Ericsson: 5G is a gateway for entrepreneurs to reshape industries

5G provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to disrupt and redesign industries in Kenya and across Africa.

That's the view of Todd Ashton, MD of Ericsson Kenya and VP and head of South and East Africa, who has his sights set on Ericsson getting higher penetration levels in sub-Saharan Africa while boosting network efficiency.

"In essence, 5G in Kenya is not just about connectivity; it's a gateway for entrepreneurs to reshape industries and pioneer novel solutions that cater to the evolving needs of the digital landscape," Ashton explained.

When Ashton assumed the role back in 2020, he said there was less than a 10% 4G uptake in sub-Saharan Africa and barely any 5G deployments.

"This was the same situation when I came to Southeast Asia in 2013, where I was managing director prior to coming to Africa. There was no 4G, five years later, you had unicorns created through the digital economy and I knew the same would happen here in Africa," he told Connecting Africa.

"With the surge in fintech companies and the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerated the need for a reliable and fast network, more than 20% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa are now using 4G. This is double in three years since 2020," he added.

In the network realm, as 4G and 5G are taking root, Ericsson is building 4G in Kenya and supporting local operators Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya.

In 2024 there are now 16 countries across Africa that have commercial 5G deployments, the latest being Somtel in Somalia which launched in early January 2024 and Ethio Telecom in Ethiopia in September 2023.

The November 2023 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report projected that 5G will be the fastest-growing subscription type between 2023 and 2029 at 60% annually.

There will be around 180 million 5G subscriptions in the sub-Saharan Africa region in 2029, accounting for 16% of all mobile subscriptions. That's compared to just 1.1% of all mobile subscriptions on 5G in 2023.

Meanwhile, 4G will become the most dominant technology by the end of 2029 with subscriptions forecast to make up half of all mobile subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa.

5G opportunities for entrepreneurs

Ashton believes that in Kenya, the advent of 5G connectivity presents entrepreneurs with opportunities to revolutionize various sectors.

"Firstly, enhanced connectivity through faster and more reliable Internet allows entrepreneurs to streamline operations, foster seamless collaboration, and access global markets without hindrances," he said.

Ashton also believes that Internet of Things (IoT) integration becomes a key avenue for entrepreneurs – particularly in sectors like smart agriculture, healthcare and logistics.

"5G enables extensive IoT applications, enhancing efficiency and sustainability in these fields," he said.

The accelerated growth of e-commerce is another notable opportunity with faster Internet speeds contributing to an improved online shopping experience, enabling entrepreneurs to capitalize on the burgeoning trend and enhance the overall digital shopping landscape.

"5G's role in facilitating smoother remote work experiences opens avenues for entrepreneurs to provide innovative solutions in the realm of remote collaboration tools and virtual offices. This is particularly relevant in a world where the nature of work is continually evolving," he said.

There is also potential for innovative services like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications.

"Entrepreneurs can explore opportunities in gaming, education, tourism, and beyond, leveraging the capabilities of 5G to create immersive and engaging experiences," he continued.

5G technology advancements for Africa

"Ericsson is vested in serving mobile network operators with the electronics in the tower and software in the network. Primarily, we collaborate with big mobile operators, communication CSP providers, and private entities providing them with 5G," Ashton said of the group's role in the market.

The Swedish equipment vendor has introduced novel radio technologies uniquely designed to help countries in Africa, including Kenya, to overcome challenges to adoption.

"One of the things that attracted me to come to Africa is that for the first time, we decided to do specific research and development (R&D) that matches the market in Africa. We developed some new radios, like Radio 6626, which replaces six legacy radios," he said.

That solution also brings operational expenditure and energy benefits by minimizing power consumption by up to 50% and reducing the weight of the tower.

"Since 2016, every technology we deployed, 4G included, supports 2G, 3G and 5G. I really think 4/5G are an opportunity for economies like in Kenya to leapfrog and more quickly try to adapt new technologies while using 5G to accelerate the digital vision that Kenya has," he said.

Ericsson believes that 5G can help revolutionize sectors including agriculture, e-commerce, healthcare, logistics, gaming, education and tourism. (Source: Freepik)

The company is also working to make its technology more sustainable and has made a net zero commitment by signing the United Nations pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"Using our specific R&D for radio technology, if you were to take a network in Kenya with prevailing energy prices, and you were to modernize five thousand sites with this technology, you will reduce your CO2 emissions per year by about three million tons," Ashton explained.

"Our key challenge in sustainability is to get the supply chain to be carbon neutral. Telecommunication networks consume a lot of electricity which is not sustainable. It is why we have developed technologies to tackle this consumption, by breaking the energy curve," he added.

Ashton said the company has also developed a rural solution – not yet launched in Kenya – which uses solar energy, and the minimum viable product is packaged, so that the general cost and maintenance of the tower goes down.

"The problem with rural areas is that even if you put 4G or 5G, if you do not have enough network capacity, even if you get the signal, there will be no Internet really. To mitigate this, we have deployed E-band with Safaricom in Kenya and Vodacom in South Africa," he said.

"[E-band] is a backhaul technology in a higher frequency, so you get enormous bandwidth and that is from the tower back into the network. By combining E-band with traditional microwave, we are able to give a reliable solution. A combination of those technologies is the tenable way we can address rural network issues," he went on.

Digital inclusion projects in Kenya

Ashton believes that connectivity is a critical enabler of social and economic change on the African continent and that technology is key.

One effort Ericsson is involved in is a partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and UNICEF on the Giga initiative, which aims to connect all schools to the Internet by 2030.

"As part of this initiative, we have provided data sets for mobile coverage in 34 countries, covering over 450,000 unique locations, including school coverage mapping for Kenya and 10 other African countries," he said.

"Using our artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, we analyzed and validated school network coverage information from crowdsourced data for Kenya, and mapped school coverage for approximately 35,500 locations," he continued.

Earlier this month, Ericsson said it wanted to grow its mobile financial services (MFS) business in Africa even further and aims to cover 50% of the African market through its Ericsson Wallet Platform, up from 10% now.

The Ericsson Wallet Platform already supports more than 400 million registered mobile wallets and processes more than 2.8 billion transactions, worth more than $40 billion, every month. It operates across 24 countries, 19 of which are in Africa.

"I am passionate about the Ericsson Wallet Platform, which is our mobile money service, just like M-Pesa. Ericsson is a major player in this space across the entire continent. It is aimed at giving people access to financial services while pushing for financial inclusion for women and farmers to buy micro-insurance for their products," Ashton concluded.

*Top image is of Todd Ashton, MD of Ericsson Kenya and VP and head of South and East Africa. (Source: Ericsson)

— Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa