The demand for mobile communications – such as mobile phones – in Africa is forcing large international companies to come up with new technology which leapfrogs over that in more developed countries, says Chris Gabriel, the chief executive officer of Zain Africa. He was speaking to AllAfrica at AfricaCom, an annual congress for telecommunications professionals on the continent.
How will African consumers be using telecommunications in 10 years' time?
We'll see a lot more penetration out in to the rural and remote areas as telecommunications becomes more affordable, as ultra low-cost handsets become more affordable and as carriers optimize their model – as we are at Zain – to penetrate those rural and remote areas…
We [already] have continuous, borderless coverage across the network. On top of that we are launching ZAP, which is the M-commerce, mobile money, mobile banking product. You'll see a lot more content and services coming along, so basically people at all walks of life in all economic and geographic circumstances will have access through their mobile handset to banking, to money transfer, to content and all sorts of products. And that will [also] be the device with which they communicate to the outside world.
Do you think people will still mainly be using mobile telecommunications across the continent in 10 years' time?
Well mobile makes sense, the reason being that because of the geographic size and the cost of rolling out fixed-line [telecoms], mobile is the optimal technology, so most definitely yes. You will still see people having devices they prefer to operate in a fixed location, but predominantly you'll see an increase in mobile devices and those devices will evolve to be more user-friendly in screen size and operation.
What content are Africans going to want in five or 10 years' time?
Well, that's a very, very hard prediction. I know the content they want now is around entertainment and is about music and I see that there'll be a lot of small niche content operators that will emerge in the marketplace, providing relevant local content to people and they will flourish.
As you see the telecommunication carriers consolidate into probably three to five continental-type players, in fact global players, you'll see a proliferation of local content relevant to the local marketplaces.
What is the impact of the new submarine cables being laid around the continent going to be? What are they going to enable you to do?
Well it's positive because it provides more capacity, more bandwidth as… the market expands into more bandwidth-hungry applications.
But there is a big gap between where the cables land and what you are going to have to do to get into rural areas, isn't there?
Well we're in the process of looking at the various geographies, where there is a demand for such services, and putting in place the necessary infrastructure, including fiber, internally to support that.
We're also in dialogue with a lot of the governments in certain countries… which are looking to put in place infrastructure as well. So it won't just land at a point and then join the existing infrastructure. We are actively involved in various forms of infrastructure construction to make sure that the services and products can be provided to the relevant market sectors.
Comparing Africa to other parts of the world in the development of technology, it seems that less developed countries often have more advanced technology than developed countries.
The geographical issues necessitate that because it is uneconomical to roll out traditional fixed networks [in developing countries], so obviously the technology – in terms of mobile – has leapfrogged that [in developed countries].
To penetrate rural and remote areas, the devices need to be more affordable and so that's driving the technology segments to make more affordable handsets. Because the volume [of handsets needed], and the demand, and the younger penetration is so high, you are getting the very, very large international players focusing on developing technology and solutions for Africa. That is why you are seeing such a proliferation of high-tech innovative solutions.
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You must have different challenges in different regions of Africa – how would they differ?
Obviously there are inflationary pressures, foreign exchange pressures, there are different regulatory environments, but we like to look at those and capitalize on those.
We see a general acceptance by governments and regulators that they need to grow and penetrate into rural and remote areas. Strategically that's what we are focusing on: optimizing our model so we can take communications to all areas and profitably service all segments… We see a lot of opportunity and a lot of close cooperation with governments and regulators to address the current economic challenges and move forward.
Would you hazard a prediction? In five years' time which region is going to grow the most?
I won't say that, other than to say that Zain is aspiring to be a top 10 global mobile company by 2011, with 110 million customers… and we're on track to achieve that.
