1 Apr 2015

“Adapt and innovate or simply close shop” Interview of K-NET’s Dayo Abiodun for Connecting West Africa



Dayo Abiodun is Director, International Business Development at K-NET a Ghana-based provider of telecommunication solutions for businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing data and internet services in several West African countries.

Ahead of his participation to Connecting WestAfrica in Senegal on 9-10 June, we ask him a few question on the market.

What makes K-NET a unique player in Ghana’s market? “K-NET is the only company in Ghana that has built its own one stop network infrastructure integrating several platforms into a single centrally controlled network” he says. “ K-NET has its own teleport, data center, a dedicated satellite capacity and fiber link connection to major international PoPs.”

Innovation is a key theme in the region’s digital development, according to Dayo. Asked about the impact of the digital transition, as many countries are preparing for the switch in June in following with ITU guidelines, Dayo says the main impact will be felt by broadcasters:  the digital transition will “force broadcasting companies to adapt and innovate or simply close shop”. The change will not only affect broadcasters but also telecommunications. Dayo sees the main outcome of the transition will be “innovation that would lead to a knowledge society”.

The main issue for telecom operators is balancing investment in networks and monetisation. Dayo says “content and VAS will be a key driver to generating revenue from data” in the new digital market” but the first LTE deployments in the region have shown that “service affordability is still key to market penetration in the subscriber space”.

Regulators and governments have an important role to play in improving affordable access to high speed networks, by creating “an enabling environment, availability of critical infrastructure such as reliable power/electricity and elimination of double taxation”.

Dayo will be joining the panel discussion on rural telecoms at Connecting West Africa on 9th June, discussing social impact, strategies & technologies in connecting remote areas. For more information on the programme please visit http://westafrica.comworldseries.com/