The clever way to deploy small cells

By Flavio Buratto - Managing Director, Bwtech

It's common knowledge that mobile data usage will continue to grow exponentially for the next few years. The ever-increasing number of advanced smartphones on the market seem to be unstoppable in their appetite for data. More apps made for high-speed data are being released at each and every moment. In days to come, 1GB per user per day will be the reality according to Nokia Vision. The traffic demand is about to hit the capacity wall very soon. Data Armageddon is coming…

"Subscribers suffer congestion in multiple urban areas"

Operators try to solve congestion issues in multiple ways. They deploy new macro layers, they buy new spectrum and implement carrier aggregation, they also take advantage of new features that increase spectral efficiency. Still, subscribers suffer congestion in multiple urban areas.

Recent developments in base station products resulted in small, compact and relatively cheap devices that are also easy and fast to implement, thanks to embedded Self-Organizing Network (SON) features supporting automatic configuration. These developments opened yet another way to relieve congestion in traffic hot spots named Small Cells.

"Operators could be tempted to place a small cell on every street corner, such an approach wouldn't be efficient from either an economic or technical standpoint"

Small cells rollout varies greatly from the old manner of deployment using Macrocells. Although operators could be tempted to place a small cell on every street corner, such an approach would not be efficient from either an economic or technical standpoint. Small cells in suboptimal locations would not only collect less traffic, but also would distort and interfere other cells. On the other hand, small cells placed close to the traffic demand would be capable of offloading much of the macrocell traffic. Indeed, small cell deployment requires a completely new approach and new tools.

Small cell planning

The first step in small cell planning would be to identify the traffic hot spots. Although local knowledge from members of technical and marketing staff would help to indicate the most obvious candidates, such an approach could be insufficient in large scale, rapid rollouts. Automated geolocation solutions based on real usage data are needed instead. Such solutions take into account millions of Radio Resource Control (RRC) measurement reports coming from all mobile devices in the network and are capable of creating precise traffic heat maps, separately for voice, data and signaling.

"Accurate maps presenting radio performance issues and interference levels can help to identify possible locations for small cells"

The second step would be to locate places with multiple radio performance issues like call setup failures or dropped connections. Such issues are often related to high interference levels and negatively affect customer experience. Accurate maps presenting radio performance issues and interference levels would also help to identify possible locations for small cells.

 

"The right geolocation tool would be able to create heat maps filtered by device types"

Capacity hotspots may have different traffic profiles. They may be placed in areas with massive signaling, high voice traffic, or a lot of generated data. They may be locations heavily populated with the latest smartphones and areas where data traffic is generated by data modems. The right geolocation tool would be able to create heat maps filtered by device types. Having such knowledge to hand, we are able to decide if small LTE cell is the best option, or maybe Wi-Fi offload would be more suitable.

The proper geolocation tool will not only help to place small cells in exactly the right location but also will save a lot of planning time.

NetGeo

Bwtech NetGeo is a vendor independent tool based on call traces. It implements a proprietary advanced geolocation algorithm by utilizing the detailed real-world data gained from the hundreds of thousands of subscriber UE’s connected to and moving through a mobile network. This new geographical information adds subscriber experience analytics into the network optimization process.

Voice, data and signaling density maps are helpful for identification of hotspots, planning new site locations and indoor solutions, planning Wi-Fi offload or small cells rollout. Smartphone-type distribution maps may help to take better decisions when network capacity is optimized.

About Bwtech:

Bwtech helps its customers to experience the best and most innovative wireless technologies. Their portfolio includes solutions for network planning, RAN and CORE optimization, geolocation, SON, LBS and customer experience analytics. They currently support more than 20 operators in Latin America and Europe. For enquiries please email Bwtech at hello@bwtech.com.

Bwtech will be exhibiting on stand B5 at AfricaCom 2016, 15 - 17 November.

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Africa's appetite for video and how to take a bite out of the competition

By Anish Abraham - Digital Account Manager, DUO Marketing

Increased access to smartphones and internet connectivity across the African continent has led to an explosion in the number of users consuming online video. It won't end anytime soon either, as internet penetration improves and smartphones become more affordable, brands should capitalise on the increasing reach and engagement value video can provide. 

