Technology company Ericsson yesterday outlined its vision of a “networked society” for 2020, when, it says, there will be 50 billion connections globally.
It adds that these mobile connections will be between mobile handsets, machine-to-machine and other devices.
“In this networked society, people, knowledge and information are connected for continuous transformation, driven by collaboration and creativity,” it notes.
Head of Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa Lars Linden says this is a planet-covering phenomenon that is happening because of ICT.
The key pillars driving the networked society will be mobility, cloud and broadband.
Help wanted
Ericsson says it has already started the networked society by getting the necessary assets to leverage. It has the networks, applications and chip bases.
However, the company says although it already has the ecosystem in place, it cannot achieve the vision alone and needs partnerships.
It will be working with industry players to achieve the networked society vision and is reaching out to partners to enable it.
Ericsson is in discussions with the Department of Science and Technology to bring some of its research and development initiatives to SA.
African relevance
As part of the vision, Ericsson is working with a smart-meter company where handheld mobile meters are going to be put in people's homes.
The company adds that projects like these will also allow power suppliers like Eskom to see at which times of the day people use the most power, so they can increase their output at that time instead of operating at maximum output throughout the entire day.
Head of communications for sub-Saharan Africa Mwambu Wanendeya says there are several devices in the process of being created that will add to the vision.
There are weather stations that will be able to tell users how much rain has fallen, for example. This function will be important for Africa, because of its agricultural market.
Also, traffic management systems can be improved where, for example, if there are no cars coming from one direction at an intersection, the traffic light can stay green for as long as it needs for the other direction.
Some of these examples have been implemented in other parts of the world already, but the question is how and what to bring to this continent, says the company.
Broadband impact
Communications will transform multiple industries, such as agriculture, health, transport, media and utilities, and will see a new era with immense opportunities for creativity and transformation of life, business and society, according to the company.
Head of marketing, strategy and government and industry relations for sub-Saharan Africa Shiletsi Makhofane explains that sectors like education, health and employment come with many challenges, and a connected society will assist in easing these.
He also says research has shown that every connection made adds to a country's GDP.
“We believe our strategy for the networked society is relevant for SA because of the powerful impact broadband can bring by developing the economy and creating jobs.”
Intelligent connection
Demonstrating how broadband can be used to improve education in SA, Ericsson is running a trial at a government primary school in Diepsloot.
The company says this pilot project has shown that using low-cost tablets connected to the Internet through broadband has greatly improved the pupils' ability to learn.
It has also piloted teacher-to-teacher, as well as teacher-to-pupil training over distance using broadband. During a pilot project, Westbury High School, in Sophiatown, was connected to St Stithians, in Randburg, where teachers in St Stithians could teach Westbury pupils.
“We see the benefits that are possible when things, as well as people, are connected intelligently. When one person is connected, their life changes; when everything is connected, the world changes. That is the essence of the networked society,” says Linden.
Ericsson is also working with the City of Johannesburg on the Johannesburg Broadband Network Project (JBNP).
It will see a fast broadband network connecting all parts of the city. To date, more than 300km of fibre has been laid.
The company says all municipalities are on board for rolling out projects like the JBNP, but it is still planning and looking at how to move forward.
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