NEWS
South Africa TV White Space project
receives support from USTDA
T he U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded
a grant to support an Adaptrum-led project to help improve
internet access to rural areas of South Africa. will fund several TV White Space (TVWS) deployments with the
goal of establishing business and deployment models that can be
replicated across the country.
The grant, which focuses on facilitating export opportunities for U.S.
companies in support of sustainable development projects globally, As the first country in Africa to publish a TVWS regulatory framework,
South Africa has long seen the potential for the technology to bridge
the nation’s digital divide. Encompassing an unreached population
of more than 20 million people in rural areas and difficult-to-reach
terrain, South Africa is an ideal location for TVWS, which uses unused
broadcast spectrum to deliver long-range wireless connectivity.
The project is intended to demonstrate that TVWS is a feasible
business solution for economically and affordably connecting rural
South Africa.
“Since deploying the first TVWS system in Africa, Adaptrum has
sought ways to use TVWS to bring much needed connectivity across
Africa,” said Haiyun Tang, CEO of Adaptrum.
“Now that TVWS is allowed in South Africa, we are extremely
pleased to have the support of USTDA for this project to ensure our
technology can be deployed affordably and sustainably by our local
South African partners.”
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Vivo to expand into Africa
with launch of smartphones
V
ivo has announced its expansion plan into the African market
and will soon launch its latest Y series smartphones in the region.
As part of its global expansion, Vivo’s products are now available in
Morocco, with Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt following suit.
According to Counterpoint Research, the smartphone market in the
Middle East and Africa has increased by 6% year-on-year (YoY) in
Q1 2019, while the feature phone market decreased by 6% (YoY)
during the same period, which demonstrates a growing demand for
innovative smartphones in the region.
“Since our first entry into international markets in 2014, we have
been dedicated to understanding the needs of consumers through
in-depth research in an effort to bring innovative products and
services to meet changing lifestyle needs,” said Spark Ni, Senior Vice
President of Vivo.
“The Middle East and Africa markets are important to us, and we will
tailor our approach with consumers’ needs in mind. The launch of
Y series is just the beginning. We look forward to bringing our other
widely popular products beyond Y series to consumers in the Middle
East and Africa very soon.”
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