More people across the African continent are watching video content online, be it through social media platforms, streaming services, or through hosting sites like YouTube. These numbers are set to keep growing at a rapid rate, with Ericsson's Consumer Lab Report stating that online video consumption will grow by 55% per year until 2019.

Brands can take advantage of this trend by supplementing traditional press releases with insightful, short, sharp videos that provide exclusive comments not to be found in the written versions. This not only makes watching the videos worthwhile, but provides additional value to news outlets that have an active and sizable online presence.

While short video has for long been the preferred choice, increased access to broadband connectivity and declining data costs are seeing more in-depth and long form video being shared online. In a comprehensive survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), titled 'Mobile Video Usage: A Global Perspective', 36% of respondents said they watched videos of over 5 minutes or more daily.

This growing appetite for online video has led to the birth of several video-on-demand (VOD) providers across the content, like Nigerian giant iROKOtv, as well as attracting global players like Netflix. The market potential has even persuaded established satellite TV providers like Multichoice to launch a VOD offering.
 

East AfricaCom showcased the rise of digital broadcasting, this year by introducing a stream dedicated to broadcasting in the digital era. The two day conference included a workshop session focusing on creating and provisioning content for a multi-platform, multimedia environment, as well as panel discussion on the future of thematic channels in the digital space, together with commercial viability and effective regulation.

Video for business
 
The apatite for video on the continent makes a clear case for increasing the use of video in webinars, marketing materials, social media, and even for landing page introductory videos.

A list of interesting stats from Insivia shows that:

• Unbounce reports that include video on a landing page can increase conversion by 80%.
• 92% of mobile video consumers share videos with others, according to Invodo.
• 46% of users take some sort of action after viewing a video ad, according to the Online Publishers Association.
• 96% of B2B (business-to-business) organisations use video in some capacity in their marketing campaigns of which 73% report positive results to their ROI, according to a survey conducted by ReelSEO.
• Including a video on your homepage can increase conversion rates by 20% or more, according to ReelSEO.

While brands might not necessarily have the financial or human resources to indulge in large scale productions that result in well-packaged videos for marketing and advertising, they should not ignore the possibilities of short video. 

Cost-effective options

These can be filmed on mobile devices, with minimal post editing, and can be used with great effect across a company's social media platforms, helping break the monotony of static text and images on a timeline. Twitter and Instagram allow for short video to be natively shot and uploaded from a mobile device, and brands have had huge success with increased video content on the latter.

They're a relatively quick way to bring social media platforms to life by using spokespeople to give the company a human face, deliver meaningful messages and build a closer relationship with social media fans.
 
Being inexpensive means that short video also provides companies with an ideal way to start using more visually appealing content on their online and social media platforms in a cost-effective manner.

About Anish Abraham: 

Anish Abraham has over 10 years’ digital media and online publishing experience, as well as a background in journalism. He is able to not only write the content, but does so with an eye on search engine optimisation and inclusion of relevant keywords. Anish has a passion for content creation and curation, digital/social amplification and, most importantly, reporting. He has worked on several content management systems, and has basic HTML knowledge.

Anish has a Bachellor of Technology Degree in Journalism from the Tshwane University of Technology, as well as short-course certificates in International Environmental Politics from TUT/Stanford University, and in Basic Financial Reporting from the University of the Witwatersrand. 

You can follow Anish on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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"I have spent all my life in the technology of communications, I am very proud of that" - Full video interview with Andile Ngcaba

The full video interview is here.

We caught up with Convergence Partners chairman Andile Ngcaba to talk about his background and experience in the African telco sector, the growth and development he has seen on the continent and his investment firm's plans for the future.

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Networking at West Africa Com 2016: The regional platform for the ICT and the West African digital sector

By Sofia Indtaher - VIP Relations Executive, KNect365 at Informa

West Africa Com in Dakar, formerly known as Connecting West Africa Com, brought together the Francophone and Anglophone markets of West Africa. The event offered a VIP environment for executives in the telecommunications, ICT, digital and enterprise sectors to meet, exchange ideas and conduct business. This is the leading annual event in the region for those in the ICT and telecommunications sectors, in both the private and public spheres.

