07 April 2022

Africa’s 3G networks could be phased out in the next couple of years as part of plans to increase the capacity of the continent’s 4G and 5G coverage, according to a senior Ericsson executive.

Speaking exclusively to Northern African Wireless Communications, Todd Ashton, vice president and head of Ericsson south and east Africa, said 2G and sometimes 3G will remain important technologies during the roll out of 5G due to their role in mobile money and to serve the old feature phones still prevalent on the continent, but the continuous global build-out of 4G and 5G networks, and the corresponding increase in capabilities, have become an enabler for phasing out current technologies. This facilitates further enhancements of the networks by releasing more, important parts of the spectrum for 4G and 5G.

Ashton assures that “while 2G and in rare cases 3G are still important to provide mobile money services for some years to come, we expect 3G and in some cases 2G to reach sunset closer to 2030”. In fact, “the data experience on 3G is poorer than the one provided by 4G,” Ashton added. “In comparison with 3G, one of 4G’s key advantages is also its lower data production cost.”

“Today, 5G is expected to be the fastest-deployed mobile communication technology in history, but older generations such as 2G are still key to support mobile money in Africa considering the widespread accessibility of 2G feature phones,” he said.

Ashton added that the Covid-19 pandemic “has accelerated mobile money usage as a result of the new measures”. According to Ericsson’s Network Coverage Outlook report, the number of mobile money users has tripled and even quadrupled in certain parts of Africa. In fact, around half of consumers across the surveyed countries now use their phones for this purpose.

Over the last few years, mobile money services have had an instrumental role in accelerating financial inclusion in Africa and boosting the continent’s overall economy. This could be credited to its speed, cost effectiveness and accessibility compared to traditional banking services. Even in more remote regions, mobile money has managed to make cross-border transactions far easier than traditional banks. Moreover, by providing access to safe and secure financial services and creating employment opportunities, it has become a life-changing tool across the continent as limited financial infrastructure is a major obstacle for entrepreneurs.

Financial inclusion is an important driver for enabling both commercial and social benefits. As millions of people enter the formal economy and benefit from services mobile financial services, it will give rise to employment opportunities in the continent and bring us a step closer to support the growth of SMEs through access to financial services.

The link between ICT and e-commerce innovation is clear: ICT offers a cost-effective way to overcome the existing lack of banking infrastructure. It can be rapidly scaled, offers significant efficiency gains, and entails low barriers to entry for individual users.