mythemesrock

728X90_04

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Is Africa shaping up to Internet of Things (IoT)?

The Internet of Things is opening up a world of real opportunities and rapidly transforming communities, cities and the daily lives of people worldwide. Today, the IoT encompasses more than 14 billion things connected to the internet, providing the technology foundation for the Internet of Everything (IoE), which it is believed improves business outcomes through the intelligent networked connections among people, processes, data, and things. The question arises: is Africa ready to take advantage of the opportunities that lie in connecting things, extracting information, connecting people and enhancing systems – and, ultimately, society?

AFRICA has bright prospects in the Internet of Things (IoT) space, according to a new report by the Internet Society. The report wants to position African countries to help them reap the full benefits of the internet. Released at the Africa Internet Summit 2015 in Tunis, it provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the internet in Africa and highlights the importance of the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance as an essential part of Africa’s internet ecosystem.



In the light of the rapid growth experienced by the continent in the past 10 years, the report finds that the time is right to maximise that potential. “As Africa’s user base grows, the need to coordinate and manage the growth and development of the Internet becomes increasingly important,” said Internet Society Regional Bureau Director for Africa Dawit Bekele. “If Africa has to make the progression towards a digital economy to reap the full benefits of the internet, it needs to transition from basic connectivity to interconnectivity of networks and to interoperability of systems, and enable the development of applications and services that drive economic and social well-being.”

One of the ways, identified by the report, to improve the interconnectivity of networks is to establish Internet eXchange Points (IXPs) at the local level. Africa now has more than 30 IXPs and is well on the way to achieving the goal of at least one IXP per country. The establishment of IXPs can catalyse the build-out of terrestrial infrastructure which in turn would make access to the Internet cheaper and faster.

Another recommendation is that the transition to and adoption of IPv6 in Africa should be accelerated. By ensuring that there are IP addresses to cater to current and future expansion of the internet, IPv6 will enable the (IoT), which refers to the ability to connect to the internet anything capable of having an IP address. Statistics show that South Africa and Egypt account for 97 per cent of the adoption of IPv6 in Africa.

In May Rwanda hosted a joint international workshop for East Africa, which looked at applications of IoT and their relevance to developing countries, with a focus on low-cost, open and sustainable solutions. The organisers said that the IoT had the potential to “revolutionise science and influence social, environmental and health issues”.

Rwanda itself is looking to adopting the IoT. Speaking at the opening of the forum in Kigali, the principal of the University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology, Professor Mannaseh Mbonye, said the new technology had the potential to change the world and influence lives as the internet did.

“We live in a world where we are increasingly using gadgets that are connected to the internet; all of these devices are going to need to be connected to the internet. Such a scenario has presented a situation where gadgets are not only connected to the internet but are also interconnected amongst themselves,” he said. “Such a scenario where our everyday gadgets are connected to the internet and as a result interconnected makes up the internet of things.

“As was with the World Wide Web in the early 1990s and the internet in the mid-2010s, Internet of Things is ushering in a new era. Just as the two did revolutionise the world, the Internet of Things is capable of much more,” the principal added. “The number of mobile objects composing of the Internet of Things will significantly grow globally.”

The sheer size and appeal of this evolving market has huge implications for Africa, which currently has an internet penetration rate of 16 per cent and houses eight out of the 10 countries with the world’s lowest internet access rates. According to experts these are major barriers to the adoption of the IoT, but they equally believe there is clear growth potential. McKinsey estimates that by 2025 Africa will have tripled internet penetration to over 50 per cent, or around 600 million people, and can easily adapt its cities for IoT solutions. 

No comments:

Post a Comment