Mozambique wins WiMax race

By Warwick Ashford for Telesciences
Johannesburg, 26 Apr 2006

Rapid Cloud Technology, the Johannesburg-based sub-Saharan distributor of certified WiMax equipment for Canada`s Redline Communications, has deployed Africa`s first certified WiMax metropolitan network in the capital of neighbouring Mozambique in under five days.

"For Teledata Mozambique, WiMax is all about delivering quality broadband to the local market and providing an affordable alternative to digital subscriber lines and cable broadband Internet access," says Arnoud de Nooy, Rapid Cloud CEO.

According to De Nooy, WiMax is the best technology to meet the growing demand for reliable and superior wireless broadband connectivity in Africa, particularly because of its relatively low costs, rapid deployment capability, extensive scalability, and capacity to deliver voice, data and video.

Teledata`s CEO Luis Mhula agrees. "We think certified WiMax is the right technology to implement as it is seen by the industry as the technology of the future."

SA on track

Although Mozambique is the first African country to set up a certified WiMax network, commercial services are set to begin only later in the year, and according to two visiting Redline representatives, SA may not be far behind.

"Certification guarantees interoperability and has been a catalyst for WiMax implementations, with Kenya, Ghana and Madagascar set to follow Mozambique in quick succession," says Simon Wilder, Redline sales director for Europe and Africa.

However, Wilder and Redline global sales and support VP Mike Ansley agree the South African government has shown a determination to improve the communications infrastructure in the country. They say if certified commercial WiMax implementations begin around June, SA will still be on track with the rest of the Africa and the world.

No commercial WiMax networks can be implemented in SA until operating licences are issued and frequencies allocated by the Independent Communications Authority of SA. However, Ansley and Wilder say they have held discussions with all the major telecommunication organisations in SA and they believe WiMax licences will be awarded soon.

Frequency allocation

Wilder says it remains to be seen whether frequencies will be allocated on a national or regional basis. Allocation on a national basis could limit the number of operators to as few as three or four, but a combination of the two would open the market to more players because the same frequency allocations could be used in different parts of the country.

It is also not yet known if the second national operator (SNO) will be among the licensees. However, De Nooy says the SNO has issued a tender for WiMax equipment and if it is granted a licence, the SNO will be able to establish a WiMax network relatively quickly to compete with Telkom`s expensive ADSL and leased line services.

Andy Robb, chief technologist at Duxbury Networking, says WiMax will ultimately provide throughput speeds of around 70Mbps and a transmission radius of up to 50km. Initially, however, the technology will provide around 2Mbps throughput and coverage of up to a radius of 8km.