WiMax for Africa

WiMAX establishes a clear foothold in Africa with over 100 installations across the continent

The number of potential wireless data applications is bewildering but the big battle appears to be between WiMAX and a technology that doesn’t yet exist, LTE. But in Africa, there are over 100 installed WiMAX applications and all of the big players have either got it working for them or will do over the next year.

One of the largest WiMAX equipment vendors in Africa, Alvarion, estimates that there are just over 100 installed WiMAX systems in Africa; over 45 of these are operating in unlicensed spectrum and over 55 in 2.X or 3.X spectrum. Increasingly new systems are being licensed in the 2.X spectrum. Alvarion claims to have more 50% of the market and out of the 40 key major operators (many with Pan-African operations), it claims to have sold to 26 of them. Other vendors who have sold in the market include: Telsima, ZTE, Huawei, Soma Networks, Smart Link Communication, Galaxia Telecom, Redline Communications and Airspan Networks.

The 2.X spectrum has increasingly been opened by regulators in part under pressure from satellite operators who want WiMAX to move from that spectrum band to avoid claimed interference. However, the move is causing uncertainty in some countries. For example, Nigeria’s NCC has announced it will make the transition but there is currently no clear message on how it will do it or how it will to compensate existing investors. Potential users see a dividend in 2.X as it will offer better coverage.

A factor holding back all wireless technologies in so