Defining African communications

February 2017 Information Security, Infrastructure

The end of 2016 saw the latest AfricaCom exhibition happening in Cape Town. Hi-Tech Security Solutions was present at the event to witness the vast resources being poured into improving the communications capabilities of the continent, from the growth of fibre, satellite and a host of other options. Below are a few of the companies we met.

One of the companies at the event was Liquid Telecom, which is focusing on fibre communications – it was recently given the go-ahead to acquire Neotel. The company has a fibre network into numerous African countries, offering communications services to businesses with interests in the region. Its goal is to cover the continent and then expand its service offerings in different countries, such as it is doing with Neotel.

Liquid Telecom focuses on under-served countries where it can take the lead and develop a good business – such as its activities in the DRC, for example.

It’s the insides that count

Qualcomm is a company that has been in the technology space for many years. As far as communications in Africa is concerned, the company is focused on 4G and the eventual migration to 5G technologies. It not only provides the communications solutions in partnership with companies such as Ericsson, but the two have developed 4G solutions that cover a smaller area but offer more bandwidth, which would be appropriate for business parks or safe/smart city projects and even Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. The ability to manage these cells efficiently to ensure optimal resource utilisation is also a focus area.

Looking ahead, Qualcomm provides the internal components of many mobile devices today, and is working with the global brands (such as smartphone manufacturers, for example) to create home and business solutions as well as ‘next-generation’ products such as wireless chargers and facilitating the faster charging of devices.

The company also demonstrated augmented reality and virtual reality solutions that its technology enables. These technologies, once they become more affordable to the consumer, will change the way we interact with data of all sorts, enhancing and expanding our world dramatically.

The end of cables?

Two wireless networking companies Hi-Tech Security Solutions spoke to were also focusing on Africa and its lack of physical infrastructure, working to make communications solutions available to all without the need for cables.

Nick Watson, VP of EMEA, Ruckus Wireless, says the company has focused on making wireless Internet access easier and available over a wider area than ever before. As an example, he notes that a safe/smart city will save significant costs if it is run over a Wi-Fi mesh rather than LTE or 5G. Ruckus makes it possible to create such a mesh of access points, with only one point linked to a fibre or microwave connection for access to the rest of the world (if required), that deliver the performance required – whether it’s free Wi-Fi in a city or video surveillance over wireless.

He noted that an efficient wireless network is not simply a factor of having a large bandwidth capacity, but depends on the design and products used to deliver the required performance. This would include the management software required to, for example, reroute traffic to avoid bottlenecks.

As always, when it comes to any communications and especially wireless, security is very important and Ruckus includes access authentication in its management of wireless systems.

Radwin was also at the event. It used the occasion to launch its latest Jet Air wireless communications solution for the residential market. The Jet Air PtMP series includes a base station that delivers 250 Mbps (or up to 750 Mbps) and is built on Radwin’s bi-directional Beamforming technology which has been adopted by tier-1 carriers worldwide. Jet Air enables service providers to deliver bandwidth-demanding services such as TV streaming, gaming and online applications for consumers without having to install cables.

As part of the new offering, the company is releasing two new subscriber units (SUs) that provide up to 100 Mbps: SU AIR for residential users and SU PRO for hybrid enterprise and residential segments. The new IP67 SUs support up to 256 QAM and are powered by the WINTouch application tool that automates installation and alignment to significantly shorten the installation process. A TurboGain slide-on antenna that doubles the service range is available with the new SUs.

Digital security

Gemalto, a digital security company, was also on the floor talking about its various security solutions for the finance, government and telco industries, as well as specific mobile security solutions. The company’s Neil Cosser is based in South Africa and operates throughout Africa. He noted that Gemalto offers solutions that secure enterprise data centres down to individual products such as mobile phones.

