Wireless technologies lead
the way
On
the hotspot – is there where Africa ought to be?
By Matthew White,
Senior Reporter
AMONG
the new technologies on display at the Acacia conference is Wireless Hotspot
Roaming, which offers affordable, high-speed wireless Internet access.
This enables users of Wi-Fi
enabled notebook computers and PDA to connect to the Internet or corporate
intranet via a wireless network that is up to 50 times faster than a typical
56k modem.
But are sophisticated technologies what Africa needs? Carel van der Merwe,
CEO of Wireless
G, an alliance between Intel, Internet Solutions and Wi-Tel, reacts to the
question with transparent disbelief.
“Africa needs this system because it makes the continent more accessible to
international business people and investors,” he said. “But more than that,
the technology lends itself to the rapid, low-cost roll-out of a new wave of
connectivity into rural areas not currently served by telecoms. It’s a
paradigm shift, a leapfrogging of earlier technologies.”
While the technology is leading-edge, Van der Merwe’s company has
concentrated on building an effective and sustainable business model.
The “hotspot” concept relies on hotspot venue providers investing in the
technology in return for a share of revenue earned at the hotspot with the
service provider. Typically it takes Wireless G one day to install the
technology at a selected site, which may be an airport, hotel, shopping
mall, restaurant or office building etc. Hotspots throughout the world are
increasingly being interconnected through fast-growing global alliances and
roaming agreements.
Any user whose service provider is part of the alliance
can use any connected hotspot without having to take out a new service
contract. Payment can be effected through a credit card, a subscriber
contract or Wireless G prepaid card, or traditional ISP billing.
Johannesburg shopping mall Sandton Square is already a hotspot, Wireless G
is now installing pilot sites for a telecoms operator and Johannesburg
International Airport is due to become a hotspot within the next six weeks.
Of immense importance to Africa, said Van der Merwe, is the fact the Wi-Fi
technology can extend the range of existing technologies, whether landline,
radio or satellite.
He cites the example of a mine in a rural area. “At a very low cost we can
build on the mine’s infrastructure to extend the network into neighbouring
rural areas. Typically, we can transmit 11Mb/s over a single hop of 80km,
with no duplication of resources.”
In another - actual case – Bloemwater a South African parastatal, has agreed
to allocate a portion of its network bandwidth to provide services to a
nearby rural settlement. Not only was this done at an installation cost of
R10 000 (about US$1250), it was done with complete security.
For years telcos have been bemoaning the high cost of “last mile”
connectivity and looking for a low-cost solution. Hotspot technology, said
Van der Merwe, is just that.
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