At the recently concluded 2021 MWC Africa, ZTE delivered a keynote presentation titled, “Bridging the Digital Divide, Scaling the Heights of Intelligence”. So, how is ZTE supporting the rise of Africa’s digital economy?
Compared to other regions, the continuous development and evolution of mobile communication networks play a prime important role in digitalising Africa. Based on current telecommunications trends in Africa, ZTE will focus on closing these three key gaps:
- Coverage gap. In collaboration with National Telecom Management Organisation and operators, we aim to improve the full-scene and diversified coverage capability across the region. By introducing high-quality, rich-function and diversified service broadband connections, ZTE will support public service opportunities in healthcare and education in remote areas. For example, the high-power UBR RF product, pioneered by ZTE enables one equipment to provide multi-frequency capability from wide coverage to central coverage, large capacity and high-power extension capability, and full-system capability from 2/3/4G to 5G. In line with this, we rolled out the ZTE Rural Pole/Rural Pole Lite Solution, which is a low-cost site construction solution integrating towers, solar energy and communication equipment to help with fast site deployment and commissioning in remote areas.
- Connection gap. ZTE is continuously launching innovative customised solutions for ubiquitous connections to build a bridge between networks and users. In addition, we help operators in the Middle East and Africa to save the construction and maintenance costs, improve the resource utilisation ratio and build 4G and 5G networks with the best performance.
- Usage gap. In addition to solving coverage and connection problems, ZTE wants to help users fully and effectively use the network. In line with this, we produce local content on how innovative applications can improve verticals such as e-commerce, mobile payment, logistics, distance education, media and e-government.
In a whitepaper released during MWC Africa 2021, ZTE highlighted its intrinsic intelligent software solutions. What is it and how can it help enable network service capability and efficiency?
The essence of the software algorithm in intelligent wireless orchestration is the orientation between users and networks. It guides and matches users to the most suitable network resources.
Taking the spectrum for example, when the network evolves from 4G to 5G, most operators will face the 2G/3G/4G/5G common mode issues. The wireless network needs to support multi-mode integration to ensure long-term evolution.
To address this, ZTE offers SuperDSS, which is based on the intelligent orchestration engine. Through efficient and flexible scheduling, the spectrum resources can be dynamically allocated between the UMTS/LTE/NR and GSM/LTE/NR systems in real-time. It can help balance 5G service development with the maximum spectrum benefits. It can greatly improve the spectrum resource utilisation efficiency while enhancing customer experiences and protecting existing network investments. It is a strong strategic weapon for Africa to develop 5G networks faster and better.
Another solution is PowerPilot, an energy-saving solution that helps operators to reduce TCO. It has a multi-granularity power-off function that enables energy saving at the site. When the current load of the 5G network is light, the energy-saving effect is remarkable. In addition, the ZTE AI power-saving solution, based on intrinsic intelligence enables the deployment of cell-level power-saving policies of the whole network through intelligent load prediction, further expanding the energy savings.
ZTE’s intrinsic intelligent software solutions help operators cope with increasing network complexity, improving spectrum resource utilisation and user experience, and achieving low-carbon network operation.
5G is considered to be an important driver of digitalisation, how can 5G transform the African market?
ZTE has witnessed and contributed to the rapid development of telecommunications in Africa for the past 20 years. ZTE has always adhered to core technology innovation and achieved 5G technology and commercial leadership. We have worked with many operators and industry partners around the world to deploy 5G networks on a large scale to explore and implement 5G applications.
In some first-mover markets, the 5G is already contributing tangible benefits to economic and social development. Take China for instance, in 2020, 5G directly boosted the total economic production to exceed 800 billion yuan.
A recent GSMA study revealed that by 2030, 5G will reach its full potential and will contribute more than US$600 billion to the global economy. The economic benefits of 5G will be reflected in the manufacturing, service and retail industries. These industries are the direction for Africa’s economic recovery and transformation to increase efforts and attract investment. Accordingly, moderately advanced network construction will surely lay the groundwork for industry transformation, and boost the confidence of people and enterprises. At the same time, the integration of 5G and industries will create new positions, and the need for position skills will promote the reform of the education field. The digital talents trained will play their respective roles in the transformation of thousands of industries.
Therefore, 5G is needed more in Africa. It is the road building and a booster for the rapid development of the African economy and society. It is foreseeable that the large-scale construction of 5G and its massive application will bring significant economic and social influence to Africa.
Are there any differences between ZTE’s 5G strategies in Africa and in other regions? And how important are partnerships between local operators, government and network players such as ZTE in ensuring the success of 5G in the region?
ZTE’s vision is to be a driver of digital economy in Africa. In actual implementation, ZTE must meet the requirements of the local telecommunications industry and the current situation of operator networks, and achieve “one country, one network, and one policy” to highly match the requirements of the local industry economy transformation.
In recent years, ZTE has carried out continuous discussions with local governments and leading operators on 5G in markets such as South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Egypt, Algeria and the UAE. In some countries, ZTE has carried out 5G pilot sites, POC verification, use case demonstration, and the release and sale of multiple 5G terminal products. In 2021, ZTE and MTN jointly deployed and commercialized 5G on a large scale, which helped to fight the epidemic in South Africa. Currently, the countries officially approved for 5G deployment and license issuance in Africa are still very limited. We hope that the 5G strategic priority can be further improved in the applicable countries, and policies on guidance, incentives, and accessibility can be issued as soon as possible. We look forward to working with more operators and industry partners to build an immersive 5G ecosystem and business environment.
Looking into the future, ZTE will make use of its core ICT technologies to establish more extensive and in-depth cooperation with operators, industry customers, and the government to help Africa enjoy the benefits of mature 5G technologies and industrial applications. In this way, Africa will take fewer steps to catch up with the 5G deployment process in a shorter time and lower costs, achieve breakthroughs in specific fields, and facilitate digital leap-forward developments.
