The 21st edition of AfricaCom is shaping up to be an impressive event. The number of speakers, visitors and exhibitors grow year on year, mirroring the expanding influence that technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) is having on the world at large.
There will be new product launches, demonstrations and drop-in sessions at the event that takes place between November 13 and 15 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
A quick guide of some of the exhibitors can be found here.
There will be a number of new exhibitors this year to look out for, such as Stoneroos, who will be debuting their white label TV solution called OTT NOW!
You can also head on over to the Technology Arena to see the Mobile Health Bus from Glasshouse/MST Group. This state-of-the art vehicle showcases how mobility as a service using solar, satellite and a host of other technology, is reshaping how data is gathered, processed and harnessed in hard to reach areas and uplifting, healing and educating those in need.
There will also be a host of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and device manufacturers, from MTN, Vodafone, Orange, Airtel, A1 Telekom Austria, the Telenor Group, China Communications Corp to China Mobile, possibly the largest telecommunications provider in the world. You can view the latest from Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia, along with the likes of KaIOS who are pioneering new operating systems for smart feature phones.
Satellite is playing an increasingly important role in the connectivity journey, as witnessed by the growing number of exhibitors attending AfricaCom each year. Expect to see the likes of SAS, Avanti, Amos by Spacecom, Leosat, SES, ABS, ARABSAT, YAHSAT, Telesat, SatADSL and the Russian Satellite Communications. You can also look out for Intelsat offering the best of both worlds – satellite and terrestrial – to deliver video and broadband services at cost effective rates, anytime and anywhere.
However, these are not the only solutions that are available, as there are an increasing number of alternatives, such as Google’s sister company Loon, which will once again be at AfricaCom. Able to transmit LTE signals directly to users on the ground, Loon is looking to deploy a network of floating cell towers, using stratospheric balloons to provide Internet connectivity to unserved and underserved areas around the world, starting in Africa with Telkom Kenya. The project kicks off in 2019.
Still on the connectivity front, fibre continues to play an important role in linking the continent and in developing smart cities. Thus, Liquid Telecom also makes a return showing this year. Also, at AfricaCom, a fair selection of the top players in the undersea cable fraternity such representatives from Huawei Marine’s PEACE (Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe) cable offering.
In the supporting role of helping telecommunication providers reach their goals of getting Africa connected, AfricaCom welcomes back the likes of Parallel Wireless, who attended the event for the first time last year; resulting in some excellent business.
Post connectivity, there are a myriad of mobile and digital service solutions – many of which will be at AfricaCom. From health and wealth, to education, entertainment in the always on era, online age verification and gaming, it’s all on display and up for discussion.
Underpinning all of this technological smorgasbord is data – providers and those who know what to do with the Yottabytes of information generated by all the machines around us. Consequently, AfricaCom has also seen a slew of new data service providers.
You can register for a free visitor ticket, purchase a delegate pass or find out more information about AfricaCom 2018 here.
