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Winning with 3G in Africa
- Thread starter rpm
- Start date
If 3g is a better technology than WiMax for rural Africa based on bigger signal coverage patterns, why is every other network and their grandmother going crazy over WiMax?
Neotel is going to use 3G.
The problem is that no provider is bothered to provide 3G, Edge, CDMA 2000, WiMax, etc. services to the rural areas because of the lower returns on their investment.
I live 20km from the Eastern suburbs of Pretoria and the best I can get is GPRS.
MTN and Vodacom aren't going to bother to install 3G capable towers for only a few hundred customers.
Wireless is the best solution for rural areas but it looks like it will only be implemented in the cities.
I live 20km from the Eastern suburbs of Pretoria and the best I can get is GPRS.
MTN and Vodacom aren't going to bother to install 3G capable towers for only a few hundred customers.
Wireless is the best solution for rural areas but it looks like it will only be implemented in the cities.
Johand
Expert Member
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- Jan 21, 2005
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It is actually ridiculous.
The biggest problems is not putting up towers in Africa. It is powering those towers with Diesel generators and buying bandwidth on expensive satellites.
Furthermore, it has to do a lot more than network build cost. The number one reason that GSM is so popular is the fact that handsets are relatively cheap, and the RoR for your average person is super high. For Africa, buying a computer with fast internet is not such a good investment. Sure some computers and internet can help - but using older GSM technology and building other infrastructure is more important. Getting those fiber optic links in place is prerequisite for any other technology projects. The decision between WiMax/3G is not such a big one in the greater scheme of things - IMHO that decision is based entirely on the cost of the equipment the customer must buy and in that sense 3G will kick WiMax's butt. The fact that 3G networks can be accessed with a cellphone makes it the winner.
The biggest problems is not putting up towers in Africa. It is powering those towers with Diesel generators and buying bandwidth on expensive satellites.
Furthermore, it has to do a lot more than network build cost. The number one reason that GSM is so popular is the fact that handsets are relatively cheap, and the RoR for your average person is super high. For Africa, buying a computer with fast internet is not such a good investment. Sure some computers and internet can help - but using older GSM technology and building other infrastructure is more important. Getting those fiber optic links in place is prerequisite for any other technology projects. The decision between WiMax/3G is not such a big one in the greater scheme of things - IMHO that decision is based entirely on the cost of the equipment the customer must buy and in that sense 3G will kick WiMax's butt. The fact that 3G networks can be accessed with a cellphone makes it the winner.
cdma not 3g
Need4Speed
Active Member
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- Mar 3, 2005
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- 86
True, lower frequencies propagate better, but what this article fails to mention is that CDMA modulation (used by 3G) is not nearly as efficient as OFDM modulation (used by WiMAX) for true broadband data rates.
In the end it will come down to cost, and I'm not so sure 3G is the cheaper technology...
In the end it will come down to cost, and I'm not so sure 3G is the cheaper technology...