This year’s West Africa Com gathered a large range of attendees from some of the biggest and the most imminent international enterprises, such as: Orange, Expresso Telecom, Sonatel, Atlantique Telecom, Google, Africa Open Innovation, Vodafone Ghana, Tigo. We also had the pleasure of welcoming government entities like the Senegalese Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the Government of Sierra Leone and representatives from UNESCO.
 
Our attendees were not only attending the annual forum for the West African digital, ICT and telco sectors, but they could also meet with their peers through a diverse range of networking opportunities. Attendees could choose from our speed networking sessions, hosted lunch tables, a VIP pool-side networking cocktail party, as well as pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between sponsors, VIPs and delegates. 

“Really interesting meetings that could potentially lead to future partnerships. Interesting and fun way to network as well. Thank you for including this new concept to what is supposed to be a very formal setting.”

Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Fall - Head of IT, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development Senegal

One of our most well received networking activities were the two executive speed networking sessions, which ran each morning. Executive speed networking is an informal but structured networking platform where VIPs, sponsors and exhibitors get to meet key like-minded industry leaders. The purpose of these sessions is to enable companies to present their businesses to the relevant people and spark a common interest between buyers and sellers. If both sides find their offerings of interest, they have the opportunity to exchange their business cards and schedule further meetings that might lead to future collaborations. What delegates favoured was the more relaxed and casual setting where they could enjoy exchanging and talking about their respective businesses. Many VIPs and sponsors managed to close deals thanks to the executive speed networking sessions they attended during the conference. 

“West Africa Com is the door for telecom operators. Africa Operators have the opportunity to exchange with suppliers with the same level of performance of the GSMA events. Well done!”
Khadim Rassoul Diop - Field Operation Director, Expresso Telecom

Further to the speed networking sessions, we offered our sponsors a one-to-one meeting programme. This is an additional opportunity for companies to increase their visibility and enable them to talk further about their products with their key audience. These pre-scheduled meetings happened to be crucial and very beneficial for both VIPs and sponsors, as they could understand each other better and take the time to discuss their respective business interests in more detail. This tailored and more personalised approach was thoroughly enjoyed by all who took part in these networking sessions.

“For me it’s a 10 out of 10 for this event and special thanks to Sofia who arranged extra meetings for us when we asked her to help us out. Looking forward to the next edition!”
Gershon Guther - VP Sales, Equatel

As a part of the conference and as a further networking opportunity, we organised a pool-side cocktail party for our attendees who enjoyed networking under the sun with a glass of wine. As organisers, we always try to understand our audience and find the interest of all our attendees considering their religions, beliefs, or even their eating restrictions.
West Africa Com took place during the Holy Month of Ramadan in a country where more than 95% of inhabitants are Muslims. Because of this, we thought that the attendance rate would be way lower than previous years, but it wasn’t the case, we still had a lot of people coming to enjoy the conference as the interest in telecommunications, ICT, digital and broadband in the region is really high. 

"Among those meetings, around 60% can be potential deals in the future. Thanks a lot to Sofia who did her best to facilitate those meetings between Intelsat and the attendees. Thanks”
Lin Candide Avahouin – Sales Director, Intelsat

At West Africa Com, year after year, we want to make sure our guests, VIPs and sponsors find their advantage by meeting as many relevant delegates as possible onsite. Our main objective is to ensure that we meet our audience expectations in the best way possible and make our events more and more attractive to increase attendance year on year.

Based on a general satisfaction from our VIPs, delegates and sponsors, we hope to see you next year to enjoy more of our VIP offerings at future events.

If you would like to learn more about networking opportunities at West Africa Com or any other Com World Series event, please get in contact with Sofia Indtaher, VIP Relations Executive at Informa here.

"I envision Africa, 30 years from now, becoming the digital continent" - Andile Ngcaba Interview

Coming soon to the Com Series blog and YouTube channel...

Here is a sneak preview of our interview with Andile Ngcaba, chairman of Convergence Partners.

