Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa Milestones

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1896

1950

1956

1982

1997

2007

2008

2009

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2011

2012

1896	Ericsson’s first delivery of fixed line services to Africa with services in the Cape Colony and Durban in South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya.

• The first telephone exchange was delivered to Cape Town in 1896, and was followed by several orders from other cities.

• A telephone exchange is often also called a telephone switch. Originally, the telephone exchange was created as a means of a provider receiving and inbound phone signal, interacting with a subscriber and then switching the signal to whomever the subscriber wished to speak with. This was referred to early on in the history of telephony as exchanging a call.

• Over time, the process for telephone exchange became more complicated, as technological advances allowed for the creation of telephone exchanges that would allow calls to be routed from a local exchange to an exchange in neighboring cities, states and ultimately international locations.

• The creation of switching overlays that worked in conjunction with local exchanges led to the creation of the term “telephone switch.”

• Ericsson installed four telephone exchanges in South Africa between 1896 and 1900, making it Ericsson’s largest market for exchanges outside Europe.

• A key to the development of Kenya's interior was the construction of a railway from Mombasa to Kisumu, on Lake Victoria. This was started in 1895 and completed in 1901. This was the first part of the Uganda Railway, a major feat of engineering. Ericsson laid telegraph wires next to the railway which enabled communications from the coast into the interior. The railway and the communications were key to developing the economy.

 

1950	LM Ericsson telephone exchange supports world's first automatic international call

• First LM Ericsson crossbar metropolitan exchanges in service in Finland.

• World's first automatic international call placed through trial LM Ericsson exchange.

1956	Africa's first crossbar switch installed in Zimbabwe

• In Zimbabwe, an Ericsson telephone station with a crossbar switch was inaugurated as the first of its kind in Africa.

• In a network, a crossbar switch is a device that is capable of channeling data between any two devices that are attached to it up to its maximum number of ports.

• The paths set up between devices can be fixed for some duration or changed when desired and each device-to-device path (going through the switch) is usually fixed for some period.

1982	Africa's first fixed-line AXE exchange deployed

• The AXE (Automatic Cross-Connection Equipment) telephone exchange is a product line of circuit switched digital telephone exchanges manufactured by Ericsson. It was developed in 1974 by Ellemtel, a research and development subsidiary of Ericsson and Televerket. The first system was deployed in 1976.
  
  
• The AXE system has a dual processor system, both of which run together so that even if one of them fails there is no disruption of services. The system handles all kinds of landline and mobile telephone networks like GSM, CDMA and international telephony traffic.
  
  
• AXE is now used in more than 100 countries around the world and it is designed for national, metropolitan and rural networks, and the same system nucleus is used in all the different systems. It can control both digital and analog equipment and comes with a fully featured bureaucratic organization for maintenance, administration and economics in general. AXE has the capability of building virtual groups in switching-stations.

1997	World’s first introduction of Ericsson’s prepaid solution

• Ericsson is the leading supplier of convergent charging solutions, and real time prepaid charging in particular. This global leadership has its roots in a series of pioneering discussions between Ericsson representatives and South African mobile operator MTN that started in mid-1996.

• By the end of 1996 MTN was preparing to launch a prepaid solution developed by Ericsson. Jaco Fourie who today works at Ericsson in Stockholm, worked with MTN at the time. “It was anticipated 30 000 people in first year, 50 000 in second year and around the same for the third year. We removed requirements from the solution in order to speed up delivery. MTN had 30 000 prepaid subscribers in 11 days which meant we were already in a reactive situation from the start.”

• This dramatic uptake was similar for other Ericsson prepaid customers. It is clear that suppliers, operators and analysts alike underestimated the potential of selling airtime to people who did not qualify for mobile phone contracts.

• Despite many tense moments, Ericsson was able to stabilize the situation and lay the foundation for its leading position in convergent charging today.

• Today Ericsson is recognized as the definite market leader in real-time charging with more than 170 customers worldwide.

• From its humble beginnings Ericsson’s pioneering work in prepaid has evolved into what today is called Ericsson Charging System. This is a scalable, flexible BSS (Business Support System) solution that delivers decoupling, configurability, a future-proof product roadmap, convergent real-time charging support, a strong user-experience focus and reduced total cost of ownership. In doing so, it creates an invaluable competitive advantage for operators looking to thrive in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

• Ericsson Charging System is fully convergent, supporting all services, all access methods and all payment alternatives. Traditional telecom services such as SMS, MMS, voice and broadband are all supported, which creates vast opportunities for operators to do innovative cross-bundles and packages.

2007	Ericsson has since 2007 provided connectivity to the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), a community-led initiative that aims to lift rural African communities out of poverty

• In 2000, all the countries in of the world committed to Millennium Development Goals which set time-bound and measurable targets for halving extreme poverty by 2015.
  
