Ericsson Envisions 50Bn Networked Connections Globally by 2020

Ericsson has envisioned a Networked Society in which there would be 50 billion connections globally by 2020. Ericsson is leading the way in enabling the Networked Society in Africa as the world is experiencing a shift that rivals the magnitude of the journey into the industrial society as the world moves from the information society to the Networked Society, where the primary concern is not having access to information, but what benefit people get out of it. To this end, the company begun the first of a series of road shows in Lagos and will host five of its kind across sub-Saharan Africa between March and September this year to create the environment to imagine and understand the possibilities of a Networked Society in Africa. In this Networked Society people, knowledge and information are to be connected for continuous transformation driven by collaboration and creativity. These connections would be between mobile handsets, from machine to machine and between handsets and other devices. Shiletsi Makhofane, head of Marketing and Strategy, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa said: “Africa will be part of this Networked Society and Ericsson is already playing a role in driving this reality. For example in education we introduced the Connect to Learn project. We are using mobile technology to help lost families meet again through Refugees United. In addition we are enabling Smart Cities by connecting all municipal offices in the City of Johannesburg to improve the performance and efficiency of local government and connecting government to the people.” The focus areas for the three-day event are Broadband, Smart Cities and Smart Villages, Network Efficiencies and Enterprise and Vertical Segment. The purpose of the sessions is to discuss the possibilities offered by the Networked Society. The road show will be attended by a cross sectional audience of senior management from local and regional operators, and representatives from local, regional and national government, the private sector and media. An Ericsson-commissioned study by Arthur D. Little found that for every 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration, GDP grows about 1 percent. In addition, for every 1000 additional broadband users, roughly 80 new jobs are created. In this context Ericsson sees broadband as a key enabler of a 21st century infrastructure that will transform the way we live, including how we access virtually every product and service. A digital economy will emerge out of this infrastructure that will stimulate innovation across all sectors of society. Gary Dewing, country manager, Ericsson Nigeria said: “There is little doubt that Africa is taking the first steps towards a Networked Society and we want to use this road show to highlight that Ericsson is aware of its role in Africa and show our current and potential customers how we can help them transform society. This is not a farfetched concept. We are already seeing the results of Ericsson’s vision of a Networked Society in areas such as animal tracking, healthcare and logistics.” Participants at the Networked Society road show will hear Ericsson’s thoughts on existing and new industries including Smart Cities, Utilities, TV and Public Safety. Smart City workshops will be held for operators, city and government officials as well as representatives from verticals such as power utilities. Sessions explaining Ericsson’s vision and highlighting solutions around LTE, green power, cloud computing and mobile broadband all form part of the road show. Makhofane continues: “Unique opportunities exist in Africa for mobile applications that do not exist in developed markets. Already more people in sub-Saharan Africa connect to Internet using a mobile device than a fixed connection. Future access to broadband Internet in this region will mostly be via a wireless device.”