With a vibrant and varied background working to accelerate the socio-economic growth and development not only in his home country of South Africa, but the continent at large, Andile brings 35 years of experience in the tech and telecommunications sectors, in order to continue to build what he terms “digital Africa”.

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3 tips to ensure your communication objectives are aligned with your business vision

 
By Ronell Swartbooi - DUO Marketing + Communications  

I’ve seen technology companies shifting their business goals three to four times within an eighteen-month period. This is understandable, as economies change, markets become more competitive or are disrupted by startups, new investors coming on board or target audiences changing. No matter the reason, being forced to shift business goals can be taxing on your business.

While you are focusing on business strategy and product enhancements or new product developments, consider how your communications team can support this process? How can they back the product and sales team and provide peace of mind when you are ready to go to market?

Here are a few key points to consider:

Ensure that your communications team fully understands current business shifts. The value of monthly business updates to your communications team goes a long way, if your goal is to ensure that all your stakeholders are in the know, and that potential customers reading any news updates about your business - across all available platforms - understand your current offering and value proposition.  

To avoid being on the backfoot: 

Encourage engagement between your developer / product teams and the communications team. Make this a fun exercise and use gamification tools if you need to in order to bridge the conversation between the geeks and the creatives. Why? This allows two very distinct teams to provide clarity on how they support each other, how their work complements another team’s results and very importantly, it avoids miscommunication to external audiences. The worst is reading an article that needs correction when you have already done the work to put it out there. 

Do a Google search to see if news online reflects the messages you want your audiences to see. If you are not impressed by what you see, it’s time to beef up your communication outputs. Review your content marketing , have a chat with your SEO person (if you don’t have one, aim to get a once-off analysis). All I’m saying is, do not underestimate the harmful influence outdated online content can have on your business. It has the potential to counter the hard work of your sales team and executives travelling to expos.

“In the absence of clear communication that satisfies the urgent desire to know what the boss is really thinking, people imagine all kinds of motives. The result is often sloppy behavior and misalignment that can cost a company dearly. Precious time is wasted, rumors abound, talented people lose their focus, big projects fail.” Harvard Business Review, The Five MessagesLeaders Must Manage (2006) 

Tips: 

Every company with or without a dedicated communications team, needs to have the following documents at hand. By developing and updating these quarterly, your communications team stays on top of specific business changes, and management gets into the habit of sharing relevant shifts that impact external communications.

1. Company fact sheet (for the media and stakeholders): Similar to the About section on your website. An updated, one-pager that your team can easily attach or paste into an email. This comes in handy and saves times when stakeholders or the media have quick questions and no time to search your website.
2. Key messaging / keywords/ quotes (for spokespersons): This one-pager provides executives and your communications team with a golden thread to keep all communications aligned with business goals. Never underestimate the value of making your executive team feel confident that they are sharing the right message. By also providing your communications team with well-researched keywords, they can ensure that your SEO ranking is on point when developing blogs, thought leadership and case studies etc.
3. Updated executive bios, including high resolution photos and updated LinkedIn profiles: Often these tools are underrated. The worst is when media decide to Google and use a 5 year old photo of an executive at a conference in bad lighting. This is a once off annual exercise that can save you time in the long term, and could potentially make or break a feature opportunity in a business print publication.

Watch this space for Part 2: How to shift from startup to enterprise messaging.

About Ronell Swartbooi:

 

Ronell Swartbooi, currently works as a Tech PR Account Manager at DUO Marketing + Communications. Her passion for communications and networking with entrepreneurs is what inspired her to change careers to technology PR. Africa’s rapid growth in technology is what has fueled her interest to communicate innovation out of Africa. 

Prior to tech PR, Ronell worked in the nonprofit sector as a project manager for seven years, facilitating a youth media & leadership project. She dabbled in blogging and website admin/ basic HTML before blogger influencers were a thing. 

Ronell has attained a degree in Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, as well as short course diplomas in Marketing and Public Relations at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

7 global tech giants supporting African startups

By Tom Jackson – Disrupt Africa
 
Global tech companies are increasingly seeing the opportunities available to them in Africa and establishing larger presences on the continent in search of digital’s “final frontier”.

