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.
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