The last 25 years of Africa’s connectivity have been driven by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), but their growth has been limited by the availability of capillary Optic Fibre and Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum. With an emerging paradigm of Edge Cloud and 5G Private Networks.

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African regulators must embrace these business models to address Africa’s digital future. Private 5G Networks provide an opportunity for different industries to architect their network depending on the applications they require, utilizing the concept of network slicing.

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Industries such as logistics hubs, natural resource mines, oil and gas drilling facilities, manufacturing, and consumer-facing retail shopping malls will all require Private 5G Networks as they connect the Internet of Things (IoT) and Edge Cloud.

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The success of machine to machine and IoT connectivity relies on Private 5G Networks, which provide the most cost-effective way to build and scale a network with different SLA requirements rapidly. The availability of spectrum to accommodate both Public 5G Networks and Private 5G Networks is not a problem, and the ITU continues to make spectrum available for IMT 2020 and beyond.

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Private 5G Networks will also allow employees to access the internet from remote locations that would have been a challenge for traditional mobile networks.

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