  
• Sub-Saharan Africa is at the greatest risk of not achieving the Goals and is struggling to progress on almost every dimension of poverty, including hunger, lack of education, and prevalent disease.

• In order to assist sub- Saharan Africa achieve the Millennium Development Goals the MVP was set up.

• The Millennium Villages seek to end extreme poverty by working with the poorest of the poor, village by village throughout Africa, in partnership with governments and other committed stakeholders, providing affordable and science-based solutions to help people lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

• The project currently works with 79 villages in 11 countries, changing the lives of over 500 000 people. The project tackles challenges ranging from health and education to agriculture and business development. Ericsson is lead ICT partner in the Millennium Villages Project (MVP), established in 2006 by the Earth Institute at Columbia University to help rural African communities lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Alongside proven interventions, the MVP introduces new solutions to persistent development challenges.

• The first Millennium Village was started in Sauri, Kenya in August 2004 and saw remarkable results in just two years. For example, the villagers went from chronic hunger to a tripling of their crop production. Also, for the first time in years, they were able to sell their produce in nearby markets. The second Millennium Village was launched in Koraro, Ethiopia in February 2005 and also saw tremendous progress early on. 

• The 12 Millennium Villages are located in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. The location of each village represents each of the agro-ecological zones in Sub-Saharan Africa. These agro- ecological zones are representative of 93 percent of the agricultural land area in sub-Saharan Africa and the homes of 90 percent of the agriculture population.

2008	The Ericsson Dynamic Discount solution/Yield Optimization won the AfricaCom prize for innovation in 2008

• The Ericsson Dynamic Discount solution/Yield Optimization provides a tool for innovative tariffs and introduces possibilities to optimize the utilization of the network, the revenues generated from the network and subscriber management via acquisition and reduced churn.

• The Ericsson Dynamic Discounting Solution/ Yield Optimization shifts traffic, from high-traffic periods to low-load times. As well as using underutilized capacity, this means less peak-period pressure on the network, resulting in better voice quality and call completion, and leading to satisfied and loyal customers. The solution allows the operator to increase traffic by using the network capacity currently available.

2009	Ericsson in first Managed Services Contract with Airtel (then called Zain) Nigeria

• In the first agreement of its kind on the African continent, Airtel (Zain) teamed up with Ericsson, the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom op erators. Under the agreement, Ericsson would be responsible for the network operations, field operations including optimization, third-party vendor management for Airtel's GSM/WCDMA networks, and business support systems. Ericssonserves more than 4000 sites across Nigeria on behalf of Airtel.

• In 2011 the contract was expanded and became the first multi-country managed services deal for Ericsson in Africa. Under the contract Ericsson
  
  
• will transform and upgrade Airtel's mobile networks in Africa with the latest technology including its multi standard RBS 6000 base station. Ericsson will deploy this superior 2G and HSPA 3G technology to ensure that Airtel's customers have an enhanced voice and data experience. As part of the modernization, Ericsson will also provide technology consulting, network planning & design and network deployment.
  
  
• Airtel, which has operations in 19 countries in Africa and Asia, is now free to focus on its core business of developing and launching new services, products and mobile applications for its customers.

• Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offering. It ranges from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business-support systems, to hosting service-layer solutions and providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 contracts for managed services with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 800 million subscribers worldwide.

2010	Co-founded Connect to Learn, a global education initiative

• Connect To Learn is a collaborative effort between Ericsson, the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Millennium Promise that leverages the power of information and communications technology (ICT) to bring a high quality education to students everywhere.

• As more countries introduced universal primary education the net enrolment rate for children of primary school age rose to 90% by 2010 bringing the Millennium Development Goal target of achieving universal primary education by 2015 within reach. Many girls dropped out of education after primary school partly due to fees for secondary school being unaffordable. Therefore Connect To Learn puts particular emphasis on improving access to quality secondary education for girls believing that when a girl from a poverty-stricken village gets a solid education, she is better able to protect her health, make a good living and raise a healthy family—improving her own life and the lives of those around her.

• Connect to Learn is based on the use of connectivity to:

• Implement low-cost and user-friendly ICT for schools through mobile broadband and cloud computing
  
  
• Enable access for students and teachers to world-class information and educational resources
  
  
• Connect schools to other schools around the world to foster collaborative learning, cross-cultural understanding, and global awareness

• Connect To Learn puts particular emphasis on improving access to quality secondary education for girls because their enrolment is low, particularly in Africa where, according to the World Bank, about 70% of girls in some sub-Saharan countries don't get a secondary education.. Girls often are unable financially to stay in school after they are twelve years old, and drop out even after passing the high-school entrance exams. They are also much less likely to complete primary schooling when secondary school opportunities are not available. The consequences of these shortfalls are not limited to children's education. They also directly impact health outcomes, fertility patterns, employment opportunities, and women's empowerment.

