenya’s preparedness to 
> deploy fifth-generation wireless networks (5G).
> 
> A key finding was: */"The study has established that the country is 
> still not ready to effectively deploy and benefit from 5G technologies – 
> particularly from a strategic, policy, and regulatory perspective."/*
> 
> */Read below the brief: /*https://bit.ly/2XVMdit <https://bit.ly/2XVMdit>
> 
> *Kind Regards,*
> 
> *David Indeje
> *_____________________________________
> 
> +254 (0) 711 385 945 |  +254 (0) 734 024 856
> 
> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-indeje/>
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> KICTANet mailing list
> KICTANet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet
> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/
> 
> Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/benson_muite%40emailplus.org
> 
> 
> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector. Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building, Research, and Stakeholder Engagement.
> 
> 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.
> 
> KICTANet - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy engagement platform.
> 