Political will is needed to reform Universal Service Funds in Africa to drive digital inclusion across Africa
28 May 2025
Caroline Mbugua HSC. Senior Director, Public Policy & Communications, GSMA
An African proverb says, "He who does not seize opportunity today will be unable to seize tomorrow’s opportunity." This means the time to act and close the digital divide is now. Universal Service Funds have the potential to drive digital inclusion in Africa, but this will not be achieved without the necessary reforms to improve their effectiveness. Political goodwill is essential to facilitate these reforms, ensuring we can unlock this potential.
Universal broadband access is fundamental to Africa's socio-economic transformation - yet a significant digital divide continues to hold the continent back. While most African countries have established Universal Service Funds (USFs) to help close this gap, a recent GSMA report highlights a troubling disconnect between the funds collected and the real-world impact on broadband expansion. Between 2018 and 2022, more than $1.5 billion was accumulated through USFs across Africa, yet much of this remains unspent. Dormancy, poor transparency, and political interference continue to hamper the effectiveness of these funds.
Read the full article Can AI in RAN address MNO challenges across Africa?
08 May 2025
Mikko Lavanti, Nokia Mobile Networks SVP of Middle East and Africa
In 2024, the African telecoms industry faced many challenges, including high deployment costs, high operating costs, rising energy tariffs and unreliable energy supply from the grid. All these factors had a knock-on impact on performance and profitability.
Fortunately, artificial intelligence (AI) is introducing new ways of overcoming these challenges, particularly in its optimisation of Radio Access Networks (RAN).
Read the full article
The future of communications: embracing the power of photonics
06 May 2025
Chris Wright, CTO, Red Hat; and a member of the Board of Directors at the IOWN Global Forum
As we stand on the brink of a new technological era, the way we build and manage communication networks must evolve. The increasing demand for high-speed, low-latency, and energy-efficient networks is accelerating the transition from electronic to photonic infrastructure. To enable truly smart cities, power AI innovation, and drive sustainable industries, we need communication networks that operate at the speed of light.
High-speed, sustainable networks
The future of communications networks lies in shifting from electrons to photons. This transition is essential for meeting the demands of AI infrastructure, real-time data processing, and global connectivity. All-photonics networks (APNs) hold the key to unlocking these capabilities while significantly reducing power consumption. A fully optical network not only increases speed and bandwidth but also enables more sustainable digital ecosystems.
As we accelerate this transition, it’s crucial to keep sustainability at the forefront. The environmental benefits of APNs are profound — offering reduced energy consumption and lower operational costs for organisations. Recognising this, Red Hat, in collaboration with IOWN Global Forum members, has established an Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Task Force.
Action needed on security measures for physical critical communications infrastructure
05 May 2025
In the telecommunications world, there is increasing visibility of and debates around cybersecurity – protecting the networks from digital attacks. Yet there should also be emphasis on the security of the physical infrastructure.
TCCA’s Legal and Regulatory Working Group (LRWG) aims to focus the attention of critical communications providers to the importance of the issue, with the goal of catalysing the creation of a global standard for the physical security of infrastructure supporting critical communications.
Why is this important now? Because most of the current critical communication networks using narrowband technologies such as TETRA, Tetrapol and P25, are owned and operated by the state, and their physical security is assured by the state to the extent deemed necessary. However, the emerging use of commercial mobile operator (MNO) networks to support broadband critical communications, particularly as Radio Access Networks, is changing the operating model.
