Connectivity disparities took centre stage yesterday at a tech entrepreneur conference in Cape Town.
The continent takes a lead role in terms of internet bandwidth growth capacity, experiencing a compound annual growth rate of 44%.
The data-only network that pioneered 5G connectivity in South Africa now covers seven million households with the next-gen technology.
South Africa is experiencing an unparalleled wave of telecoms mergers with the hope of creating value through the post-merger integration process, says Matone Ditlhake, CEO of Corridor Africa Technologies.
While Telkom says the proposed timelines for the decommissioning of the legacy networks are “unrealistic”, Vodacom and MTN want more consultations.
Smart Satellite Services offer advanced quality of service and are ideally suited to off-grid locations with little to no access to fibre or LTE, says Dr Dawie de Wet, group CEO of Q-KON Africa.
The partnership will mean networks currently connected and peering at NAPAfrica or LINX can access either of the exchanges via trusted and mutually available carriers.
The collaboration covers several areas, including advancing efficient and cost-effective deployment of infrastructure.
The companies unveiled the set-top box at the International Broadcasting Convention, in Amsterdam.
The issue of connectivity is high on everyone’s minds and likely to be an important topic at GovTech, says Siya Madyibi, executive director: Corporate, External and Legal Affairs at Microsoft SA.
IXPN allows local content and service providers to connect directly for the exchange of local internet traffic rather than having their data travel long distances.