IT FIRM COMES UP WITH PRODUCTS TO BOOST DIGITAL INCLUSIION

ERICSSON has introduced new software and hardware products to help mobile network operators to boost digital inclusion in the country.

The new products will help mobile network operators to provide high quality service to unconnected population particularly in the rural areas.
Ericsson KAM-Millicom Africa, Mr Frode Dyrdal, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the solutions would allow mobile network operators in the country identify sites in coverage area with highest number of users already having internet-ready devices.
“The new solutions add to Ericsson’s Radio System, which will provide the capabilities needed to reduce the total cost of ownership by up to 40 per cent when rolling out Ericsson’s total site solution for mobile broadband, making investments in low-ARPU markets viable,” he said.
He said the solutions can play key role in supporting government initiatives to provide high quality education, health and financial services particularly in unconnected remote areas. He said Ericsson is executing a project in Lindi and Mtwara that will help mobile network operators provide and serve end users with high quality services.
On his part, the Ericsson Head of Network Product Solutions Mr Henrik Linnet said with the solutions, operators can then determine where it makes more sense to convert those sites first to Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) or 4G/LTE, so that the greatest number of people will enjoy the benefits of mobile broadband.

He said the new solutions comes in the wake of a report by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development to be released later this week which estimated to cost 450 billion US dollars to bring the next 1.5 billion people online.
He said Ericsson supports the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Connect 2020 target of ensuring that more than 50 per cent of people in the developing world are using the internet by 2020.

In a bid to reach Ericsson goal, an estimated 500,000 new users to the internet will have to be connected every day.
He said the new solutions will address the significant divide in internet adoption between developed and developing countries, noting that only four out of ten people in developing countries are connected to the internet and about 15 percent of the world’s population do not have access to electricity.