Spectrum plagues rural broadband

Limited spectrum in lower-end frequency is inhibiting mobile wireless broadband roll-out in Africa.

"Lack of spectrum in these frequencies is mostly affecting broadband growth in rural communities whose primary communication platform is mobile telephony," said Emamgholi Behdad, chief of the projects and initiatives department, International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Development Bureau.

He was speaking last week at the Connect Africa summit, in Rwanda, where low mobile, Internet and broadband penetration in Africa`s rural areas was a key concern.

According to the ITU`s research, broadband penetration in Africa averages 1.18 persons per 1 000 inhabitants, as opposed to the rest of the world, which averages 43 people per 1 000 inhabitants.

Behdad said governments and regulators had to urgently address the limited spectrum issue in the mobile wireless frequency in order to tackle rural broadband inadequacies.

Mobile telephony is the most widely used communication platform in rural areas and is, therefore, an ideal way to bring Internet and broadband technologies to these communities, he said.

Spectrum in the mobile wireless frequency, which allows broadband technologies like WiMax, HSDPA and 3G to operate, is a scarce commodity, limiting the availability of broadband licences and making them prohibitively expensive.

Jones Killimbe, CEO of the pan-African satellite group Rascom, said rural areas would benefit if regulators worked together to make spectrum available in the lower-end frequencies, most notably the 450MHz frequency.

Behdad urged African regulators and governments to formulate a digital migration strategy, which will allow broadcasters to transit from analogue to digital platforms.

The migration to digital television will release the ultra-high frequency spectrum in the 470MHz to 806/862MHz band, relinquishing space for mobile broadband services to operate, said Gabriel Solomon, director of regulatory affairs at the GSM Association.

Radio waves operating in this spectrum are powerful and have strong penetration value, as well as broad reach, which will ultimately benefit rural communities, he said.

Costly investments in the roll-out of cellular masts, as well as hefty mobile telecommunication licence fees, are factors increasing the communication gap in the rural areas, said Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, SA`s minister of communications and a speaker at the summit.

Telecoms operators functioning in the high-end 3.5MHz frequency band require 25 to 30 times more equipment as operators in the lower-end frequencies.

Effective spectrum management would create more licences in the highly sought-after low-end frequency spectrum, encouraging private investors to provide mobile wireless technologies and infrastructure in rural areas, she said.

Private investors are sceptical about investing huge amounts of money in areas where expected economic returns are too low, Matsepe-Casaburri said.

"Cell sites, with access to low-end frequencies, are more spectrally efficient, which means less equipment is needed, making roll-outs more affordable."

Adding to this, a policy of "shared infrastructure" on cell sites by telecoms operators would bring down the economies of scale and create better investment and broadband wireless roll-outs, she noted.