GSMA Urges Africa to Secure Mobile Broadband Future @ WRC-15

Mortimer Hope, director, Spectrum and Public Policy Africa, GSMA, said that Africa has a rare opportunity to secure the future of the mobile Internet at the ITU’s World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15).

Hope offered the following comment from the African Telecommunications Union’s (ATU) third preparatory meeting, adding that the decisions on spectrum allocation made at WRC-15 will define mobile connectivity well into the next decade.

“Exponential growth in the use of mobile phones, tablets and other wireless devices accessing the Internet is putting intense pressure on existing spectrum allocations in Africa. Unless governments choose to grant mobile operators access to sufficient spectrum, countries across the continent will miss out on the substantial socioeconomic benefits that mobile broadband delivers.

“It is therefore critical that governments and regulators take the opportunity that WRC-15 provides to take strategic and decisive action on spectrum allocation that will safeguard the future of mobile broadband in Africa. Policymakers need to act urgently to deliver all the undoubted advantages that the mobile internet provides to citizens throughout the continent.”

At the ATU preparatory meeting this week, the GSMA published the findings of a new report developed by Frontier Economics, which has highlighted the substantial economic benefits of reallocating C-band spectrum, which is mainly used for delivery of satellite services in Africa, to mobile.

According to the report, access to C-band spectrum for mobile services will decrease marginal costs for mobile operators, leading to lower prices for mobile broadband in Africa. For example:

•         Nigeria – economic benefits1 range from US $2.2 billion to US $4.6 billion (57 times the cost of migrating existing services).

•         South Africa – economic benefits stand at US $511 million to US $1.1 billion (13 times the cost of migrating existing services).

In addition, the total estimated revenue to African governments through mobile industry taxation and the auction of spectrum licences is approximately US $13 billion.

The benefits are the Net Present Value (NPV) of the profits generated from the use of C-band spectrum by mobile operators over the lifetime of the licence, which is assumed to be 15 years.

It is assumed that the spectrum reallocation will take place in 2025, therefore the one-off costs in 2025 are compared with the NPV of benefits generated between 2025 and 2040.

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors.

The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai and the Mobile 360 Series conferences.