Cosser’s focus is on spreading the word on Gemalto’s encryption and authentication solutions, which have been adopted in a variety of organisations worldwide, and in Africa. It also offers secure appliances that only allow authorised users to access and decrypt data on the system – a form of encryption in a box. He says these devices are designed for performance and offer 100 000 encryption/decryption operations per second and are therefore enterprise ready.

Cosser finds African organisations are more aware than ever when it comes to security and are more willing to engage in discussions on the topic to find solutions pertinent to their needs. South African organisations are taking a hard look at data security this year to deal with PoPI, King IV and the new PCI DSS v3.

In the consumer space, Gemalto recently commissioned a study of over 1300 adult smartphone users across six markets, including South Africa, asking people about their mobile behaviour and security expectations.

The study showed that consumers are spending more time with their devices than ever before, over three hours a day on their smartphones and 87% of this time will be spent using apps. South African consumers tapping into mobile banking are also increasing, with 65.1% of them using their phones to access their bank accounts. “These figures demonstrate the increasing importance of mobile device security,” says Sherry Zameer, senior vice president for Africa at Gemalto.

Convenience and speed are also very important, valued by just under half (48%) of respondents. “This shows that while security is vital, people expect a frictionless experience. Industries and those in government designing apps for their own users should take note of this and ensure their software is lean, runs quickly, but is also fundamentally secure,” commented Zameer.



Credit(s)




Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Highest increase in global cyberattacks in two years
Information Security News & Events
Check Point Global Research released new data on Q2 2024 cyber-attack trends, noting a 30% global increase in Q2 2024, with Africa experiencing the highest average weekly per organisation.

Read more...
Upgrade your PCs to improve security
Information Security Infrastructure
Truly secure technology today must be designed to detect and address unusual activity as it happens, wherever it happens, right down to the BIOS and silicon levels.

Read more...
Open source code can also be open risk
Information Security Infrastructure
Software development has changed significantly over the years, and today, open-source code increasingly forms the foundation of modern applications, with surveys indicating that 60 – 90% of the average application's code base consists of open-source components.

Read more...
DeepSneak deception
Information Security News & Events
Kaspersky Global Research & Analysis researchers have discovered a new malicious campaign which is distributing a Trojan through a fake DeepSeek-R1 Large Language Model (LLM) app for PCs.

Read more...
Fastest PCIe Gen 5.0 NVMe SSD
Products & Solutions Infrastructure
Sandisk has unveiled the WD_BLACK SN8100 NVMe SSD with PCIe Gen 5.0 technology, an internal SSD delivering speeds up to 14 900 MB/s and capacities up to 4 TB, with 8 TB solutions available soon.

Read more...
SA’s strained, loadshedding-prone grid faces cyberthreats
Power Management Information Security
South Africa’s energy sector, already battered by decades of underinvestment and loadshedding, faces another escalating crisis; a wave of cyberthreats that could turn disruptions into catastrophic failures. Attacks are already happening internationally.

Read more...
Unified storage solution
Products & Solutions Infrastructure
CASA Software has announced the local availability of Nexsan’s upgraded unified storage solution, Unity NV4000, which is ideal for mixed workloads, from virtualisation and video surveillance to secure backup and recovery.

Read more...
Almost 50% of companies choose to pay the ransom
News & Events Information Security
This year’s Sophos State of Ransomware 2025 report found that nearly 50% of companies paid the ransom to get their data back, the second-highest rate of ransom payment for ransom demands in six years.

Read more...
Survey highlights cost of cyberdamage to industrial companies
Kaspersky Information Security News & Events
The majority of industrial organisations estimate their financial losses caused by cyberattacks to be over $1 million, while almost one in four report losses exceeding $5 million, and for some, it surpasses $10 million.

Read more...
Digital economy needs an agile approach to cybersecurity
Information Security News & Events
South Africa is the most targeted country in Africa when it comes to infostealer and ransomware attacks. Being at the forefront of the continent’s digital transformation puts South Africa in the crosshairs for sophisticated cyberattacks

Read more...










While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.




© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd. | All Rights Reserved.