 

Refugees United

• The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that there are more than 35 million refugees and internally displaced people in the world, with almost 40% of them being in Africa.

• In 2010, Ericsson formed a partnership with Refugees United (a non-governmental organization), the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and mobile operator MTN in Uganda to develop and deploy a mobile phone application to assist refugees in locating loved ones. In 2011 the project expanded to Kenya where the partnership is working with Vodafone's Safaricom network. There are 7 million refugees in Eastern Africa. This is 20% of the global total and therefore the partnership started its work in this region.

• This innovative mobile phone application harnesses the global scale of mobile communication technology to empower people in need of connectivity. It enables refugees with even the most basic handsets to use the Internet to register their details, search for loved ones and subsequently reconnect.

• Danish brothers and social entrepreneurs David and Christopher Mikkelsen formed the non-profit Refugees United after helping an Afghan refugee find his family. In 2008 they launched an anonymous online search engine but realized how crucial it was to have an option using access via mobile phone, as only one to two percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa had access to the Internet.

• More than 185 000 refugees have been registered on the Refugees United platform which has already reunited numerous families and friends who were separated by conflict.

 

2011	Won a Global Mobile Award for our Ericsson Community Power solution

• The Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide in more than 220 countries as well as companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA presents the Global Mobile Awards during Mobile World Congress, the world's leading mobile industry event, held annually in Barcelona.
  
  
• The Ericsson Community Power solution was developed in partnership with Swedish green site solution specialist company Flexenclosure as part of a portfolio of innovative services and products for the Millennium Villages Project (MVP).
  

• The Community Power solution allows subscribers to recharge their mobile phones with excess power generated from the station, which in turn drives network usage and thereby revenue.

2012	MTN Nigeria first African operator to deploy groundbreaking SSR 8020 platform for wireless IP core network

• Africa's biggest operator MTN Nigeria will boost its ability to serve subscribers and their growing data needs, with the deployment of Ericsson's latest wireless packet core network technology. The Smart Service Router (SSR) 8020 platform allows operators to introduce newer, smarter functions and capabilities to enhance the mobile broadband experience for end users.

• Ericsson's SSR 8020 is the flagship for the IP and broadband community and the analysts categorize it as a new class of router. It is able to support 100 gigabytes per slot in the first iteration.

• The product was developed in response to anticipated rapidly increasing demand for mobile internet. We predict that there will be more than 50 billion mobile connections by 2020. In the past an operator would have kept their fixed internet for residential and business nodes quite separate from a mobile packet core but now they want a common platform that could deal with both domains. The changing demand has come about because of the proliferation of connected devices in the mobile networks. The advancement of tablet computing and the popularity of LTE (Long Term Evolution) -enabled notebooks and really powerful smart devices means there is no more application in the fixed domain or application in the mobile domain. The way applications and devices are used means there is a cross cover between mobile and fixed domains and the SSR 8020 makes this a seamless experience for the internet users while enabling operators to rapidly increase their capacity.

• M-commerce partnership with MTN announced at 2012 Mobile World Congress

• Ericsson and MTN announce a partnership on M-Commerce at the annual Mobile World Congress, the industry's leading conference. The Converged Mobile Wallet solution that has been developed in partnership with MTN is part of their strategy to build a comprehensive mobile ecosystem around mobile financial services that will include health, insurance and payments. The Converged Mobile Wallet solution combines the pre-paid and mobile wallet accounts in a unified and easy to use customer offering. This will allow MTN to bundle services and offer incentives to subscribers such as free calls for every financial transaction.

• The partnership between Ericsson and MTN supports the operator's strategy to secure a flexible, reliable and efficient solution in the area of mobile financial services. As part of the co-operation, Ericsson will offer a prime integrator engagement model encompassing software, systems integration and managed operation services.

• Airtel in partnership with Ericsson, launches fastest Greenfield network in the history of sub-Saharan Africa in Rwanda

• The network was built in 83 days, a first for sub-Saharan Africa.

• Ericsson, the world's leading provider of services and technology to telecom operators, was selected to manage the network from end-to-end, including OSS/BSS solutions and managed services.

• The network is a state-of-the-art all IP network with latest technologies such as IP-RAN on RBS6000, It has multimedia functionality, high speed mobile broadband and internet access; allowing  users to make video calls, watch live TV, send and receive emails and download music from the devices. The network has the latest global HSPA+ technology with up to speeds of up to 21 Mbps which are similar to what is being rolled out in Europe and the USA.