But this isn’t necessarily bad news for African tech startups, as many of these major global players are keen on developing the continent’s tech startup ecosystem, for a number of reasons.

Here are seven major tech players that are, in many different ways, playing their part in encouraging the development of Africa’s tech scene.


Microsoft

Where to begin. Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative has been a pioneer when it comes to corporate engagement with Africa, with a focus on increasing connectivity and encouraging entrepreneurship. The company is of course building a market of Microsoft customers, but its initiatives have proven beneficial to African startups.

To list but a few, the company has launched a fund for startups focused on internet access, partnered ALN Ventures, AMPION and DEMO Africa, extended the frontiers of its BizSpark programme for startups, worked to bring Kenyan SMEs online, launched a cloud initiative in Nigeria, and signed a strategic partnership with a Tunisian startup. Likely to get busier.


Facebook 

Most of Facebook’s activity in Africa has been around its Internet.org project, which by working to make internet access more affordable to more Africans is in itself a major bonus for the continent’s tech startups. But the company is working on having a more direct impact too.

The company is working on building strong relationships with a number of hubs across the continent, and was a co-sponsor of the Hack for Big Choices event in Ghana. Its major play is the recently-launched Internet.org Innovation Challenge in Africa, which looks to recognise African developers working on apps, websites and services for learning and economic empowerment, and rewards winners with US$150,000.


Google



Has long been active in Africa with its Umbono and Google for Entrepreneurs programmes, but seems to have gone quite quiet. Yet Google is still relatively active within the continent’s tech ecosystem, backing a couple of hubs across the continent and partnering some startups.

Initiatives in Africa include training in digital skills, running an exchange programme, offering marketing bootcamps, running digital workshops for women, and rewarding hubs. Remains quietly influential and has the infrastructure to play a big part.


Cisco



Not as “cool” as Facebook and Google, Cisco is nonetheless quietly getting on with a couple of initiatives serving African tech startups, in the acceleration and financing spaces.

The company has partnered Intel (see below) and Deutsche Telekom to launch Challenge Up!, an Internet of Things (IoT) accelerator for startups from the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Meanwhile, Cisco Capital has launched easylease, a low-rate financing programme, in South Africa, in a bid to help SMEs invest in next generation technology.


Intel 



A key partner in the IoT accelerator mentioned above, Intel has a direct impact on African startups through its work in the acceleration space across the continent.

The company has partnered the University of Nairobi’s C4DLab to launch a tech incubation programme for Kenyan startups, while it also partnered the Lagos-based Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) to run the Growth Academy accelerator programme. Has also launched Developer Zones in Lagos and Johannesburg.

IBM



The company is best known in Africa for its SmartCamps, which take place in Cairo, Casablanca, Johannesburg, Nairobi, but IBM is gradually scaling up its activities within the startup ecosystem.

It has begun partnering with startups, notably software development startup Digijiz, located at the SEDA Nelson Mandela Bay ICT Incubator (SNII) in Port Elizabeth, while its focus has also shifted to innovation spaces. It launched one such space at the iHub in Nairobi last year, and will invest US$61 million over the next ten years in a new laboratory at the University of Witwatersrand’s Tshimogolong Precinct tech hub in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.


SAP



Active in development and support primarily, SAP has gradually spread itself across Africa when it comes to assisting the growth of the startup ecosystem.

It has offered product development support to South African startups, and taken East African startups to Silicon Valley as part of its fellowship programme. It has focused on skills development in the same region, while it has also launched a startup support programme in North Africa.


About Tom Jackson:

Passionate about the vibrant tech startups scene in Africa, Tom can usually be found scoping out the continent's most exciting new companies and entrepreneurs, funding rounds and any other developments within the growing ecosystem. He is co-founder of African tech startups news site Disrupt Africa and is based out of Cape Town, Nairobi and Lagos. Tom was a speaker at last year's AfricaCom as well as a Com World Series media partner.

Website: Tom Jackson
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LinkedIn: Tom Jackson
Disrupt Africa

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